The 20th session of Turkmenistan's parliament of third convocation was held in Ashgabat on June 25. The draft law "On amendments to the state budget for 2008" was top on the parliament's agenda, the Turkmenistan.ru correspondent reports from Ashgabat.

The minister of finance of Turkmenistan, Annamuhammet Gochiyev, provided justifications for making amendments to the main financial document "with the aim of supporting the reform programmes and large-scale projects implemented in Turkmenistan, first of all in the social sphere covering education, science and healthcare.

Having approved the draft law, the parliament passed the amended state budget of Turkmenistan for 2008 totaling 211,079,100 trillion manat by revenues and expenditures, including the first level budget in the amount of 43,011,600 trillion manat by revenues and expenditures.

It was noted during discussions that expenditures related to reform processes in Turkmenistan can be fully covered at the expense of basic branches of the national economy, first of all oil and gas and energy-chemical sectors.

The parliament also discussed and passed some other laws, including the law "On licensing of some types of individual entrepreneurship", the law "On the legal protection of the heritage of the president of Turkmenistan, chairman of the People's Council of Turkmenistan and of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan" as well as the law "On amendments to some legal acts of Turkmenistan".