Cabinet draws up national budget plan

President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that the administration has made every effort to draft a transparent and simply-worded budget plan, which is a significant development in the history of budget drafting in the country.
After a cabinet meeting, he told reporters that the administration has drawn up its draft of the national budget for the next Iranian calendar year (begins March 20, 2008) and will present it to the Majlis early next week.
According to reports, next year’s national budget is over 271 trillion rials (about $290.46 billion), which shows a 17 percent rise in comparison to the current year’s budget.
The president made it clear that the budget plan was drawn up based on impartial expert studies with no political or factional biases.
“The budget is so clear and simple that every literate Iranian person can understand it,” he said.
“We welcome the views and analyses of experts about the soon-to-be-released budget plan,” he added.
Ahmadinejad said that the Majlis and administration enjoy close and very friendly ties and that the two sides exchange views on various issues very frankly.
Both the Majlis and the administration seek the interests of the nation and never allow anyone to muddy the water, the president added.
However, some individuals are trying to distort realities in order to put pressure on the administration, he noted.
 

MNA