The International Monetary Fund revealed that the war in Ukraine had little impact on the Saudi economy, given that trade links are small, direct financial links are negligible, and imports of wheat and grain from that region are few. However, the indirect effect of the war in Ukraine is the high oil prices, which positively affect the support of the Saudi economy and the budget surplus and reserves.
The IMF noted that the factors that the Fund monitors are the implementation of the reform agenda in Vision 2030, which is progressing very well, for example, the full implementation of the national investment strategy, which may support the growth of the economy by an additional three percentage points.
The Fund recommended that Saudi Arabia maintain the momentum of reforms regardless of developments in oil prices, because it is important to continue fiscal discipline, to ensure the sustainability of financial stability, regardless of what happens to the oil price. The Fund also recommended the implementation of a number of structural reforms, many of which were implemented through Vision 2030, from labor market reforms to business climate to digitization and others. These are necessary to unleash the development of the private sector. The fund also made another recommendation, which is to ensure that the participation of the sovereign fund and others is always to support the private sector and maximize returns to help the Saudi economy.
Source (Al-Arabiya.net Website, Edited)
