The General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic approved a proposal submitted by Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Yisr Barnieh that includes a “package of measures to control and rationalize public spending.”
According to a post by Barnieh today, Monday, September 28, on his Facebook page, the package, issued by the Syrian Finance Ministry in a circular on spending rationalization, is intended to:
- Strengthen fiscal discipline.
- Maintain the general budget balance.
- Improve the efficiency of available resources.
According to the minister’s post, the plan does not set a ceiling or timetable for ending the austerity plan or the package of measures aimed at controlling spending. The measures include suspending government investment projects that do not have a direct impact.
At the beginning of September, the Syrian Finance Ministry published its “Financial Performance Report on the State General Budget for the First Half of 2026,” which recorded a sharp fiscal deficit of about $1 billion during that period.
What Does Syria’s Spending Control Plan Include?
According to the Syrian finance minister, the “package of measures to control and rationalize public spending” includes four points:
- Limiting unnecessary expenditures: Reducing expenses that are not urgently needed and redirecting resources toward more important areas.
- Reordering and postponing government investment projects: Reviewing all investment projects, delaying nonurgent projects that do not affect the economy or services, and focusing only on priority projects with a direct impact.
- Exempting essential sectors and public services from cuts: Continuing full funding for salaries and wages, health, education, water, energy, security and safety, and essential operational maintenance.
- Giving the Finance Ministry a mechanism for oversight and measuring savings: Monitoring implementation of the circular across all ministries and public bodies and measuring the amount of financial savings achieved.
Barnieh justified the measures as a response to current geopolitical and regional developments and the resulting pressures on energy and transportation costs and the provision of basic needs, as well as their impact on public finances.
Syrian Finance Ministry Offers Reassurances
The finance minister stressed that rationalizing spending does not mean making arbitrary cuts or affecting essential services for citizens, but rather means that the state should spend better and more efficiently.
He said only investment projects that can be postponed will be delayed, without substantially affecting services or economic activity.
According to the minister, the measures are intended solely to strengthen the general budget’s ability to respond to current developments and pressures.
“Our goal is not only for the state to spend less, but to spend better,” he added.
He also expressed the ministry’s hope for cooperation with all ministries, agencies, and public bodies in implementing the provisions of the spending rationalization circular.
Syrian Finance Ministry Moves Toward International Standards
Several days earlier, during a meeting with a delegation from the International Monetary Fund, the Syrian finance minister affirmed the ministry’s commitment to applying the international Government Finance Statistics Manual standard, known as GFSM, when publishing the annual report tracking implementation of the 2026 budget.
According to information published by the Syrian Finance Ministry through its official channels, Barnieh presented the IMF delegation with the ministry’s work to align and match budget operations, including expenditures, revenues, and financing, with the manual’s requirements and link them to the chart of accounts. He also presented a draft roadmap for bringing Syrian government finance statistics into compliance with the manual’s requirements.
During its visit to Syria, the IMF delegation assessed “source data for the central government in the budget, reviewed the practical implementation mechanism, and discussed several proposals and recommendations for completing the work.”
The delegation praised improved conditions for compiling Syrian government finance statistics during 2026.
Sharp Deficit in the 2026 Budget
According to the comprehensive report based on official figures issued by Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Yisr Barnieh and published on his LinkedIn account, the deficit in the 2026 general budget resulted directly from the wide gap between realized revenues of $2.7 billion and rapidly rising public spending, which reached $3.7 billion during the first six months of the year.
A detailed analysis of actual spending shows a clear tilt toward current and operational expenditures at the expense of development investment spending. Salaries, wages, and compensation accounted for the largest share, at $1.34 billion, equivalent to 36.1% of total payments.
Meanwhile, according to the Syrian Finance Ministry report, administrative and operational expenditures by government institutions were also among the largest spending categories, reaching $1.03 billion and accounting for 27.6% of the overall budget.
Revenues More Than Double From Last Year
On the development side, investment spending was close to administrative expenditures, reaching $1.02 billion and accounting for 27.5% of total spending.
In terms of revenues, the treasury more than doubled its returns, increasing them by 111% compared with the same period last year. Customs duties led the gains, generating $1.08 billion, or 40% of revenues, followed by returns on state investments at $763 million.
The transfer of oil and gas revenues to Finance Ministry accounts beginning in May, totaling $601 million, also marked a significant shift that supported current revenues, with the full impact expected to become apparent during the second half of the year.