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Saudi Economic Affairs Council Reviews State Budget Performance

A previous meeting of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, chaired by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A previous meeting of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, chaired by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Economic Affairs Council Reviews State Budget Performance

A previous meeting of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, chaired by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A previous meeting of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, chaired by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Council of Economic and Development Affairs held a virtual meeting to review the periodic report presented by the Ministry of Economy and Planning, which included an analysis of global economic developments, an overview of major international markets, and a comprehensive review of Saudi Arabia’s domestic economy across its various sectors.

Discussions highlighted the outlook for the national economy, key assumptions driving growth, and future prospects, as the Kingdom records economic expansion for the fifth consecutive quarter. The performance was fueled by gains across all sectors, particularly non-oil activities.

Saudi Arabia’s GDP grew by 3.9 percent in the second quarter of 2025, supported by broad-based growth, with the non-oil sector playing a central role.

Non-Oil Revenues
Non-oil revenues reached SAR264 billion by the end of Q2 2025, marking a 5 percent increase from the same period last year, reflecting the growth of non-oil activities. Meanwhile, the Industrial Production Index rose by 7.9 percent year-on-year in June.

The Council also reviewed the Ministry of Finance’s quarterly budget performance report, which detailed revenues, expenditures, and public debt. The findings underscored the government’s commitment to economic and fiscal reforms under Vision 2030, aimed at ensuring medium- and long-term financial sustainability and strengthening the resilience of the Saudi economy amid global challenges.

Sustainability and Social Spending
The report confirmed continued government support for development and service projects, alongside fiscal reforms to diversify revenue sources. Spending on education, health, and social development accounted for 39.5 percent of total expenditures in the first half of 2025, amounting to SAR260 billion. This substantial allocation reflects the Kingdom’s prioritization of citizens’ needs and essential services.

Foreign Aid
The Council also reviewed a joint presentation by the Saudi Fund for Development and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, which outlined the role of Saudi foreign aid in boosting local content and exports. Saudi Arabia has provided more than SAR155.34 billion in aid across 122 countries, funding over 1,820 projects spanning humanitarian and development sectors.

Private sector involvement has been significant: In 2024, Saudi firms contributed to 73 percent of the Fund’s projects, while between 2022 and 2024, they participated in 55.3 percent of aid initiatives, representing SAR2.34 billion in value.

By sourcing goods and services from the domestic market and assigning implementation to national companies, Saudi aid projects have not only advanced humanitarian and development goals abroad but also strengthened local industries and boosted national exports.

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Business

Iraq in Talks with Gulf States on Pipeline Exports beyond Hormuz

Workers carry out maintenance on a pipeline at a gas separation station in the Zubair oil field near Basra (AP). 
Workers carry out maintenance on a pipeline at a gas separation station in the Zubair oil field near Basra (AP). 
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Iraq in Talks with Gulf States on Pipeline Exports beyond Hormuz

Workers carry out maintenance on a pipeline at a gas separation station in the Zubair oil field near Basra (AP). 
Workers carry out maintenance on a pipeline at a gas separation station in the Zubair oil field near Basra (AP). 

Iraq is in talks with Gulf countries to use their pipeline networks to secure alternative oil export routes beyond the Strait of Hormuz, the state oil marketer SOMO said Thursday.

The move is part of an emergency strategy by the oil ministry to tap regional infrastructure and bypass maritime chokepoints, ensuring Iraqi crude continues to reach global markets while offsetting higher transport costs linked to the current crisis.

Ali Nizar al-Shatari, head of the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO), said the ministry is prioritizing negotiations to access Gulf pipeline systems extending beyond the Strait of Hormuz and into the Arabian Sea, allowing exports to avoid areas of military tension.

“The goal is to secure stable routes that guarantee efficient flows of Iraqi oil at lower transport costs,” Shatari said, adding that Iraq generated about $2 billion in oil revenues in March, up 28 percent from February.

He said SOMO exported around 18 million barrels of crude from Basra, Kirkuk and the Kurdistan region by using all available outlets, including southern ports that operated until early March and northern routes to Türkiye’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.

