President Raisi submits budget bill 1402 to parliament

WANA (JAN 11) – Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi submitted the budget bill for the Iranian year of 1402 (begins on March 21) to the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis) or Parliament on Wednesday.

Raisi handed over the bill in an open session of the presiding board of the Majlis said that the government was benefitted from cooperation with all the concerned and caring people their efforts, ideas and efforts in the government, Majlis and all departments that function in the Islamic Republic system.

He defended his government’s practice on the present fiscal year’s budget as he hoped that increased revenues would help the administration avoid the current budget deficit until the end of the year in late March.

Raisi pointed out: “After the budget bill was finalized by the government, devoted its efforts to developing the 7th Development Plan so that this plan can be submitted to the parliament as soon as possible.”

Referring to the promise his government made in terms of employment creation, the President claimed: “In the second half of the year 1400 and in 1401, we are not short in the promise we made for creating one million jobs annually, and the joblessness rate has dropped.”

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi attends a parliament session in Tehran, Iran, January 11, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency)

“We emphasize increasing production and creating more jobs. Governmental companies will invest more in the Iranian economy,” he added.

One of the criticisms made on the administration by some experts is the fact the statistics given on by the government on annual gross domestic product (GDP) are nominal not real.

Earlier in December, the foreign exchange rate particularly the U.S. dollar against Iranian rial was intensely on the rise, setting new records and pressing the economy as the government was unable to fulfill its former promises. Iranian Rial dropped to a historic low of 440,000 per U.S. dollar ominously predicting a new wave of crisis for the already impoverished Iranian nation hit by the crippling U.S. sanctions and economic mismanagement.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi delivers the budget papers to Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf during the parliament session in Tehran, Iran, January 11, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency)

However, the Iranian rial rose against US dollar up to 390,000 in the unofficial market after the new ‎governor of Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Mohammad-Reza Farzin was appointed by the government. ‎

Following the session, the head of Iran’s administration said: “The enemy failed in various arenas of this combinatory warfare it waged against us. The great Iranian nation is proud that the enemy’s attempts were failed. We thank God that our mindful nation foiled their schemes. And once again, the enemy was disgraced in its plots and conspiracies against Iranian nation.

Legislators in the Majlis will have one month to consider the details of the $130 billion (more than 52,616 trillion rial) budget bill handed over by the administration for the Iranian calendar year 1402.