The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has welcomed reforms made by Saudi Arabia to implement the 2030 Vision to diversify the national economy and attract foreign investment.

The IMF’s Mission Chief for Saudi Arabia Tim Callen who led the annual discussions with Saudi Arabia earlier this month said in an announcement yesterday that the pace of reforms in Saudi Arabia has seen “a significant acceleration” since the consultations held in 2015. He added that Vision 2030 is considered “a bold and far-reaching transformation in Saudi Arabia’s economy to diversify growth, reduce dependence on oil, increase the role of the private sector and create more job opportunities for citizens”.

Callen stressed that despite the negative impact of the decline in oil prices on the Saudi gross domestic product (GDP), Saudi’s precautionary measures “remain outstanding , and provide a great deal of comfort”. The mission chief welcomed the measures taken by the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) to attract foreign investment. He continued by saying that “the increasing role of the private sector in the economy as envisaged in Vision 2030, the privatisation and partnerships between the public and private sectors and reforms to strengthen the business environment to attract foreign investment and promote the development of the capital markets will be important” for the Saudi economy.