SYRIANNEWS — broadcast
20260920 180000 UTC
508 transcript segments
Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API (Chirp) + Gemini 2.5 Flash Non-Thinking
Data courtesy of The GDELT Project (https://www.gdeltproject.org/), from the Internet Archive TV News Archive.
Machine transcription. Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a verbatim quotation record.

[00:00:10] legislative authorities. Some say in this
[00:00:19] also from and the scene
[00:00:21] always those who contest this. This is not true
[00:00:25] Some of them belong to the world of superficiality, as many
[00:00:26] classes. Well, you mentioned believe. Some of them have
[00:00:30] diverted the topic to side issues. But
[00:00:34] some of them, as some agree, have gone
[00:00:38] deeper, placing their fingers on the wound, or rather, on
[00:00:41] the wounds, and how many there are. This is the nature of
[00:00:44] the questions that were directed to
[00:00:46] due to the lack of experience with the Minister of Energy, Muhammad Al-Bashir, during his hearing
[00:00:49] today before Parliament. This hearing
[00:00:53] is the anticipated
[00:00:56] session for almost eight days.
[00:01:00] The minister is to provide a convincing briefing
[00:01:03] to the public about the reasons for
[00:01:06] And the session was long. Why was there so much delving into the decision to raise fuel prices in the country. It is true that he went
[00:01:09] to Parliament armed with three types of
[00:01:13] diesel, which he introduced in
[00:01:15] said, "I mean, we were distracted. the past two days
[00:01:17] The story was lost in to suit different needs, because at
[00:01:19] the same time, he acknowledged the magnitude of the challenges
[00:01:24] the session. I mean, indeed, the delving into and explained Syria's I think that this was a major weakness in oil situation with numbers
[00:01:27] and statistics.
[00:01:29] But did his answers, I wonder, convince the Energy
[00:01:33] Here, this delving into Committee and the rest of the members of
[00:01:38] I mean, a large part of more questions than Parliament during five hours of is the goal of deliberation? This is one of the questions on our table in today's
[00:01:41] episode. As for the rest, they will concern
[00:01:46] and such. Why do I say the pricing mechanism, monitoring, transparency,
[00:01:49] It is known in governments and the results that came out of this
[00:02:05] and I don't think this
[00:02:09] at him. No, no, not
[00:02:12] So, the Syrian People's Assembly held a hearing today for the Minister
[00:02:16] of Energy, Mohammed Al-Bashir, to discuss the reasons for the recent
[00:02:20] billion barrels. This figure is not increase in oil derivatives prices and their impact on the transportation, production,
[00:02:25] were from oil, and oil's contribution to and agriculture sectors in the country. The minister justified
[00:02:27] the decision by the existence of a large gap, as he said,
[00:02:31] between local production of oil and gas and the actual
[00:02:34] heavy consumption,
[00:02:36] first to the purchasing power in emphasizing the ministry's continued efforts to secure
[00:02:40] supplies and cover the deficit. Let's watch the report, and then
[00:02:44] there is a flaw in we'll return to open the discussion with
[00:02:46] our guests.
[00:02:50] inability to Has the news of the smart card reached you? It is, without
[00:02:53] a doubt, a tale of woes. The queues for
[00:02:56] gas and fuel, and the black market
[00:02:59] But this logic, this should not that ended with the end are consuming of the system of corruption and thievery,
[00:03:03] are reflected today by addressing them during the hearing of the Minister
[00:03:06] of Energy, the narrowness of options and solutions in
[00:03:09] light of the global crisis, which in turn has left no glimmer of hope
[00:03:14] manage this. for its end.
[00:03:15] The first eye is that energy prices in When oil derivatives prices rise, the public immediately turns to question the reasons,
[00:03:19] and whether the matter is due to global prices or whether there are
[00:03:23] more complex local factors
[00:03:28] to eliminate this behind the crises. Economically, the discussion
[00:03:31] today under the dome of Parliament covered
[00:03:34] fuel, electricity, and beneficiary segments,
[00:03:37] industry, agriculture,
[00:03:40] I said. Okay, okay, this, this, this and workers' wages, and of course, austerity.
