Damascus, May 25 (Xinhua-ANI): With recession and sky-high unemployment, the Syrians officials, while confessing that the European Union (EU) and U.S. sanctions have hit the Syrian people hard, are still sending assurances that the country's economy is stable.
After 15 months, the Syrian crisis continues to smolder and remains a risk for the country's economy.
Although the Syrian government has succeeded in calming some of the market turmoil that reigned during the past few months, the Syrians are still feeling the pinch.
A vigorous government's intervention revived the Syrian pound, which lost 50 percent of its value against U.S. dollars at the beginning of the crisis, sending thus the prices of all commodities skyrocketing. Now the pound has regained part of its value but prices are still high, prompting families to tighten their budgets.
The increasing severity of the recession cast a dim shadow on all aspects of life in the country.
Shop owners have announced early sales of up to 70 percent, complaining of penny-pitching consumers.
Markets, contrary to what it used to be before the crisis, seem to be empty of shoppers and the owners are spending their time playing cards and chess. Others prefer to close their shops early to save electricity and out of fears of possible overnight incidents.
Syrian Finance Minister Mohammad al-Jlailati said recently that the economic sanctions imposed by the EU and the United States on Syria have enormously affected the Syrian citizen's income and the Syrian economy in general as it has led to a rise in the prices of basic items.
In an interview with Russia Today Channel, the minister said the crisis has led to the suspension of some economic establishments' work, especially in the private sector, due to difficulties in securing supplies of imported production and low rate of economic growth.
He stressed that the Syrian economy along with some of its neighboring countries have been affected by the sanctions, however, he asserted that Syria was able to open new markets other than the European's and the American's.
The minister added that Syria depends on its own potentials, brushing aside claims that the country is receiving financial aids from friendly countries.
He also ruled out any decline in the country's foreign exchange reserves, stressing that they remain intact.
Jlailati indicated that there has been a stable exchange rate of the pound against the dollar for a month, saying rumors about Syria's selling some of its gold reserves was "absolutely untrue." "There is no country in the world that relies on its gold reserves only... we have basically an amount of gold along with other foreign currencies in savings, and they haven't been touched at all and we have not sold 1 g of gold," he said.
During a press conference in Damascus on Wednesday, Syrian Oil Minister Sufian al-Allaw admitted that the sanctions have caused a severe shortage in cooking gas and other oil derivations, noting that the oil sector's losses amount to four billion U.S. dollars.
He also tried to placate the Syrians by saying that a Venezuelan oil tanker docked at the Banias port along with other tankers are expected to arrive in the country soon to meet the shortage in the cooking gas.
The minister's remarks came at a time when the country is experiencing tough economic issues, including the shortage of cooking gas. The price of a canister of gas was about 350 Syrian pounds (less than six dollars) before the crisis, but now has skyrocketed to 1,500 pounds (about 22 dollars) in the black market.
Allaw said his ministry is working to provide the local market with cooking gas and discussions are underway to import gas from Iran and Algeria.
He said a Syrian-Russian joint committee would discuss in Moscow the possibility of signing long-term contracts to supply fuel and cooking gas for Syria.
The sanctions imposed on the Syrian oil sector include an embargo on purchasing or transporting Syrian oil, and prohibiting companies from dealing with Syria or investing in it, in addition to withdrawing experts and staff, suspending funding, and imposing sanctions on Syrian petroleum companies. (Xinhua-ANI)
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