IMF concludes its 2023 Article IV Consultation with the ‎Kingdom

International Monetary Fund concluded its consultations on the annual Article IV for the year 2023 between its Executive Board and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, provided that a press conference will be held on Wednesday, September 6, in Washington, to highlight the results of the consultations, as is the custom annually.

Article IV provides for holding bilateral discussions with member countries that usually take place on an annual basis, and a team of fund experts visits the member country to collect the necessary economic and financial information, and to hold discussions with official officials about economic developments and policies in this country, and after returning to At the headquarters of the Fund, the experts prepare a report that forms the basis for the Executive Board’s discussions in this regard

It is noteworthy that the consultations conducted by the Fund during 2022 ended with its welcome to the significant recovery in the growth rates witnessed by the Kingdom, the containment of inflation, and the increase in the solidity of the external position thanks to the rapid response of government policies to the Covid 19 pandemic, the strong reform momentum, the rise in oil prices and the increase in its production. In addition, they welcomed the government’s commitment to fiscal discipline and budget ceilings for the year 2022, despite the rise in oil prices.

The Fund also appreciated the government’s efforts aimed at establishing a public finance base based on a long-term foundation, and encouraged expanding public sector coverage to help strengthen the government’s commitment to financial sustainability, along with the continued solidity of the financial sector and the strong supervisory role of the Central Bank, in addition to the progress made. Towards the implementation of Basel 3 standards in accordance with the agreed international time frame

During last year’s consultations, the Council congratulated the Kingdom’s government for the great progress it has made in implementing the ambitious structural reform agenda, and the impressive pace of reforms in the labor market, especially the doubling of women’s participation rates in the workforce. The Council welcomed what came in the Saudi Green Initiative of He made ambitious governmental commitments to confront climate change and expressed his aspiration to the steps identified by the initiative in order to achieve its goals.