[00:03:42] But Minister Mohammed Al-Bashir threw the ball into the court of the legislative
[00:03:46] authority on more than one occasion in his answers to
[00:03:49] the huge number of
[00:03:54] these questions. Just quickly, Dr. Mahmoud, if you were in questions that the representatives brought to him, with expectations of achieving self-sufficiency
[00:03:58] in oil by 2028,
[00:04:00] and current losses in the ministry's budget. For the time
[00:04:05] Okay, what then? He does not
[00:04:05] Professor Musa says there is a flaw in we gave to the minister, some forgive our members, the minister received 40 questions from
[00:04:09] the Energy Committee. Many are the numbers that were presented during the session,
[00:04:12] all of which fall into three main paths:
[00:04:15] dilapidated local
[00:04:18] that were missed, because a large part of equipment,
[00:04:20] matters. How did you, who were present in a global energy crisis, and an internal financial gap
[00:04:23] in one of the most important issues on the government's
[00:04:27] table. Its most prominent
[00:04:29] countries. I cannot ask headlines are refineries and plans to develop oil
[00:04:32] and gas fields and expand exploration in promising areas,
[00:04:36] this case, it is necessary to in addition to extensive discussion about the water crisis
[00:04:39] large increases in and projects
[00:04:40] most of the interventions remained in for its treatment.
[00:04:41] beginning and a new type of
[00:04:43] Imposing itself as a policeman on world markets, the Strait of Hormuz continues to
[00:04:47] control fuel prices. This is the bad news
[00:04:50] does not in the session. But the good news is the signing
[00:04:54] of a memorandum of understanding to implement the replacement of the dilapidated Kirkuk-Baniyas
[00:04:58] pipeline, through which
[00:05:00] Syria can obtain transit fees and priority in purchasing
[00:05:03] oil passing through its territory.
[00:05:08] for a hearing, and With us at the table for discussion is Dr.
[00:05:12] Nawwar Najmi, Member of Parliament. Welcome to you, Dr.
[00:05:23] Dubai is Dr. Mahmoud Abdul Karim, Financial and Economic Advisor. Greetings
[00:05:27] to you, Doctor. Welcome to the table. And with us
[00:05:31] Kuwait is the expert and oil consultant, Professor Musa
[00:05:35] Al-Jassem. Greetings to you, Professor Musa. Welcome.
[00:05:38] Also with us from Istanbul is the journalist
[00:05:41] specializing in economic affairs, Mr. Adnan Abdul Razzaq. Greetings to you,
[00:05:45] Mr. Adnan. Welcome to this episode. I'll start with you,
[00:05:49] Mr. Adnan. You certainly followed today's hearing
[00:05:52] of the Minister of Energy. But as a follower
[00:05:56] and a journalist specializing in economic affairs,
[00:05:59] if you were in the session, what would you have asked the minister,
[00:06:10] was fitting for the new phase
[00:06:14] of Syria in terms of transparency and questioning
[00:06:18] the minister before the members of the People's Assembly.
[00:06:21] This is an important point, but the session
[00:06:24] was perhaps dispersed into different sectors, including
[00:06:28] oil, electricity, and water. However, if I were in the place
[00:06:32] of one of the representatives, I would have asked the minister, perhaps, why
[00:06:35] did you issue the electricity pricing in your name
[00:06:39] or in the name of the Ministry of Energy? I mean, if
[00:06:43] I were in the minister's place, Mohammed Bashir, I would have probably issued
[00:06:46] the decision in the name of whoever should have issued it, Professor
[00:06:49] Adnan, in the name of the economic committee, in the name
[00:06:53] of the Syrian government's decision to raise energy prices to such
[00:06:58] this, Professor Mohammed?
[00:07:01] that there are always some ministers who are constantly
[00:07:04] unpopular, regardless of the economic patterns.
