RIYADH: Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih on Wednesday quipped his phone had not stopped ringing with calls from investors as the Kingdom ramps up spending to record levels.
He was speaking at a press conference in Riyadh that was also attended by Public Investment Fund (PIF) Managing Director Yasir Al-Rumayyan, and Commerce and Investment Minister Dr. Majid Al-Qassabi.
The trio fielded questions from reporters on Saudi Arabia’s record budget announced on Tuesday.
They stressed that supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) was a main theme of this year’s budget with SR72 billion ($19.2 billion) allocated to the private sector — including SR12 billion for SMEs.
Saudi Arabia plans the highest level of government spending in its history next year, when expenditure will hit more than SR1.1 trillion.
Al-Rumayyan said that small businesses were “the major movers” of the country, and outlined plans to help as many as 400 companies based in the Kingdom to go global.
When asked about the impact of the graft crackdown on the economy, Al-Qassabi said corruption had been rampant for decades and it was necessary to eradicate it.
“The rule of law will follow and I think this will attract many investors,” he said. “We have seen the results, and because of that we now have real competition and all Saudis have a fair chance.”
The energy minister agreed that the move had not impacted foreign investors because “they have not been partners in corruption.”
Foreign investors now are running toward investing in Saudi Arabia, Al-Falih told reporters. “My phone hasn’t stopped ringing because of it. Last week we signed many agreements.”
Saudi energy minister says phone has ‘not stopped ringing’
Saudi energy minister says phone has ‘not stopped ringing’
Saudi Arabia welcomes ceasefire agreement between Syrian Democratic Forces and Syria state
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has welcomed an agreement between the Syrian state and Syrian Democratic Forces.
In a foreign ministry statement early on Monday, the Kingdom said it had welcomed an deal between Damascus and Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces that was announced by the Syrian government on Sunday.
The agreement entails merging all SDF forces into the defense and interior ministries and means that Kurdish forces will redeploy to east of the Euphrates river.
The 14-point deal would also see the immediate administrative and military handover of Deir Ezzor and Raqqa governorates.
The Syrian state would regain control of all border crossings, oil fields, and gas fields in the region, with protection secured by regular forces to ensure the return of resources to the Syrian government, while considering the special case of Kurdish areas, the state news agency SANA reported.
The ceasefire comes after intense fighting between the SDF and government troops in Aleppo. But SDF troops have now pulled back from there and the Syrian army now controls most areas east of Aleppo.
The Saudi foreign ministry statement also thanked the US for the agreement. Washington is believed to have supported brokering the ceasefire between allies SDF and the Syrian government, who they have also backed diplomatically since the fall of long-time dictator Bashar Assad.
The Syrian state announced on Friday a raft of new directives to recognize Syrian Kurds, including making their language official and bolstering other rights for the minority group.
