Saudi Arabia’s economy a bright spot amid global crises
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Alaina
- . October 4, 2022
- . Update: November 11, 2022 12:35 am
The performance of the Saudi economy, according to IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, is a bright spot amid the world’s challenges. She stated that “we are going through terrible times” and noted how the state of the world economy has deteriorated.
Georgieva made the comments on Monday during the GCC’s Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee’s 117th meeting in this location. Mohammed Al-Jadaan, the Saudi Arabian minister of finance, presided over the meeting. In connection with the establishment of the IMF’s regional office in the Kingdom, the Ministry of Finance and the IMF signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the margins of the conference.
The head of the IMF emphasised how eager she was to talk about the possibility of economic collaboration with Saudi Arabia. The IMF projects that Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product (GDP) will increase at a rate of 7.6 percent this year, making it one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. Georgieva predicted that the GCC nations will have a growth rate of 6.5 percent this year and that the Gulf region’s economic expansion would maintain its momentum.
The IMF director said in a statement at the conclusion of her two-day trip to Riyadh that the cooperation between the IMF and Saudi Arabia and other GCC governments, including food insecurity, has been further deepened as a result of her visit.
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“I commended the authorities on Saudi Arabia’s robust economic performance and excellent progress in carrying out their Vision 2030 reform agenda, particularly the doubling of the share of women in the labour force in just four years.”
She noted that this was an area of strong agreement echoed in her meetings with Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Governor of the Saudi Central Bank Fahad Al-Mubarak, Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Al-Ibrahim, and top officials of the Public Investment Fund. “Maintaining the reform momentum to further diversify the economy will be pivotal for longer-term
“I also had enlightening conversations with remarkable Saudi women who have been instrumental in decreasing inequality and fostering the country’s economic development. She stated that she had fruitful discussions with the Saudi side about the existential threat of climate change and the critical importance of an orderly energy market. In all our discussions, I welcomed the critical role Saudi Arabia plays on the international stage, and in particular its role in supporting countries in the region and vulnerable countries more broadly that have been impacted by multiple shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic and now Russia’s war in Ukraine,” she said.
Georgieva expressed her gratitude to Saudi Arabia for including her at the annual gathering of GCC finance ministers and governors of central banks. “Today’s meeting’s discussions were incredibly productive. We also agreed that it was important to keep talking about the region’s ongoing economic changes and to improve our coordination of efforts to aid neighbouring nations and address global challenges.