[00:07:08] These include the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Trade,
[00:07:11] the Minister of Interior and Markets, and perhaps the Central Bank Governor, and now
[00:07:14] facing the energy crisis, ministers — you are trying to find an excuse for the minister
[00:07:18] so that all the arrows are not pointed
[00:07:21] at all. I am speaking logically. Why? Because
[00:07:24] the Syrian public has blamed the Minister of Energy, and the Minister of Energy
[00:07:28] has no full or
[00:07:30] direct connection to the decision, because the story is, first
[00:07:34] of all, global, and second, it is related to Syria's internal
[00:07:38] circumstances.
[00:07:40] And the Minister of Energy is not meant to be an excuse before
[00:07:44] the citizen. The citizen is always right, and he is not
[00:07:48] meant to pay the bill for the difference in
[00:07:51] energy prices or the difference in subsidies, because the mentality
[00:07:54] of collection is a mentality, I mean, the mentality of the incapable,
[00:07:58] if I may say so, or the mentality of the officials'
[00:08:02] innovate or find other funding methods,
[00:08:05] so they resort to taxes or raising fees or raising
[00:08:09] prices. So, in general, do you think the decision
[00:08:12] is fundamentally justified in terms of global conditions
[00:08:16] and local conditions? Well, if we look at the decision
[00:08:20] with one eye, we would be mistaken. We must look
[00:08:23] at the decision with both eyes.
[00:08:28] the world have risen by about 40 to
[00:08:31] 50% for oil, and perhaps even 70% for oil
[00:08:35] derivatives globally. Syria
[00:08:38] consumes, as the minister said, 30,000 barrels per day, while it does not
[00:08:42] produce perhaps more than 120,000 barrels. So there is
[00:08:46] a gap between production and consumption, and the treasury's
[00:08:49] resources are limited, as
[00:08:52] discussion will have ramifications and details that we will delve into
[00:08:56] together in this episode. I turn to Dr. Abdul
[00:08:59] Mahmoud from Dubai. You too,
[00:09:04] the session, what would you have asked the minister? Did any of the important
[00:09:08] questions escape the minds of the representatives
[00:09:18] all the questions that were on the minds of the citizens
[00:09:22] were raised. But in
[00:09:26] my opinion, there were fundamental questions
[00:09:31] the discussion went in one direction, which was how
[00:09:35] much does energy cost us? While the most important economic question is how
[00:09:38] was the decision made to pass this cost on to the citizen, and on what basis was
[00:09:42] their ability to bear it determined? I mean, even this question was not answered
[00:09:45] during today's session. Not at all.
[00:09:49] Not at all. Not at all. Even
[00:09:52] technical matters and cost and price, and did not
[00:09:55] delve deeply enough into the core of the financial and economic problem. And I,
[00:09:59] I mean, if I were the one to delve into the core of the problem, which is
[00:10:02] specifically
[00:10:04] that the first question is when you decided
[00:10:08] to raise the price of diesel from 125 to 175, by
[00:10:12] 40% in one go, what was the study you conducted before
[00:10:15] the decision to measure the impact of this increase on
[00:10:19] citizens' income, transportation, agriculture, food sectors, and inflation?
[00:10:22] Because we are not talking about an ordinary commodity, Professor Mohammed.
[00:10:25] Diesel goes into everything, I mean, transportation, production, and agriculture.
[00:10:29] And therefore, the increase does not stop at a station,
[00:10:32] I mean, at a fuel station or a gas station.
[00:10:36] It transfers to the prices of many commodities. And the ministry itself
[00:10:40] said that, I mean, that the bulletin was temporary, then it restructured
[00:10:44] prices within days. Now, as for the second question, for me, and it
[00:10:47] is of extreme importance is how did you arrive at determining the price
[00:10:51] per liter? I mean, today we got much better information,
[00:10:55] and I credit this to the session. I mean,
[00:10:58] this is to the session's credit. But I want, I mean, I want the full
[00:11:02] equation revealed. I want you to reveal the full equation.
[00:11:05] The minister says that Syria produces 112,000
[00:11:09] barrels per day and has a deficit of 2,000 barrels, and the bill for purchasing
[00:11:12] crude oil and its derivatives reaches
[00:11:15] 831 million dollars per month. But when
[00:11:19] you tell me that the cost of a ton of diesel is 1590 dollars,
[00:11:22] then you add other costs to it.
