Saudi Gazette report

Riyadh — The Council of Ministers will have a special session on Tuesday to approve the State’s general budget for 2018, according to reports in a section of the Arabic press.

The Cabinet will review the performance of the national economy and announce the actual fiscal results of the 2017 budget as well as 2018 budget estimates.

Finance Minister Muhammad Al-Jadaan, Economy Minister Muhammad Al-Tuwaijri and Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) Governor Ahmed Al-Kholifey will speak at a budget news conference.

Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-Falih and a number senior officials are scheduled to speak on the salient features of the budget on Wednesday.

The new budget comes at a time when the Kingdom is undergoing major reforms as part of its Vision 2030 initiative designed to diversify its oil-dependent economy.

The Kingdom has announced an ambitious plan to boost tourism, with Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, announcing in August a plan to covert 50 islands and a number of sites on its Red Sea coast into luxury resorts, a total of 34,000 square-kilometers.

Saudi officials believe the project — which attracted Virgin Airlines founder Richard Branson as its first international investor — will generate approximately 35,000 jobs.

Another key part of the country’s diversification efforts is NEOM, a $500 billion mega-city and independent economic zone planned for the Kingdom’s northwestern coastline, the main part of which is scheduled to open in 2025.

Other notable reforms allowing women to drive and enter stadiums in 2018, as well as efforts to boost the Kingdom’s entertainment offerings.

Last month, Minister of Finance Muhammad Abdullah Al-Jadaan announced the third quarter report for the performance of the state general budget for the Kingdom for the fiscal year 2017 (1438/1439H).

The figures in the report indicate noticeable progress in the performance of the state budget. It included more improvement in revenues, rise in public spending efficiency, decreasing deficit, while maintaining the standard of basic services provided to the citizens, as one of the priorities of government spending.

The report results show a rise in revenues compared to the results of the third quarter in 2016, aside from an 80 percent rise in nonoil revenues during the same period.