Damascus, SANA – The People’s Assembly started on Sunday its first session of the fourth ordinary round of the second legislative term headed by Speaker Hadiyeh Abbas and attended by Prime Minister Imad Khamis and a number of ministers.

In a speech at the beginning of the session, Abbas said that Syria’s battle against terrorism will continue, especially in light of the involvement of state sponsors of terrorism directly in defending and protecting terrorists.

She pointed out that the past two months witnessed extensive government tours to inspect the situation of services and economic conditions in some provinces, expressing hope that these tours will come out with a “work guide” through which the government can develop proactive plans to prevent the bottlenecks of marketing farmers’ products on one hand and also prevent suffering shortage of the requirements of industrial and agricultural production.

Abbas noted that the MPs are now in the process of discussing the Assembly’s statute “which we have completed in order to develop its work and activate its role.”

For his part, Prime Minister Imad Khamis reviewed the government’s performance and the economic, social, and services situation, saying that the economic effects of the war imposed on Syria are strongly impacting the living conditions of citizens, adding that the crimes committed by terrorists have had a direct impact on citizens’ livelihood.

Khamis said that the government is carrying out its duties despite the massive challenges posed by the war on Syria, affirming that the ministers will review their ministries’ achievements and plans in upcoming Assembly sessions.

He went on to underline the various steps taken by the government which include providing over 1,000 job opportunities for university graduates.

Addressing the various sectors individually, Khamis said that the government is working to improve the transport sector, allocating SYP 16 billion for this purpose, and as for the energy sector, he said that there are a number of new projects such as an alternative power line for Aleppo along with efforts to rehabilitate the infrastructure of the gas sector.

Regarding water resources, the Premier said that efforts are underway to carry out maintenance for water sources in Aleppo and Damascus, in addition to allocating SYP 17 billion for sanitations projects.

As for industry and agriculture, Khamis said the government is working to re-operate factories and facilities that became inoperative or were partially or wholly destroyed, in addition to working towards improving public-private partnership and invest in areas to which the Syrian Army restored security and stability.

He also said that the government is continuously issuing new legislations and taking steps to boost production and national economy, such as allowing industrialists to import petroleum products and providing exemptions from fines, adding that the government is also working on the bad debts issue and working on the customs law.

The agenda of the session includes MPs’ questions on the ministerial work at different levels and a preview by Premier Khamis on the economic, social and service situation.

The Parliament concluded works of the third ordinary round of the second legislative term by the end of last March.

M. al-Frieh/H. Said / Hazem Sabbagh