The Saudi Ministry of Economy has announced that the Kingdom will use this year’s “windfall” oil revenues to accelerate economic diversification away from fossil fuels, according to Bloomberg newspaper.
And Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Al-Ibrahim said in an interview on the sidelines of the Davos conference in Switzerland that “the Kingdom government will focus on initiatives to develop the non-oil economy by 2023, but not increase costs. financially, ”noting that“ Saudi Arabia is in talks with companies around the world to transfer some of their operations in the country to them. ”
Al-Ibrahim was quoted as saying: “The (windfall) gains from the additional revenues we will get from higher oil prices will be invested mainly in stability… even the replenishment of reserves, repayment of debt or investing in one-off innovation projects through our endowment funds. It really helps us accelerate our diversification plans. ”
According to Bloomberg, Saudi Arabia will be the fastest growing G-20 economy this year after India, as oil has risen nearly 50% since the end of 2021 to $ 110 per barrel, as the Monetary Fund expects International to increase gross domestic product. . exceeded a billion dollars for the first time.
Saudi Arabia posted a $ 15.3 billion budget surplus in the first quarter of the year as officials continued to curb spending despite rising export revenues from crude and refined fuel. The kingdom expects a full -year surplus of $ 24 billion, according to the newspaper.
However, the government increased spending on the kingdom through its $ 600 billion wealth fund separate from the budget, with the Public Investment Fund pouring billions of dollars into everything from resorts to cars, electricity. , in an effort to help the economy transition. while the government expects the sector to grow. The private sector will contribute 65% of economic output by the end of the decade, from 51% today, under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan, known as Vision 2030, according to Bloomberg.
Source: Bloomberg
Source: Arabic RT