[00:11:25] Well, I want to know in detail what they are, how much is the shipping amount, what
[00:11:28] is the insurance, what is the storage, what are
[00:11:30] the fees, at what dollar rate did you convert the cost
[00:11:34] to the Syrian lira? The file before us shows, I mean,
[00:11:38] do you mean, Doctor, that there was a contradiction regarding the numbers that
[00:11:42] were announced? Undoubtedly, there was
[00:11:45] a contradiction in the numbers that
[00:11:48] were, I mean, that were announced, especially since, I mean,
[00:11:52] I see, I mean, the numbers at the time, I mean,
[00:11:56] in the session, the most important gain is, I repeat, that it opened
[00:12:00] answers. More questions than answers. I mean, for the first
[00:12:03] time, we have a production figure, a demand figure, an import figure,
[00:12:07] and a monthly bill. Therefore, the second
[00:12:11] figure was subject to greater scrutiny.
[00:12:14] The other figure, I apologize, that requires greater scrutiny is
[00:12:17] 831 million monthly. And the same
[00:12:20] applies to gas, because it has a need of approximately 24 million
[00:12:24] cubic meters per day, and local production of around
[00:12:27] 8, 8 million, and imports, as mentioned,
[00:12:31] 6.3, I believe, costing
[00:12:34] 140 dollars. In my opinion, here, I mean, there
[00:12:38] is another figure that I want to stop at, which is the declared oil
[00:12:42] reserve, which is 2.5
[00:12:45] enough to be stated alone. I want to know when the last comprehensive
[00:12:49] geological assessment of this reserve was conducted, and how much of it
[00:12:53] is proven and extractable reserves.
[00:12:59] Please, Mr. Musa.
[00:13:09] more space. As I told the program director,
[00:13:13] my goal is awareness, and I want to
[00:13:17] clarify some technical points even for the other brothers, because
[00:13:20] I am deeply involved in this field. I worked
[00:13:23] in Syria in the oil fields as a petroleum engineer for five years. Well, these
[00:13:27] clarifications you will give, will the viewer benefit from them,
[00:13:31] or the guests, or the government, or the government
[00:13:34] itself? I mean, I have information that even
[00:13:37] the minister, nor even Youssef Qablawi,
[00:13:41] knows, because they have not worked in the field. So even Youssef Qablawi does not know the information that
[00:13:45] you will now provide. Not at all. Okay, tell
[00:13:48] us some of this information, if you please. Look, let me start
[00:13:51] for the sake of the young people who are here and who are listening.
[00:14:05] I worked in 13 countries around the world and I was an executive manager
[00:14:08] at the largest company in the world, Schlumberger, which we
[00:14:11] were responsible for in 2006, 2007, 2008,
[00:14:14] 2009. I returned to Syria and was
[00:14:17] the general manager of Schlumberger, which was the only
[00:14:20] international company that worked in
[00:14:23] logging, reservoir studies, and seismic.
[00:14:26] Because of the blockade, we did not form a non-UN
[00:14:30] company. Now we return to this topic. The first one who should have been at the session
[00:14:34] today is you, Mr. Musa. You are, I mean,
[00:14:36] the best person to ask about oil.
[00:14:40] I am, I mean, I am here, and you are probably
[00:14:43] following. I post awareness posts.
[00:14:46] Now, we'll get back to them
[00:14:50] together. First of all, with all due respect
[00:14:53] to the minister, today he looked
[00:14:56] very exhausted and very
[00:14:59] tired. And first of all, the presentation
[00:15:03] or the lecture does not befit a minister presenting
[00:15:06] it before the People's Assembly. With all due respect to him, I was
[00:15:09] expecting
[00:15:11] to understand you well, Professor Musa. The minister's presentation
[00:15:15] befit this position. It does not befit
[00:15:18] the presentation and the presence. I tell you why. First
[00:15:22] of all, the minister talked about merging three
[00:15:25] ministries into one ministry.
[00:15:27] Four, four. Right, doctor, three.
