Minister of Finance: We expect the Saudi economy to record positive growth rates during 2025

Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan, Minister of Finance, confirmed the government’s continued efforts to enhance spending on basic services for citizens and residents, and implement strategic projects with a focus on enhancing economic growth and achieving sustainable development, noting that the Saudi economy is expected to record positive growth rates during 2025 and in the medium term thanks to the continued implementation of reforms, strategies and projects under Saudi Vision 2030, to continue its contribution to diversifying the economic base, enhancing the role of the private sector, in addition to the growth of promising sectors that support increasing business opportunities and creating jobs in the labor market, and the government adopts a long-term financial planning methodology to ensure focus on the stability of strategic transformational spending that aims to achieve economic gains and sustainable growth.

Al-Jadaan added that public finances are flexible and able to face pressures if necessary in the medium and long term, and he also noted the pivotal role of the Public Investment Fund, the National Development Fund and its development funds in supporting economic stability.

Al-Jadaan pointed out that the positive expectations for the Saudi economy for the year 2025 are an extension of the positive developments in its actual performance in the past years, and that the initial estimates for the year 2025 indicate a growth in real GDP of 4.6%, and these positive expectations reflect the Kingdom’s commitment to implementing its ambitious strategies and achieving sustainable development; which increases investor confidence and enhances the position of the Saudi economy at the regional and international levels. He added: “Despite the slowdown in global economic growth, and in light of the ongoing economic challenges and geopolitical risks, the Kingdom has proven the strength of its financial position and the flexibility of its economy in the face of changes with the presence of safe levels of government reserves, maintaining public debt within acceptable rates, in addition to a flexible spending policy that helps contain crises that may arise in the future.” He explained that the government is working to continue borrowing according to the approved annual borrowing plan to finance the expected budget deficit and to repay the principal of the debt due in 2025, in addition to taking advantage of market opportunities to implement financing operations, including alternative government financing, noting that the size of the public debt portfolio is expected to increase in a deliberate manner to ensure debt sustainability; as a result of the expansion in spending in order to accelerate the pace of implementing some programs and projects that enable achieving the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. The Ministry of Finance announced today, Monday, the preliminary statement of the state’s general budget for the fiscal year 2025, which expected total expenditures to reach approximately 1,285 billion riyals, and total revenues to reach about 1,184 billion riyals, recording a deficit of 2.3% of the gross domestic product, while stressing the government’s continued adoption of strategic expansionary spending policies that support economic diversification and sustainable growth.