Council of Economic and Development Affairs Assesses Performance over the Past Year

Riyadh- Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Second Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs chaired a meeting of the Council at Al-Yamamah Palace on Monday evening.

The meeting was devoted to review actions and decisions taken by the Council during its sessions held in its first year, amounting to 50 sessions, and to evaluate them in the light of specialization and missions assigned to it.

The Council was briefed by the Office of Projects Management on what has been implemented of these decisions, recommendations and parties delayed in the implementation of the tasks entrusted to them, and it took the necessary recommendations about them.

The meetings of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs have illustrated a lot of the features of Saudi economy in present and future. These meetings coincide with a large economic mobility witnessed in Saudi Arabia.

Those following economic decisions, witnessed by Saudi Arabia over the past year, can realize that the country is heading towards a new historical stage as it is expected to reduce its dependence on oil up to 70 percent over the next five years, and the non-oil revenues are expected to reach 100 billion dollars.

The Saudi Arabian government budget, in its 2015 Fiscal year, proved that the country has seriously started raising non-oil revenues as the nonoil revenue increased from SR126.8 billion in 2014 by SR36.7 billion to SR163.5 billion; an increase of 29 percent compared to 2014.

These positive shifts at the level of non-oil revenues in 2015 let Moody’s Global Agency for Credit Rating praise Saudi Arabia. When commenting on the Saudi budget, the agency attributed the reduction in the deficit in 2015 to the rationalization in spending.