[00:15:31] And he didn't give us anything at all. Brother, today I am talking
[00:15:35] to the young people here. I
[00:15:39] mean, I have 50 countries, but today I
[00:15:43] have almost 40 managers
[00:15:45] present. Professor Musa, Professor Musa, we would appreciate it if we could get into the details.
[00:15:49] We know, I mean, all the required information. First of all,
[00:15:53] he should have presented to us the new structure of the ministries
[00:15:56] that are in place. Second, there are organizations, I mean, in
[00:16:00] English, the team he works with. He should have
[00:16:04] clarified the team he works with, and at least have with him
[00:16:08] three technical people
[00:16:10] next to him.
[00:16:13] This method is like that of the Soviet Union. I mean,
[00:16:17] he cannot manage all this fleet with this
[00:16:20] existing issue. Then, second,
[00:16:24] the minister, and even, I mean, you are now calling for
[00:16:27] attracting talents.
[00:16:30] Attracting talents. Well, the government is saying, I mean, the treasury
[00:16:34] already has a large deficit. Attracting.
[00:16:38] My dear, I, I, when I come, when I come
[00:16:42] to do a restructuring, we, as international companies, sometimes,
[00:16:45] due to market pressure
[00:16:48] that reduces operating expenses, we do
[00:16:51] restructurings and reduce the hierarchical
[00:16:55] organization at the top and distribute work below.
[00:16:58] Today, we have inertia at the top of the hierarchical structure
[00:17:01] in ministries and administrations, and we don't have technical people on the ground. Today,
[00:17:05] if I gave you a proportional ratio between the people in the ministries and the people
[00:17:09] who work in the fields, I am certain that the people sitting in offices are more than the people working
[00:17:13] in the fields. This
[00:17:15] merging and we have seen international
[00:17:19] companies doing it. So, you are saying here, just so people understand,
[00:17:22] Professor Musa, there is a flaw in the structure in general? Of course, there is.
[00:17:26] How should it be?
[00:17:29] How should the situation be?
[00:17:32] And you, Professor Musa, I mean, please forgive me, some might
[00:17:36] wonder, this structure that you see as flawed,
[00:17:39] are you aware of all its details?
[00:17:43] I have all the details about it, and I am not
[00:17:46] far from it. I mean, actually, I travel the world, but
[00:17:50] I visit Syria every two weeks because
[00:17:53] I cannot live without Syria. And for 35 years,
[00:17:57] I never agreed to stay anywhere other than Syria. And I told
[00:18:00] you, I mean, he should have first presented
[00:18:04] to the council the new structure of the
[00:18:07] ministries. He is at the top of the hierarchy. He has a vice
[00:18:11] president for water, he has one
[00:18:14] for oil, he has one for energy, he has one for other things. And then
[00:18:18] he would show us, I mean,
[00:18:21] the structure. There is something else that you also saw as a problem,
[00:18:24] in short?
[00:18:26] In the way that we are also centralizing. I mean, when he said that we
[00:18:30] united and merged the administration in Damascus, I mean, with all due respect,
[00:18:33] if someone, and this is outside my scope, but I took it from the meeting.
[00:18:37] If someone, the director of water in Miyadin,
[00:18:41] the director of water and sanitation, needs something,
[00:18:44] he has to call Damascus. I mean, this is it. Is there delegation?
[00:18:47] Brother, he needs to distribute tasks. He cannot
[00:18:52] This is the reason for the mistakes.
[00:18:55] This is the reason for the conflicting
[00:18:59] numbers. He should have a complete
[00:19:02] team. We hear the numbers from Mr. Qablawi
[00:19:06] one way, and from the minister another way. He should have
[00:19:09] a technical team so that the numbers are consistent. And we wanted to see
[00:19:13] graphs, what the numbers are, what the models
[00:19:16] are, what's in them. I mean, to put it briefly, I mean,
[00:19:19] these are legitimate questions, perhaps all of them, Professor
[00:19:23] Musa, and the ministry itself, I mean,
[00:19:26] it should, I mean, receive these questions and answer
[00:19:31] I mean, I'll give you—I will return to you, Professor
[00:19:35] Musa, so as not to take up the time of the other guests. Dr. Nawwar,
[00:19:39] delay.
