The Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Aïmene Benabderrahmane, reacted on Thursday to the World Bank’s latest report on monitoring the economic situation in Algeria.
During a press conference at the Government Palace, the Prime Minister estimated that “some media have exaggerated in the analysis of the content of the World Bank report, presenting it as an only negative document”.
“Even if we do not agree on certain data, this report is full of positive indicators”, declared Mr. Benabderrahmane, who called for a “thorough reading of the report”, to “avoid any sensitivity between these institutions and Algeria”.
According to the Prime Minister, the growth rate of the national economy was 4.1% at the end of 2021, indicating a “constant improvement” in the economic situation in Algeria. He added that “Algeria’s economic situation is an exception in the region, or even compared to certain large countries”, stressing that Algeria “has been able to mobilize national production capacities, which has enabled it to reduce its imports and to avoid resorting to external debt or the printing press”. “We will not go to external debt or even printing money,” he said.
$ 33.8 billion in imports at the end of the first week of December
Regarding imports, the Prime Minister said that the value of imports stood at $ 33.8 billion at the end of the first week of December 2021. “We have succeeded in reducing the import bill which has reached at the end of the first week of the current month of December 33.8 billion USD ”, declared Mr. Benabderrahmane, recalling that“ in the past, this bill reached more than 64 billion USD, which is proof of corruption and waste which prevailed and which had repercussions on the trade balance and foreign exchange reserves, ”he added.
“The financial and economic situation is improving in a more than positive way”, and this, thanks to the measures taken by the State, assured the Prime Minister, who quotes the surplus achieved in the trade balance of the around 1.4 billion USD as of November 30, 2021.
Regarding foreign exchange reserves, Mr. Benabderrahmane said that despite the challenges of 2020, we were able to replenish this reserve. “We are now at a very satisfactory level in view of the fragile global economic situation, particularly in 2020, a year marked by a recession in the world economy which has impacted Algeria”.
