Saudi Arabia Recovers Citizen Account Program on Twitter after Hack

The official account of the Citizen’s Account program on Twitter was briefly hacked on Tuesday. (AFP)
The official account of the Citizen’s Account program on Twitter was briefly hacked on Tuesday. (AFP)
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Saudi Arabia Recovers Citizen Account Program on Twitter after Hack

The official account of the Citizen’s Account program on Twitter was briefly hacked on Tuesday. (AFP)
The official account of the Citizen’s Account program on Twitter was briefly hacked on Tuesday. (AFP)

The official account of the Citizen’s Account program on Twitter was hacked Tuesday morning, but technicians were able to recover it.

Official spokesman for the Ministry of Labor and Social Development Khalid Aba al-Khail confirmed the recovery of the Twitter account in a short period of time, pointing out that dealing with hackers, who follow foreign parties, is conducted according to official channels.

In addition, he announced the names of families eligible to receive the second monthly installment of the Citizen’s Account Program, noting that the next monthly installment will be transferred to registered beneficiaries on January 10.

In December, Saudi Arabia released the first installment of the Citizen’s Account Program at two billion riyals for 82 percent, or 10.6 million, of the registered beneficiaries.

The first payment to eligible Saudi citizens was released at SR300 per person or family.

Those who registered before November 9 will be included in the first phase of payment, those who registered between November 9 and December 16 in the second phase and those who registered after December 16 in the third phase.

The Citizen’s Account is a national cash-transfer program aimed at protecting Saudi families from the direct and indirect impact of the government’s structural economic reforms through direct monetary allowances.

The account announced Tuesday that in order to facilitate the process for the beneficiaries, it will exempt the objectors to the eligibility results from attaching documents.

The program allowed the beneficiaries to object to the non-eligibility of the subsidy within three months from the date of the issuance of the eligibility decision. It gave them the right to object to the amount of the subsidy deposited in the accounts of the beneficiaries after the deposit of the first installment on December 21.



Saudi Arabia’s Non-Oil Industrial Sector Grows 5.3% in 2024

Saudi flags along a street in the capital, Riyadh (Reuters) 
Saudi flags along a street in the capital, Riyadh (Reuters) 
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Saudi Arabia’s Non-Oil Industrial Sector Grows 5.3% in 2024

Saudi flags along a street in the capital, Riyadh (Reuters) 
Saudi flags along a street in the capital, Riyadh (Reuters) 

Saudi Arabia’s non-oil industrial sector recorded a strong 5.3% growth in 2024, underlining the Kingdom’s ongoing progress in diversifying its economy in line with the Vision 2030 agenda. The latest figures from the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) reveal that this growth was largely driven by manufacturing, utilities, and infrastructure development.

Despite the robust performance of the non-oil sector, overall industrial production declined by 2.3% compared to 2023. This contraction was mainly due to a 5.2% drop in oil-related activities, following the Kingdom’s adherence to OPEC+ oil production cuts. As a result, mining and quarrying shrunk by 6.8%.

Manufacturing expanded by 4.7% year-on-year, with food production up 6.2% and chemical manufacturing, including refined petroleum products, rising by 2.8%. These gains reflect increasing industrial capacity and rising demand in both domestic and export markets.

Other areas of growth included utilities and public services. Electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning activities grew by 3.5%, while water supply, sewage, and waste management services posted a 1.6% increase.

Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim recently stated that non-oil activities now account for 53% of the Kingdom’s real GDP, compared to significantly lower levels before the launch of Vision 2030. He also noted a 70% increase in private investment in non-oil sectors over the same period.

The Kingdom’s non-oil exports reached SAR 515 billion (approximately $137 billion) in 2024, marking a 13% rise over 2023 and a 113% increase since 2016. Export growth spanned petrochemical and non-petrochemical products, with merchandise exports alone totaling SAR 217 billion.

According to a recent World Bank report, Saudi Arabia’s economy grew by 1.8% in 2024, up from 0.3% in 2023. While oil-sector output fell 3%, the non-oil economy expanded by 3.7%, cushioning the broader economy from energy market volatility. The World Bank forecasts continued growth, projecting a 2.8% increase in 2025 and an average of 4.6% annually through 2026 and 2027.