Riyadh, July 16, 2021,– Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal bin Fadhel Al-Ibrahim, led the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s delegation to the closing session of the nine-day high-level political forum.
The meeting, which is in charge of the sustainable development objectives and following up and accelerating the progress achieved in its plans for 2030 held under the theme ‘ sustainable and flexible recovery from coronavirus COVID-19.
In this regard, the Kingdom’s delegation presented the country’s local efforts to combat the pandemic. However, in the economic aspect, the delegation cast light on Saudi Araba’s initiatives to alleviate the financial and economic impacts of the disease. In contrast, the delegation highlighted the Kingdom’s Saudi green and the Middle East green initiatives on the environmental side.
Addressing the meeting, Al-Ibrahim said Saudi Arabia’s economy was challenged during the pandemic with falling oil prices and widening of fiscal deficit in 2020 to 11.3 % out of the GDP. However, the Kingdom’s authorities decisions and initiatives, as well as support measures for the private sector enterprises and protection of jobs in public and private sectors, have considerably contributed to preserving the stability of the economy of the Kingdom, the Minister said, citing the IMF’s report of Article 4 consultations for 2021.
