Riyadh- The Saudi Ministry of Finance welcomed IMF report on the situation of the national economy.

Commenting on the results, the Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said: “Although there is a lot of optimism, we are aware that there are also challenges that require intensive action to confront them, under the wise leadership committed to the comprehensive reform process.”

He added, “we welcome the Fund’s commendation of the progress achieved so far in implementing the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which it described as a bold reform program.”

Jadaan continued, “I particularly welcome IMF indication to improvements in the Kingdom’s fiscal framework, commitment to transparency and intensified action to remove obstacles facing the private sector growth.”

IMF expects non-oil growth in the Kingdom to reach 1.7 percent this year, compared to 0.2 percent last year. Growth rates will improve over the medium term, with the implementation of structural reforms.

The finance minister expressed gratitude to various governmental bodies that have exerted tremendous efforts as well as representatives of the IMF – he also stated that the kingdom is looking forward to continuous cooperation with them.