JEDDAH – Saudi Finance Minister Mohammad Al-Jadaan said the Kingdom has weathered the coronavirus pandemic thanks to the speed of response and the unprecedented measures it has taken to protect citizens and residents as well as to support economic activity, which were estimated at 13.9% of gross domestic product. product (GDP).

He added that several Arab countries have started to recover from the effects of COVID-19 and return to economic growth, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The minister expects – according to estimates by the Arab Monetary Fund (IMF) – that the combined economic growth of the Arab countries will amount to almost 5% in 2022, against 2.9% a year earlier.

This is due to several factors, including the relative improvement in global demand, high growth rates in the oil and gas sectors, as well as the continued adoption of stimulus packages by Arab governments to support economic recovery.

Commenting on climate challenges, Al-Jadaan said the Kingdom has realized the importance of concerted efforts to address the effects of climate change, and therefore presented qualitative initiatives of interest to the region and the world, including the ‘Saudi Green Initiative, Middle East. Green initiative and circular carbon economy.

These initiatives help achieve international goals of reducing carbon emissions and supporting stable economic growth.

He called on Arab financial institutions to leverage the circular carbon economy approach that was endorsed by G20 leaders in 2020.

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