Riyadh | BETH
January 28, 2026

The Council of Economic and Development Affairs held a virtual meeting, during which it reviewed the monthly report submitted by the Ministry of Economy and Planning, outlining global economic developments and growth prospects for 2026 amid ongoing international economic challenges and their potential impact on the national economy.

The report highlighted Saudi Arabia’s ability to adapt to global economic shifts, supported by positive economic and financial indicators, including GDP growth driven by continued expansion in non-oil activities, recovery in oil-related activities, industrial production growth, and stable inflation rates. This stability is underpinned by government measures aimed at regulating real estate prices and maintaining market balance.

The Council also reviewed several procedural matters, including the conclusion of the Privatization Program after successfully completing its initiatives. The program played a key role in strengthening private sector participation, improving the efficiency of government asset operations, and enhancing the investment environment through regulatory and legislative reforms that support economic diversification and competitiveness.

The conclusion of the program marks a transition from the establishment phase to the implementation and impact-maximization phase, through the adoption of the National Privatization Strategy, which revised targets, expanded opportunities, and established a comprehensive national framework for prioritizing initiatives across key sectors.

Additionally, the Council reviewed a presentation from the Project Management Office on the implementation status of decisions and recommendations issued during Q4 2025, reflecting the Council’s commitment to monitoring performance and execution levels across relevant entities.

The Council was also briefed on executive summaries of key economic indicators, including foreign trade indices, quarterly GDP and national accounts, as well as consumer and wholesale price indices.

The meeting concluded with the Council issuing the necessary decisions and recommendations on the matters discussed.

BETH Insight

The meeting of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs reflects Saudi Arabia’s shift from managing challenges to maximizing impact, where positive indicators are no longer the result of temporary policies, but of a more resilient and diversified economic structure.
The conclusion of the Privatization Program does not mark the end of a journey, but rather the beginning of a mature execution phase—driven by tools, not slogans—at a time when global pressures are mounting on major economies.
In this context, non-oil growth and inflation stability stand out as clear signals of the Kingdom’s ability to neutralize external shocks and transform global uncertainties into calculated opportunities within a long-term economic vision.