Irans vice-president for strategic planning says the government has shadow plans for the countrys next year budget based on three different scenarios.In a Saturday interview with IRNA, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht noted that the administration of President Hassan Rouhani has considered three scenarios in drafting next years spending package based on the economic situation and international developments.
One scenario, he said, is that the status quo is maintained, in which case the government will move forward based on the current circumstances.
The assumptions we have made in the budget are on this same basis, Nobakht said.
Another supposition is that the restrictions will be removed and the current situation will change, for which we have special programs as well, said the Iranian vice-president.
And the third scenario, he said, is that the current situation might begin to deteriorate should, for example, oil exports drop or more bans be imposed on the imports of basic goods.
We have a program for this as well, he said.
In the devised plan, all the three situations have been discussed and examined in order to show that it is not only the Americans who have options on the table; we also have put options on the table, Nobakht said.
The top Iranian administration official also said the reduction of inflation and unemployment and the improvement of the business environment are the three main objectives of the next years budget plan.
He predicted that the inflation rate will considerably drop by the end of the next year.
On December 8, Rouhani submitted the bill for the countrys USD 315-billion draft spending package for the next Iranian calendar year (starting March 21) to the Majlis.
According to government sources, the bill has been devised on an average oil price of 100 dollars per barrel with an exchange rate of 26,000 rials against the dollar. The governments budget is set at around USD 75 billion.
By Press TV
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