Saudi newspapers highlighted today a number of issues at the local and international arenas. AlRiyadh newspaper said in its editorial entitled ''Vision and the strength of the economy'' that the Kingdom's Vision 2030 targets multiple ambitious goals, but perhaps one of its most important goals is to build a strong economy, on a sustainable basis, through effective plans to diversify sources of income, stop dependence on oil as a major source of national income, expand fiscal policy, and open up to wide options to increase non-oil resources. The paper noted that according to all global economic indicators and internationally approved performance measures, a report by the American newspaper "Bloomberg" came to read these remarkable positive transformations, as it reviewed the growth of the Kingdom's economy during the first quarter of this year at the fastest pace in more than a decade 9.6% on an annual basis, and non-oil GDP expanded by 3.7%. The paper indicated that Bloomberg said that the Saudi economy is expected to expand by 7.6% and it will reach $1 trillion for the first time, according to International Monetary Fund data, and this year the kingdom will record its first budget surplus since 2013. It pointed out that these promising numbers and others clearly reveal the progress of the vision according to its drawn line, and even its early results by achieving many of its goals, or reaching certain achievement rates before their expected dates, which shows the extent of determination with which the vision programs and ambitious plans are being implemented, and the effectiveness of performance monitoring methods and measuring indicators that are now keeping pace with the implementation of the vision's plans, noting that it also comes as a result of the process of structural reforms and the development of the legal and legislative environment that facilitated economic transformation, and succeeded in enhancing the attractiveness of the economic environment in the Kingdom to attract capital at home and abroad. The paper concluded that the succession of international reports on the strength of the Saudi economy proves that the Kingdom is proceeding with confidence and in accordance with the objectives of Vision 2030 to enhance its position in the global economy and increase its competitive value to occupy its rightful place among the influential global powers.
