The Finance and Economic Affairs Committee continued its meeting this morning (Wednesday), chaired by the honorable Mr. Khalid Hussain Maskati, and attended by the representatives of the Ministry of Finance to discuss the draft law on public debt .

(Prepared in light of the proposed bill, presented by the Council of Representatives), where members of the Committee put forward a number of questions about some of the items contained in the draft law, and the economic impacts that may result from its application on the ground.

The Committee reviewed the most important observations made by the Government on the draft law, where committee members affirmed that the trend to reduce public debt levels within appropriate levels is considered a good direction, and kingdom's economic policy will gain the credibility to the international organizations and investors.

In addition to strengthening the principle of transparency, financial disclosure and the promotion of macroeconomic stability. The Committee decided to continue discussing the draft law during the next meetings, and the emphasis on taking into account the national interest to adopt a final opinion on the project.

In the same context, the Committee discussed the unified final accounts of the state for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008, and the report of the implementation performance of the state budget for fiscal year 2008, where a debate took place on the items contained in the final account and some details concerning the implementation of the budget, which the Committee requested clarification from the Ministry of Finance on a number of items contained in the final account.