Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Tuesday approved urgent measures against the collapse of oil prices in international markets.
The measures include arranging an additional budget, establishing Islamic banks and rejecting any move toward external borrowing, according to a statement issued by the Algerian presidency.
Earlier in the day, Tebboune chaired a working meeting with the cabinet members headed by Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerrad and the central banker Ayman Benabderrahmane, the statement said.
The meeting was devoted to “assessing the economic situation” in Algeria after the oil price collapse in international markets “due to the global economic slowdown as a result of the spread of the coronavirus,” it noted.
Tebboune called on the ministers to take all necessary measures “to limit the effects … on the national economy.”
The Algerian president instructed the minister of finance to submit as soon as possible the first complementary financial bill (additional budget) “to include measures that would address the financial effects resulting from the current crisis.”
The minister was also tasked with “accelerating the path of establishing private and public Islamic banks.”
In addition, Tebboune instructed the minister of agriculture to increase national production with the aim of reducing the import bill of consumer products and animal feed, especially corn and red meat, by at least 50 percent.
The minister of industry was asked to take necessary measures to achieve a national production, revive the mechanical industry and remove all red tape hindering the development of small and medium enterprises.
As an economy fully dependent on oil revenues, Algeria has been struggling since the sharp drop in oil prices in 2014.
