2023-10-10 14:20:54
ALGIERS – Algeria’s economic growth should reach 5.3% for the year 2023 thanks to a resilient economy facing a “fragile and uncertain” international context, Prime Minister Aïmene Benabderrahmane said Tuesday in Algiers before the National People’s Assembly (APN).
“Faced with this fragile and uncertain international context, Algeria has demonstrated resilience by maintaining appreciable economic growth, which will amount to 5.3% in 2023,” said Mr. Benabderrahmane during the presentation of the Declaration of general policy of the government, before the APN, meeting in plenary session, under the chairmanship of Mr. Brahim Boughali, in the presence of members of the government.
The document covers achievements for the period from early September 2022 to late August 2023, with closing forecasts for the current year.
He explained that the implementation of the Government’s action plan takes place in an international economic context characterized by “rapid changes and which require any State, including our country, to adapt and provide a rapid response to the demands and aspirations of society.
“The global economy experienced a contraction in 2023 marked in particular by the tightening of countries’ monetary policies with the aim of lowering and controlling inflation, which oscillates between 7 and 8%, while it has exceeded in certain country the level of 50%, he said, while recalling that “the forecasts of international institutions predict a growth rate of the world economy of 3% during the year 2023 compared to a rate of 3.5% in 2022.
Addressing the national economic situation, he noted that non-hydrocarbon GDP growth should reach 4.9% in 2023 compared to 4.3% recorded in 2022, adding that inflation stood at 9, 5% during the first seven months of 2023, driven mainly by food products (+13.2%).
Regarding the level of exports of goods, according to Mr. Benabderrahmane, it should experience a decline to stand at USD 52.8 billion at the end of 2023, due to the drop in oil prices, the average price of which has seen a decline, going from 104 dollars per barrel in 2022 to 85 dollars in 2023.
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As for imports, they should increase to 41.5 billion USD at the end of 2023 compared to 39 billion dollars recorded in 2022, he said, stressing that “despite the increase in imports, the trade balance will however remain positive this year with a surplus of 11.3 billion USD.
Despite the decline in oil prices on the international market, foreign exchange reserves continued to increase to reach, by the end of the year, around 85 billion dollars, in addition to monetary gold reserves, a- he said.
Concerning the situation of public finances, revenues increased by 25% between 2022 and 2023 to reach 8,900 billion dinars (DA), while budgetary expenditure increased by 52%, reaching 14,700 billion DA, he mentioned explaining that this effort in terms of budgetary expenditure “aims to preserve the purchasing power of the citizen and support the conditions for sustainable economic recovery as well as to encourage the dynamics of growth”.
This budgetary effort also made it possible, according to Mr. Benabderrahmane, to lift the freeze on more than 780 projects with a total amount of 1,273 billion DA, in addition to new projects that have been launched.
“Despite the international geostrategic and economic context and the difficulties recorded in terms of international trade, as well as extreme climate changes, characterized by record temperature levels having an impact on the agricultural and forestry sector, the Government has endeavored to achieve the commitments of Mr. President of the Republic”, he observed.
In this context, Mr. Benabderrahmane underlined that “the Government was able to adapt to the changes occurring on the international scene with the necessary flexibility through the adaptation of public policies to the international context by opting for proactive policies under the guidance of Mr. President of the Republic and which have made it possible to strengthen the resilience of the national economy and to pursue the social policy of the State.”
This also allowed “the consolidation of the reform of the legal and institutional system with a view to establishing good governance, alongside the development of basic infrastructure and the launch of structuring strategic projects and the relaunch of investment within the framework of a economic approach. This was achieved without recourse to external debt, he rejoiced, affirming that this also reflects “the distant vision in the management of public affairs and the proactive vision of the President of the Republic”.
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