[00:19:43] the structure. Some also say that there was a flaw today even in the questions that
[00:19:46] were asked of the minister. The discussion delved too deeply into
[00:19:50] details that were perhaps unnecessary. Part of it diverted the topic
[00:19:54] and took it to the side in technical
[00:20:09] In the beginning, from a formal perspective, it
[00:20:13] is a session to the credit of the government and also to the credit of the People's Assembly. A new
[00:20:18] dealing between the government and the People's Assembly. And finally, someone is talking
[00:20:22] about promising and positive things, I mean, there are positive points and negative points. Let's talk about everything.
[00:20:26] What are the most important positive points so that we can focus
[00:20:29] on the negative issues? First, the principle, the principle that the
[00:20:33] Minister of Energy comes under public pressure, practically, and under pressure
[00:20:37] of the type, and at the request of a hearing, I mean, issued by
[00:20:41] the People's Assembly, and his presence was not routine. There was a request
[00:20:46] it is clear from the long presentation full of details and figures
[00:20:49] that he wanted to convince the People's Assembly of his point of view,
[00:20:52] and therefore he attaches importance to this institution, and this is a good beginning
[00:20:56] for the relationship between the executive and
[00:21:00] context that the questions were agreed upon, the minister was informed
[00:21:03] of all the questions, and the answers were prepared
[00:21:06] as a whole was agreed upon. There are
[00:21:11] at all, at all. I mean, it is not true at all. You are part of
[00:21:15] the inner workings. It is true that there is an energy committee in the People's
[00:21:18] Assembly that studied the issue and presented
[00:21:21] interventions at the beginning of the session. They were, I mean, longer
[00:21:25] than the interventions of the other representatives. Then the Minister
[00:21:29] of Energy presented a review of all his ministry's activities,
[00:21:32] not just the issue of oil derivatives, at all levels,
[00:21:36] and answered through this review some of the questions of the energy committee that were raised at the beginning. Then
[00:21:39] he opened the floor to all the representatives to speak with interventions.
[00:21:43] I mean, he certainly did not know them at all.
[00:21:47] The minister, nor even the energy committee. I mean, the representatives had complete freedom to speak in all
[00:21:51] interventions. I mean, the time was a little short because there were many questions, I mean.
[00:21:56] technical details in this session? Who
[00:21:59] is responsible for this? I mean, many of those who attended the session
[00:22:07] technical aspects." Here we start with the negative points, if you please.
[00:22:14] details and presenting the work of several ministries at the same time, while we are
[00:22:18] facing a specific issue, the request to hear about oil derivatives.
[00:22:23] details perhaps caused the problem to be lost, I mean. And also the questions,
[00:22:28] the questions were good and profound, and some questions were
[00:22:31] technical. What do you think was the most important question asked?
[00:22:35] I asked, of course, what was the content of the question? I mean, I, my
[00:22:42] the beginning who spoke, and I went straight to the core. I mean, I
[00:22:45] believe that the approach presented by the Minister of Energy, despite being
[00:22:49] very transparent and honest, and it is clear that the man has been making tremendous efforts since
[00:22:52] the liberation until now, and this is to his credit, the problem
[00:22:56] with the approach he presented is that he presented an approach based
[00:23:00] on the principle of cost and price, and this means that we have
[00:23:03] a commodity, this commodity costs such and such, we have to sell it for such and such,
[00:23:07] and therefore linking the price to the cost. This issue can be—with what
[00:23:11] should it be linked? In some cases, some luxury products,
[00:23:14] not at the level of energy, can link the price to the cost.
[00:23:18] But when you are talking about oil derivatives,
[00:23:21] the price is not linked at all to the cost. The price should be linked
[00:23:26] the country. It should be linked to people's ability
[00:23:30] to pay this price. It should be linked to
[00:23:33] the strategy you want for the economy. Do you want an economy that works
[00:23:37] with cheap energy, or do you want an economy that works with expensive
[00:23:40] energy? Therefore, when we linked the cost to the price, the minister's statement
[00:23:43] was clear that I have such and such a cost and I have such and such a price, and therefore I am losing.
