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Saudi Arabia Contributes More than $87 Billion in International Aid to Combat Poverty

Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning during his speech at the 2023 SDG Summit (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning during his speech at the 2023 SDG Summit (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Contributes More than $87 Billion in International Aid to Combat Poverty

Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning during his speech at the 2023 SDG Summit (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning during his speech at the 2023 SDG Summit (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal bin Fadel Al-Ibrahim has announced that Saudi Vision 2030 was highly consistent with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), revealing that the Kingdom contributed more than $87 billion in international aid to combat poverty and advance development.

The minister was speaking during his participation in the 2023 SDG Summit, in New York.

This year’s SDG Summit is the second since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda in 2015, and aims to accelerate progress towards achieving the 17 sustainable development goals within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Al-Ibrahim stressed that Saudi Arabia has become an international investment power, and plays an important role in mobilizing resources to achieve sustainable growth.

Highlighting the recently launched Global Water Organization, the minister said: “It is a monumental step that champions international innovation and it is a call to action for nations worldwide to come together.”

In this context, the minister said that the Kingdom has contributed more than $87 billion in international aid to combat poverty and advance development.

He added that the National Transformation Program, one of the Vision 2030 initiatives, led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was strongly consistent with the UN goals of sustainable development.

Leaders of the UN member-states, as well as ministers, and representatives of international organizations, the private sector and civil society participated in the summit, which is chaired by the President of the United Nations General Assembly.

Meanwhile, Al-Ibrahim met with the Swedish Minister of International Cooperation and Foreign Trade, Johan Forssell, with whom he discussed bilateral economic and investment relations, and a number of issues of common interest, including the need to intensify international cooperation to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs.

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Dollar Strengthens on Elevated US Bond Yields, Tariff Talks

A teller sorts US dollar banknotes inside the cashier's booth at a forex exchange bureau in downtown Nairobi, Kenya February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File photo
A teller sorts US dollar banknotes inside the cashier's booth at a forex exchange bureau in downtown Nairobi, Kenya February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File photo
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Dollar Strengthens on Elevated US Bond Yields, Tariff Talks

A teller sorts US dollar banknotes inside the cashier's booth at a forex exchange bureau in downtown Nairobi, Kenya February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File photo
A teller sorts US dollar banknotes inside the cashier's booth at a forex exchange bureau in downtown Nairobi, Kenya February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File photo

The dollar rose for a second day on Wednesday on higher US bond yields, sending other major currencies to multi-month lows, with a report that Donald Trump was mulling emergency measures to allow for a new tariff program also lending support.

The already-firm dollar climbed higher on Wednesday after CNN reported that President-elect Trump is considering declaring a national economic emergency as legal justification for a large swath of universal tariffs on allies and adversaries.

The dollar index was last up 0.5% at 109.24, not far from the two-year peak of 109.58 it hit last week, Reuters reported.

Its gains were broad-based, with the euro down 0.43% at $1.0293 and Britain's pound under particular pressure, down 1.09% at $1.2342.

Data on Tuesday showed US job openings unexpectedly rose in November and layoffs were low, while a separate survey showed US services sector activity accelerated in December and a measure of input prices hit a two-year high - a possible inflation warning.

Bond markets reacted by sending 10-year Treasury yields up more than eight basis points on Tuesday, with the yield climbing to 4.728% on Wednesday.

"We're getting very strong US numbers... which has rates going up," said Bart Wakabayashi, Tokyo branch manager at State Street, pushing expectations of Fed rate cuts out to the northern summer or beyond.

"There's even the discussion about, will they cut, or may they even hike? The narrative has changed quite significantly."

Markets are now pricing in just 36 basis points of easing from the Fed this year, with a first cut in July.

US private payrolls data due later in the session will be eyed for further clues on the likely path of US rates.

Traders are jittery ahead of key US labor data on Friday and the inauguration of Donald Trump on Jan. 20, with his second US presidency expected to begin with a flurry of policy announcements and executive orders.

The move in the pound drew particular attention, as it came alongside a sharp sell-off in British stocks and government bonds. The 10-year gilt yield is at its highest since 2008.

Higher yields in general are more likely to lead to a stronger currency, but not in this case.

"With a non-data driven rise in yields that is not driven by any positive news - and the trigger seems to be inflation concern in the US, and Treasuries are selling off - the correlation inverts," said Francesco Pesole, currency analyst at ING.

"That doesn't happen for every currency, but the pound remains more sensitive than most other currencies to a rise in yields, likely because there's still this lack of confidence in the sustainability of budget measures."

Markets did not welcome the budget from Britain's new Labor government late last year.

Elsewhere, the yen sagged close to the 160 per dollar level that drew intervention last year, touching 158.55, its weakest on the dollar for nearly six months.

Japan's consumer sentiment deteriorated in December, a government survey showed, casting doubt on the central bank's view that solid household spending will underpin the economy and justify a rise in interest rates.

China's yuan hit 7.3322 per dollar, the lowest level since September 2023.