The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced here today that the Expert Mission of the board has concluded on July 17, 2017, Article IV consultations with Saudi Arabia. "The outlook for the non-oil sector is expected to rise to 7.1 percent in 2017, but the total gross domestic product (GDP) will be near zero as oil GDP falls under Saudi Arabia's commitments under the OPEC agreement," the IMF said in a statement released today. The fiscal deficit is expected to fall substantially in the coming years, from 2.17 percent of GDP in 2016 to 3.9 percent of GDP in 2017 and slightly below 1 percent of GDP by the end of the year, the report added, in 2022. IMF commended economic reform program in the context of the vision of the Kingdom of 2030, which has made significant progress in launching ambitious reform agenda, and financial control efforts have begun to bear fruit. Executive board of the IMF also commended bold adjustments of the Saudi economy due to the effects of falling oil prices and ongoing fiscal controls. IMF experts expected growth in non-oil imports to rise this year, praising the Kingdom's financial control measures through the "Fiscal Off-set Program". 19:49 LOCAL TIME 16:49 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/1649902
