Under the Chairmanship of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Saudi Cabinet Endorses State General Budget for 2022 Fiscal Year

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Prime Minister, chaired Cabinet's virtual session today, during which the State General Budget for the 2022 fiscal year (1443/1444 Hijri) was endorsed.
At the outset of the meeting, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud delivered a speech, addressing Saudi citizens, in which he announced the budget.
Following is the text of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud’s speech:
"In the name of Allah most gracious, most merciful
Praise be to Allah, and Allah’s prayers and peace be upon Mohammed the Messenger of Allah,
May God's peace be upon you,
With Allah’s help and success, we announce the budget of the next fiscal year 1443/1444 H. (2022) after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has overcome the economic repercussions and the exceptional stages of the coronavirus (COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, we announce the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s economic launch as a result of the economic and financial reforms according to the Saudi Vision 2030, where we aim to place further attention to the security and health of citizens and residents, human development, the continuation of economic growth and diversity, and financial sustainability.
Expenditures in the total budget amount to 955,000,000,000 Saudi Riyals, revenues estimated at 1,045,000,000,000 Saudi Riyals and surplus reached 90,000,000,000 Saudi Riyals.
With Allah’s help, we are determined to continue implementing economic initiatives and reforms to realize the targets of Saudi Vision 2030, developing the quality of life, the best utilization of available resources, and increasing the levels of transparency and efficiency and quality of government expenditure so as to enhance growth and development rates, develop the basic facilities and services for citizens and residents, improve the educational environment and support housing plans.
The budget stresses our keenness on preserving and enhancing our gains, where I directed ministers and officials, each within his powers, to effectively commit to implementing the items of the budget as well as the programs, development and social projects it includes and following up the health conditions in light of the ongoing pandemic and its repercussions on the health and economic conditions locally and internationally, and providing all necessary allocations for the health sector to increase its efficiency and secure vaccines for all citizens and residents of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Finally, we thank Allah for the blessings of safety, security and stability He granted to our homeland as we will continue working with all our resources and capabilities, the foremost of which is the Saudi citizen, to realize our goals with Allah’s help and support.
May God's peace be upon you,”
Later on, Prince Abdulrahman bin Mohammed bin Ayyaf, Secretary General of the Council of Ministers, read the Royal Decree on the budget.
Then, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud signed the Royal Decree of the budget.
Then, Minister of Finance Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan delivered a briefing on the State General Budget, during which he spoke about the financial outcomes of the current fiscal year 1442/1443 and reviewed top features of the State General Budget for the 1443/1444 fiscal year.
He explained that the budget is a continuation of the reform process that supports the development of the general financial administration with the government’s commitment to preserving the expenditure ceilings announced earlier in a way that guarantees the financial sustainability at the medium term and a strong financial status that enables the state to face any emergency changes and absorbing any unexpected economic shocks.
The Minister of Finance noted that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s economy is witnessing progressive growth in the role of economic drivers that support the private sector, where top economic drivers include the effective development contribution of projects and programs that are implemented by the Public Investment Fund and the National Development Fund, in addition to the progress achieved in implementing the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP), National Investment Strategy, Shareek (partner) Program, Financial Sector Development Program and privatization, referring to the remarkable growth in the performance of activities till the third quarter of 2021, which reflects the continuous gradual recovery that was accompanied with high rates of immunization against the COVID-19 virus and contributed to alleviating more precautionary procedures adopted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Minister stressed that the 2022 budget comes a result of planning and joint action among all government departments, where several efforts were exerted, potential utilized and capabilities garnered in preparing this budget in a proper way through which its strategic targets can be realized with the highest levels of transparency and clarity, out of the government’s direct commitment on financial and economic conditions through issuing quarterly, biannual and annual performance reports, introductory statement, as well as the budget statement in line with the Saudi Vision 2030.