Saudi Minister of Finance Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf delivered here yesterday a speech at the meeting of International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) in which he highlighted the Kingdom's economy, international economic conditions and oil markets. The Minister, who is leading the Kingdom's delegation to the meeting, said that the Kingdom's economy maintained a strong performance with a surplus in the current account and general budget. "The Government spending included a significant increase in education, social services and infrastructure development. The progress in structural reforms contributed to increasing the role of private sector and achieving high growth rates", he said. The Minister said that the financial crisis has spread beyond the U.S. subprime mortgage market, activity in the advanced economies has decelerated, and a significant slowdown is expected in 2008. --More
