RIYADH – Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier, minister of defense and president of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA), has affirmed that the economic transformation stage being adopted by the Kingdom's government is continuing at a steady pace, in line with the Kingdom's Vision 2030. The budget has come to strengthen the commitment to carry out the reforms, plans and programs aimed at achieving the contents of the strategy and lay down specific goals and many themes to achieve a vibrant society, prosperous economy and an ambitious nation. The government has worked on enabling the private sector to carry out its major role in economy with positive indices and several business sectors registering excellent positive growth, crown prince said in a statement carried by Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The Crown Prince added: "We aim to create an attractive investment environment that will contribute to guiding the national economy toward diversification, growth and prosperity." Crown Prince Muhammad described the Aramco IPO as "a huge supportive step" to boost the role and participation of the private sector in the economy. "Opportunities available for the private sector will increase during the coming period such that its role in the growth and diversification of the economy is enhanced while speeding up the rate of employment." He said that the financial and economic results and indices confirm that "we are revising and updating the policies, procedures and programs carried out continuously so as to verify their efficiency and change their course whenever there is need for that." "The main goal is to achieve the Vision, taking into consideration the global financial and economic circumstances in the interest of the nation and citizen," he stressed. He further said: "The 2020 budget comes amid a global economic climate fraught with challenges, risks and protective policies. This necessitates flexibility in public financial management and enhancing the economic capability to face these challenges." The crown prince stressed that the 2020 budget would continue to support the programs to achieve the Kingdom's Vision by contributing to financing the mega projects, developing the micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and supporting entrepreneurs, who are considered to be among the most important motivators of economic growth. The crown prince said the government will keep revising some of the programs and schedules for carrying them out, to make sure that they achieve the targeted benefits from them. "Work will go on in developing and modernizing the infrastructure and government services, and raising spending efficiency achieve the best use of the available state resources and the highest possible socio-economic returns," he said.
