Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: The world now is facing multiple hardships represented by funding, high interest rates, inflation and debt burdens on some countries, said Saudi Minister of Finance, Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia in the past prepared plans and strategies to face difficult days like we are living now and mobilized its capacity and international organizations, such as G20 and other development organizations, which enabled the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to be in a better situation than other countries, he added.
Al-Jadaan was speaking at a panel discussion dubbed “The Pulse on Global Macrofinance,” held as part of the second day of the Future Investment Initiative being held at the King Abdul Aziz Conference Center in Riyadh.
He said that Saudi Arabia has prepared for years for such conditions that the world is witnessing, which enabled it to be in a better status than many other countries.
Al-Jadaan reiterated the importance of international cooperation among countries, international organizations and G20 to help countries face current circumstances and provide necessary support.
Al-Jadaan noted that the world is witnessing difficult conditions and that GCC and Arab countries, mainly the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, are in a better situation to face these circumstances over the coming six years, yet there are other countries that might need cooperation and support to overcome the ramifications of the current economic circumstances.
He also pointed out that the world now is paying the cost of reducing risks and is paying high costs, noting that Saudi Arabia has already warned against the dangerous conditions surrounding the global economy in light of the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, decline in investment rates in several fields, and the importance of international cooperation to face these challenges.
The minister called on avoiding looking at the contemporary world from one side, where it is necessary to look at the future with an optimistic outlook through planning and decision making and preparing for hard times so that to ensure the world is able to adapt with difficult circumstances, like those we are enduring now, via international solidarity and cooperation.
Al-Jadaan said that Saudi Arabia is mobilizing the capabilities of multilateral development institutions to ensure support for regional countries, where it is working with the Indonesian presidency of the G20 to provide support for the whole world and for low-income companies.
As for energy, food and investment in climate change initiatives, he also referred to the Kingdom’s Saudi Green and Middle East Green initiatives that need international efforts for the fact that these initiatives represent global issues, urging the region to do a lot of reforms through plans.
On his part, Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance and National Economy, Kingdom of Bahrain, said that the world is witnessing several challenges, mainly inflation and unstable supply chains due to the COVID-19 pandemic and high energy and food prices resulting from geopolitical turmoil and supply chains that play a main role in the productive industrial fields.
He considered the economy of GCC countries, compared to the global economy, as positive due to the clear strategic plans that are being implemented, such as the Saudi Vision 2030 and other similar visions of other GCC countries, noting that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Bahrain have focused on non-oil growth that will enhance economic growth.
Also speaking during the session, Managing Partner at Liberty Strategic Capital Steven Mnuchin praised GCC countries’ steps in economic reform that enabled these countries to reach good development rates and made it easier to deal with the current economic conditions as a result of early preparation.