Jasser expressed his pleasure to present the report which coincides with the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He said that the world-wide impact of the global financial crisis in 2009 continued and global production and services shrank by 0.6 percent, adding that despite that, economic changes during the past months of the current year show positive rates of growth in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Dr. Al-Jasser noted that the Kingdom's gross national product at a fixed exchange rate fell by 0.6 percent in 2009, compared to 4.2-percent growth in 2008 year, indicating that the non-oil sector grew by 3.8 percent in 2009, compared to 4.3 percent in 2008. He pointed out that several factors helped reduce the impact of the global crisis on the Kingdom's economy, foremost of which is the strength of domestic financial sector and the increase in the government spending, despite a fall in crude oil prices. --MORE
