The Council of Ministers approved, in its session held by video call, headed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Prime Minister - may God protect him - today, Tuesday, the 30th of Rabi ‘Al-Akhir 1442 AH corresponding to the fifteenth of December 2020 AD The State General Budget for the fiscal year 1442/1443 AH (2021 AD).

The session began with a recitation of verses from the Holy Quran, then the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz addressed a speech to male and female citizens, announcing the budget.

The following is the text of the speech of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques:

In the name of of Allah the Merciful

Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of God

Dear fellow citizens

Peace, mercy and blessings of God :

With the help and success of God, we announce the budget for the next fiscal year (1442/1443 AH) corresponding to (2021 AD) to continue promoting the process of development and prosperity in our dear country, and the approved spending in this budget is (990) billion riyals, and the revenues are estimated at (849) billion riyals. With a deficit estimated at (141) billion riyals, which represents (4.9) percent of the GDP.

The world has gone through an unprecedented pandemic, which is the Corona pandemic that has negatively affected the global economy, and God has helped us - within the framework of the exceptional precautionary measures and preventive measures that have been taken regarding this pandemic - to directing the provision of free treatment to all citizens and residents who have contracted the Coronavirus, and violators of the system Residency in all public and private health facilities, and a recent decision by the Council of Ministers to disburse an amount of (500) thousand riyals to the families of the deceased due to the Corona pandemic from workers in the government or private health sector, whether civil or military, Saudi or non-Saudi, and that this applies as of From the date of recording the first injury.

The Kingdom is a part of the world that affects and is affected by global events and conditions, and it was not isolated from the effects of the crisis on both the public finances and the economy. The pandemic affected the activity of the local economy, in addition to the negative effects of the global economic recession and the decline in demand, especially in the oil markets that witnessed a sharp decline. In price.

This was a difficult year in the history of the world, and the health measures, financial and economic initiatives that we took, and the reforms that came with the approval of the Kingdom’s vision (2030) led to the reduction of the negative effects on citizens and residents in the Kingdom and on our economy, all with the grace of God, then the solidarity of citizens And the residents of our country, whom I do not miss on this occasion, to thank them for their positive role in facing this pandemic and bearing its burdens.

Our directives have been issued to give this budget priority to protecting the health and safety of citizens and residents, to continue efforts to limit the effects of this pandemic on our economy, and to continue work to stimulate economic growth, develop services, support the private sector and preserve the jobs of citizens in it, and implement housing programs and projects, and development projects that provide More job opportunities for citizens, and achieving the goals of the vision, with an emphasis on raising the efficiency of government spending, paying attention to social protection, reducing waste and fighting corruption, and we also emphasize the effective implementation of budget programs and projects.

We praise the Almighty for the good deeds with which they love our country, trusting in the success of God and his help, and looking forward to continuing the march of economic growth and comprehensive development, continuing to achieve this, with the help of God Almighty and relying on Him.

Peace, mercy and blessings of God.