As part of efforts to diversify export options, Shatari revealed that the first shipments of fuel oil and Basra Medium crude successfully reached Syrian ports.

He noted that Iraq had signed a deal to export 50,000 barrels per day via this route, describing cooperation with Syria as “very significant,” with storage and security provided to ensure safe delivery to the port of Baniyas.

The route has proven effective and could become a permanent option after the crisis, he added.

Shatari further noted that the oil ministry is close to completing repairs on the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline, which suffered extensive damage in previous years.

Technical teams have inspected the most difficult terrain, with about 200 kilometers (125 miles) still to be assessed in the coming days before full pumping of Kirkuk crude resumes.

In a notable logistical move, Iraq has begun pumping Basra crude northwards for export via Ceyhan.

Flows started at 170,000 barrels per day and are expected to stabilize between 200,000 and 250,000 bpd, helping offset disrupted southern exports and supply energy-hungry markets in Europe and the Americas.

Shatari said Iraq has benefited from rising global prices by selling Kirkuk crude — a medium-grade oil — at strong premiums.

He also confirmed the reactivation of an agreement with the Kurdistan region to reuse the pipeline through the region to Ceyhan, helping lift total exports to 18 million barrels in March.

This came despite a drop in production in Kurdistan fields to about 200,000 bpd due to security threats, he added.

 

 

Business

World Food Prices Rose in March as Iran War Lifted Energy Costs, FAO Says

A farmer carries harvested rice at a paddy field in Samahani, Aceh province on April 2, 2026. (AFP)
A farmer carries harvested rice at a paddy field in Samahani, Aceh province on April 2, 2026. (AFP)
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World Food Prices Rose in March as Iran War Lifted Energy Costs, FAO Says

A farmer carries harvested rice at a paddy field in Samahani, Aceh province on April 2, 2026. (AFP)
A farmer carries harvested rice at a paddy field in Samahani, Aceh province on April 2, 2026. (AFP)

The war in the Middle East has pushed food commodity prices higher due to higher energy and fertilizer costs, the UN's food agency said Friday. 

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said its Food Price Index, which measures the monthly changes in international prices of a basket of food commodities, had increased 2.4 percent in March from February. 

It was the second rise in a row, which the agency said was largely due to higher energy prices linked to conflict in the Middle East. 

Within the index, the category of vegetable oil saw the sharpest rise, of 5.1 percent over February, as palm oil prices reached their highest point since the middle of 2022, due to effects from spiking crude oil prices, FAO said. 

However, a "broadly comfortable" supply of cereal has cushioned the damaged from the conflict, FAO said. 

"Price rises since the conflict began have been modest, driven mainly by higher oil prices and cushioned by ample global cereal supplies," said FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero in a statement. 

But he warned that if the conflict goes on beyond 40 days and the high prices on fertilizer continue, "farmers will have to choose: farm the same with fewer inputs, plant less, or switch to less intensive fertilizer crops". 

"Those choices will hit future yields and shape our food supply and commodity prices for the rest of this year and all of the next." 

Disruptions to production and supply chain routes had also introduced "additional uncertainty" into the outlook for wheat and maize, FAO found. 

Business

Turkish Inflation Near 2% Monthly in March, Below Forecasts

A full moon rises behind Galata Tower, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP)
A full moon rises behind Galata Tower, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP)
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Turkish Inflation Near 2% Monthly in March, Below Forecasts

A full moon rises behind Galata Tower, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP)
A full moon rises behind Galata Tower, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP)

Turkish consumer price inflation was 1.94% month-on-month in March, while the annual figure fell to 30.87%, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed ‌on Friday.

In ‌a Reuters ‌poll, ⁠monthly inflation was ⁠forecast to be 2.32%, with the annual rate seen at 31.4%, driven by ⁠a rise in ‌fuel prices ‌and weather-related pressures ‌on food inflation.

In ‌February, consumer prices rose 2.96% month-on-month and 31.53% year-on-year, broadly in ‌line with estimates and reinforcing expectations that ⁠the ⁠disinflation process may be stalling.

The data also showed the domestic producer index rose 2.30% month-on-month in March for an annual increase of 28.08%.