[00:23:49] be spoken by the government, and here is the problem, and here
[00:23:52] is the point that the professor mentioned at the beginning, that the issue is not only about the Ministry of Energy.
[00:23:56] I mean, today, at this stage,
[00:23:59] there are obligations on the Ministry of Energy, and there is an increase in global prices,
[00:24:03] and there is a shortage in production, and therefore the oil balance is in deficit. We
[00:24:06] agree that the oil balance has been in deficit since the days of the defunct regime. It
[00:24:10] is not a new issue; it is inherited. But in the face of this deficit
[00:24:13] oil balance, you need a mechanism
[00:24:18] deficit. Is the mechanism that the Ministry of Energy resorted to, is this mechanism
[00:24:21] available now to the government or
[00:24:25] the Ministry of Energy specifically? It should be available, but the mechanism, the mechanism
[00:24:29] that it resorted to, or the solution that the Ministry of Energy resorted to, is the easiest
[00:24:32] solution, which is to raise the price. But what does raising the price
[00:24:35] of oil derivatives mean? It simply means inflation. Inflation
[00:24:39] generates inflation, and inflation enriches the powerful and weakens
[00:24:42] the poor. Inflation is a tax paid by the poor to the rich.
[00:24:45] Inflation leads us to a problem that exhausts the economy
[00:24:49] greatly and puts us in an inflation spiral. This is the big
[00:24:53] mistake when we talk about high oil derivatives. The mistake that
[00:24:56] you, you see from your perspective, what is the correct thing to do? The correct thing to do is to
[00:25:00] resort to policies, the wage
[00:25:03] and salary policy followed in Syria. I mean, when we talk about
[00:25:06] price policy, we must talk about wage policy. I cannot tell
[00:25:10] citizens that the price of the commodity in neighboring countries
[00:25:13] is fixed before I give them a salary equal to the salary in neighboring
[00:25:19] people to give them a quarter of a wage
[00:25:23] or half a wage. Therefore, in
[00:25:26] in the past period there have been
[00:25:29] salaries, despite that, wages are still
[00:25:32] low, because they were fundamentally low. I mean, during the days of the defunct
[00:25:36] regime, an employee received 20 dollars or 30 dollars. If you
[00:25:39] add, you are making 500% to become 100 dollars. But in neighboring
[00:25:43] countries, the minimum wages and salaries are different. Therefore, here,
[00:25:47] in the face of this deficit in the oil balance, it is necessary to have
[00:25:50] support policies. We must support the price of oil derivatives
[00:25:53] through the general state budget. But the problem
[00:25:57] is that the general state budget is in deficit, and the problem
[00:26:01] is that the fundamental issue is not with the Ministry of Energy, but with the Ministry of Finance,
[00:26:04] because there must be new revenues
[00:26:08] and sources of funding for the general state budget that take into
[00:26:12] account what are the most important sources of funding that should
[00:26:16] be sought? First, I, I mean, of course, there are funding sources related
[00:26:19] to the public sector and productivity, but I believe that
[00:26:23] the fair tax system that levies
[00:26:26] progressive taxes on the rich
[00:26:29] this issue in your intervention that there should be
[00:26:32] a reconsideration of the tax system and burdening the budget
[00:26:36] deficit on the rich. This is the gist of your statement. But
[00:26:40] this, this issue is not relevant to the Minister of Energy. What is this problem
[00:26:44] that today the Ministry of Energy and the Minister of Energy came forward
[00:26:48] to defend a problem that is not their fault?
