Saudi Arabia has announced its 2007 national budget, the largest in its history.
Expenditures are projected at SR380 billion (US$101bn), up SR45 billion from 2006, and revenues at SR400 billion. The Kingdom also announced that it expected a record budget surplus of SR265 billion this year, thanks largely to the strong price of oil, and to reduce public debt to SR366 billion by the end of 2006.
HH King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, said in an address to the nation: “The budget also aims at reducing public debt. By the grace of God, we have been able to pay back a large part of the debt to bring it down to SR366 billion by the end of the current fiscal year.”
Part of the surplus has been allocated to development projects across the country, with SR100 billion transferred to state reserves or used to pay off public debts.
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