Saudi Arabia’s newly-appointed finance minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said on Tuesday he had great confidence in the kingdom’s economic vision despite all the challenges it faces.
“My confidence in God is great, and then the guardian (the king), at this blessed state’s launch towards broader horizons of growth and financial, economic and social prosperity, in the framework of the kingdom’s 2030 vision, despite all the challenges,” he said in a statement on the ministry’s website.
The former head of the stock market regulator, Jadaan was named finance minister by royal decree on Monday, replacing Ibrahim Alassaf, who had held the post since 1996.
The decree also appointed new chiefs for the Public Transport Commission and the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), which both supplies water and generates electricity.
It transferred responsibility for consumer protection from the ministry for commerce and investment to the health minister, Tawfiq Al Rabeeah.
Alassaf’s removal is unlikely to usher in a shift in Saudi Arabia’s tight fiscal policy, which is being crafted to a large degree by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who oversees the kingdom’s economic and defence portfolios.
The prince has introduced a wide-ranging economic reform plan to steward the world’s largest crude exporter through an era of low oil prices and diversify its sources of revenue.
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