[00:26:51] The issue, I mean, here, I just want you to give me a minute,
[00:26:54] because when we resort to tax revenues, the
[00:26:58] tax revenue system is the safest
[00:27:01] and most appropriate way to redistribute national income fairly
[00:27:04] and combat inflation. Therefore, these countries
[00:27:07] always resort to tax revenues, and when I talk about tax
[00:27:10] revenues, I am not talking about taxes on the poor and weak
[00:27:13] regarding wages, you believe that there should be
[00:27:17] an increase in fuel prices accompanied by an increase in wages
[00:27:21] as well? Well, you should always have fuel prices,
[00:27:24] I mean, prices should be commensurate with wages
[00:27:28] and salaries. But today, when you raise wages and salaries, you
[00:27:31] also enter into
[00:27:36] We lost
[00:27:40] Let's try to talk to Professor Adnan. connection with Professor Adnan Abd
[00:27:44] Al-Razzaq. Doctor, Doctor
[00:27:46] Mahmoud, I am with you, my brother, please, Professor
[00:27:49] Adnan.
[00:27:52] What is the best, I mean, this is what we are looking for now, what is the best
[00:27:55] way to deal with this situation? Exactly, but let me comment on a few points
[00:27:59] if you allow. Professor Nawar said that
[00:28:02] the oil balance deficit was special during Assad's time,
[00:28:07] is true, but they were promoting that. Why?
[00:28:11] According to the numbers, Syria's production in 2011 was about
[00:28:14] 380 thousand barrels, and consumption was
[00:28:17] at its highest. And consumption was about 200 thousand
[00:28:21] barrels. And the numbers say that
[00:28:24] 60% of Syria's exports
[00:28:27] the general budget was 25%, and to
[00:28:31] the gross domestic product perhaps 24%.
[00:28:34] So if the trade balance was profitable, I come here
[00:28:37] to a number that the Minister of Energy said today
[00:28:41] before the parliamentarians. He said that Syria's oil consumption
[00:28:44] is 300 thousand barrels. How was Syria's consumption in
[00:28:48] 2011 20,000 barrels, and now 30,000
[00:28:51] barrels? The population has decreased,
[00:28:54] the number of industrial establishments has decreased,
[00:28:58] and most of the establishments
[00:29:01] or stopped. So, is this number accurate? This
[00:29:04] is a question to the Ministry of Energy, and perhaps they will say
[00:29:08] that cars are the most consuming. This also refers
[00:29:11] us to the government and not to the Ministry of Energy regarding
[00:29:15] the decision to import cars, which I consider one of the major
[00:29:19] disasters that the government committed, whether by exporting
[00:29:22] foreign currency or by importing cars,
[00:29:26] turning Syria into a junkyard, and many results.
[00:29:29] I was working on the Minister of Oil, whom I did not hold
[00:29:32] responsible for the decision, to start today before the parliamentarians
[00:29:36] with an apology, saying that the decision
[00:29:40] has caused hardship and brought Syrians
[00:29:43] to the streets. Why don't we see a culture of apology
[00:29:47] and a culture of taking responsibility among Syrians?
[00:29:50] We saw the Minister today before the Parliament carrying
[00:29:53] the burden of justification and trying to justify
[00:29:55] and defend. Also, the last point in this regard, since
[00:29:59] Professor Nawar is with you and he is a parliamentarian,
[00:30:02] the people are now asking for the minister to listen.
[00:30:07] have the authority to interrogate or withdraw confidence
[00:30:11] or issue any decision that would hold him responsible. So,
[00:30:15] what does the Syrian citizen benefit from
[00:30:18] listening to the Minister of Education and then the Minister of Oil
[00:30:21] as long as the parliament has been stripped of its most
[00:30:25] important reasons and limits? A comment, Doctor, I have a comment. Do you want
[00:30:28] a comment? Let's hear Doctor Nour Fadel. First, regarding the oil
[00:30:32] deficit, what I said is very accurate. I mean, I can give you
[00:30:35] the numbers. We actually had an oil balance that was not in deficit before 2011. Even
[00:30:39] in the nineties, oil production in Syria reached 650 thousand
[00:30:42] barrels. Even until 2011, even until
[00:30:46] 2011. After 2011, I have been working
[00:30:49] in the sector and I know it perfectly, an expert, Professor
[00:30:52] expert. Adnan, by the way, he knows all these details. After
[00:30:56] 2011, oil production began to decline on December 8th.