He said Saudi Finance Minister, Muhammad Abdullah Al-JadaanThe investment initiative presents two important messages, the first is that by attending the forum, it becomes clear that the world has realized the reality of the great changes and developments in the Kingdom, which were not expected to happen so quickly, and many interviews with investors and officials from all countries of the world show that they do not believe what is happening, and that the promises It is achieved by implementing a social, economic and financial transformation, which “Numbers Don’t Lie” proves.
He added in an interview with Al-Arabiya, today, Thursday, on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative, held in Riyadh, that the other message is the large presence of the local investment community, which has great enthusiasm for investment, as the investment rate grew by 19% until the end of last September compared to the previous period. Similar to last year, the high rate of consumption and government spending supports the empowerment of the private sector, and thus the Kingdom presents its message abroad, that it is a country that plans, works hard and achieves results.
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On the relationship with the United States, the Saudi Finance Minister said that the Saudi Foreign Minister, the Saudi ambassador to the United States and the Minister of Energy stressed that the relationship with the United States is not one or two years or one or two deals, but rather a strategic relationship that extends over many decades, and what is happening The difference in viewpoints is well known between countries.
Al-Jadaan added that the Kingdom continues its relationship with the United States, “and we should not be blamed for protecting the interests of Saudi Arabia and its people, and we understand the opinion of other parties, including the United States.”
On the situation of the global economy, Minister Muhammad Abdullah Al-Jadaan said that the inflation rate in some countries reached 8 and 9%, and the prices of basic materials such as food and fuel rose to very high levels in various countries of the world, and therefore the Kingdom worked with the International Monetary Fund and the Group of Twenty to help countries It held a conference with Indonesia’s presidency of the Group of Twenty in Bali, and another conference in Washington between the ministers of finance and agriculture, with a Saudi initiative and Indonesia’s support, while emphasizing the need for international cooperation, because the current whirlwind will not solve without international cooperation in light of the need to help poor countries as a result of the high level of debt and prices A benefit that will be very difficult for many countries in the region.
Al-Jadaan added that the Gulf countries are witnessing a very large economic boom supported by proactive plans and not reactions, which began to be implemented from 3 to 4 years and are now reaping its fruits, and their inflation is at the minimum levels, while the Kingdom’s economy is classified as the highest growing among the G20 countries.
The Saudi Finance Minister expected that the Saudi economy will grow by 8% in 2022, and that the non-oil GDP will grow by more than 5% in 2023.
Al-Jadaan explained that the Kingdom has worked since the beginning of the current crisis with regional funds to provide support to countries in the region to confront the food crisis, with a value of 10 billion dollars, and worked with the International Monetary Fund to create a window for countries affected by the food crisis, and Saudi Arabia provided great support in this window.
He said that Saudi Arabia worked with the IMF to provide support to countries in need, and provided $12.7 billion to countries in the region, including Egypt, Pakistan, Tunisia and others, since the same period last year until now.
Regarding the performance of bonds internationally and their impact on Saudi investments in them, Al-Jadaan said that international bonds portfolios are long-term and do not look at short-term fluctuations, because they are investments for the next 20 and 30 years.
Read more: Economy Minister: We expect the Saudi economy to grow by 8% in 2022
The Saudi Minister of Finance stressed the existence of a very strong Saudi banking sector and central bank that is able to support monetary policies, and is supported by financial policies through mutual coordination between the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank, and there is no liquidity challenge, and the Finance and Central Bank have the necessary tools to support the economy and local banks.
Al-Jadaan explained that government spending enters the central bank through accounts in banks in coordination with the central bank, and the ministry is ready to provide any policies to support liquidity in the economy and the central bank is able to efficiently manage liquidity in banks.
Regarding the expected surpluses during the current year of 90 billion riyals, the Saudi Minister of Finance said that the distribution of the financial surplus will be determined in the first quarter of next year, with the end of the current fiscal year, as the committee is studying the distribution of surpluses, whether to increase government reserves with the Central Bank or to go to a fund National Development and part into the Public Investment Fund.
On the increase in spending over the budget announced, the Minister of Finance said that the budget was set before the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and inflation rates did not reach their current levels, and thus import prices rose. The Kingdom announced support for citizens through the Citizen Account Program and social security support, increasing the strategic food stock and accelerating some projects .
He explained that the capital expenditure in the budget increased by 30% from what was announced in the budget to implement water projects and logistics projects to compensate for the reduction in them during the pandemic period.
Al-Jadaan stressed that reforms are fixed and do not change, and fiscal policies depend on the economic situation, including taxes.
