Assaf (left) addresses the 7th Saudi Euromoney Conference in Riyadh Tuesday as Minister of Economy and Planning Mohammed Al-Jasser (sitting, left), Minister of Commerce and Industry Tawfiq Al-Rabiah (center) and Deputy Minister of Labor Mufarrej Al-Haqbani look on. — SPASaudi Gazette report RIYADH – The Kingdom will not cut spending even if oil prices fall, Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf said here Tuesday during the inauguration of the 7th Saudi Euromoney Conference. He said Saudi Arabia's economic growth is expected to remain strong following a 6.8 percent expansion in 2011. “We expect continuation of high economic growth ... and stronger non-oil GDP growth,” Al-Assaf told the conference attended by 1,500 delegates, 400 of them from outside the Kingdom. The Kingdom's revenues have risen in the first five months of the current fiscal year at a rate that has surpassed all expectations, he said. The minister said that government finances were in a comfortable fiscal position and that inflation would dip slightly. Al-Assaf stressed that the government's support for the national economy, will ensure the continuation of sustainable growth, especially in light of the high volumes of Saudi non-oil exports. The minister pointed out that the reform measures adopted by the King since his ascension to the throne have transformed Saudi Arabia as an international first-class investment country in the midst of major challenges facing the global economy. “In view of the good financial situation in the medium term, I see no obstructions in the implementation of the government's huge investment program,” he added. “Moreover, the volume of investment expenditures in the budget this year amounted to SR260 billion which is at the same rate as the past four years,” Al-Assaf noted. Addressing the conference, Minister of Economy and Planning Mohammed Al-Jasser said that the government, which allocated SR1,400 billion for the implementation of the ninth development plan, has earmarked SR 731 billion for the development of human resources, including education, technical and vocational training, sciences, technologies and innovation. He cited the Kingdom's investment in building an enormous oil reserve production capacity that contributes to achieving stability in the volatile world oil market, in addition to its keenness to calm the market. Minister of Commerce and Industry Tawfiq Al-Rabiah said that the Kingdom's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2011 increased to SR2,163 billion from the previous year, an increase of 27.96 percent. He said that the Kingdom ranked first in the world in oil reserves, production and export and fourth worldwide in terms of gas reserves. Al-Rabiah said that the Kingdom is the largest producer of petrochemicals in the Arab world and it has been classified as one of the top 20 economies in the world occupying the 12th place globally in terms of easy performance of business, and the ninth position worldwide in terms of economic stability. __
