Global trade hits record $33tn in 2024, growing by 3.7%: UNCTAD 

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s Council of Economic and Development Affairs hosted a virtual meeting to discuss financial performance and global developments, focusing on improving public sector contributions. 

Operating under the Council of Ministers, CEDA oversees the governance framework, mechanisms, and policies essential to achieving Saudi Vision 2030. It addresses key domestic sectors, including health, labor, education, and Islamic affairs. 

Held on March 15, the meeting covered a range of reports and topics, including the quarterly economic report from the Ministry of Economy and Planning. 

According to the Saudi Press Agency, the report is “an in-depth analysis of the drivers and challenges affecting national economic growth across various sectors, along with proposed solutions.” It also highlighted Saudi Arabia’s strong economic performance in the third and fourth quarters of 2024, supported by projections from both local and international institutions.  

CEDA also reviewed the Ministry of Finance’s fourth-quarter budget performance report for the 2024 fiscal year. The report noted that total expenditures reached SR1.37 trillion ($365.3 billion), reflecting a 6 percent annual rise, while the budget deficit widened to SR115.63 billion — a 43 percent increase from 2023, in line with previous forecasts. 

The report outlined revenue, expenditure, and public debt indicators, noting a “21 percent increase in non-oil revenues, reaching SR132 billion, compared to SR109 billion during the same period of the previous year,” SPA said.  

It credited government reforms and diversification efforts for driving growth, aligning with Saudi Vision 2030’s aim to expand non-oil sectors. 

The report also underscored the Kingdom’s “continued support for development and service projects, as well as its commitment to enhancing social welfare and protection systems,” according to SPA. 

The meeting further discussed Saudi Arabia’s upcoming participation in the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos, emphasizing the Kingdom’s rising role among the world’s leading economies. 

CEDA reviewed additional presentations on policies and administrative frameworks, including the Supreme National Investment Committee’s guiding principles for green investments and the Ministry of Media’s organizational structure and regulations. 

The council also examined data from the General Authority for Statistics, covering import substitution indicators, the Consumer Price Index, and the Wholesale Price Index. It further reviewed the 2024 Monthly Foreign Trade Report. 

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

BEIRUT/WASHINGTON: The US is weighing in with Lebanon’s government on the selection of the country’s next central bank governor in a bid to curtail corruption and illicit financing for armed group Hezbollah through Lebanon’s banking system, five sources familiar with the issue said. 
Washington’s feedback on the candidates for the top role in shaping Lebanon’s monetary policy is the latest example of the US’ unusually hands-on approach to the Middle Eastern country, where a more than five-year financial crisis has collapsed the economy. 
It also demonstrates the US’ continued focus on weakening Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group whose sway over the Lebanese government has been reduced after the group was pummelled by Israel in last year’s war. 
Since then, Lebanon has elected US-backed Joseph Aoun as president, and a new cabinet without a direct role for Hezbollah has taken power. That government must now fill vacant posts — including at the central bank, run by an interim governor since July 2023. 
The US is reviewing the profiles of a handful of candidates for the role, according to three Lebanese sources briefed on the issue, one Western diplomat and an official from US President Donald Trump’s administration.
The sources spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity to discuss Washington’s role in the selection process, the details of which have not been previously reported.
US officials met with some potential candidates in Washington and at the US embassy in Lebanon, two of the Lebanese sources and the Trump administration official said.
The Lebanese sources, who were briefed on the meetings, said the US officials asked candidates questions, including how they would fight “terrorist financing” through Lebanon’s banking system and if they were willing to confront Hezbollah.
The State Department, White House and the offices of Lebanon’s president and prime minister did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Trump administration official said the meetings were part of “normal diplomacy” — but said the US was making its guidance on candidates’ qualifications clear to the Lebanese government.
“The guidelines are, no Hezbollah and nobody who has been caught up in corruption. This is essential from an economic perspective,” the official told Reuters.
“You need somebody who is going to implement reform, demand reform, and refuse to look the other way whenever people try to do business as usual in Lebanon,” the official said.
MAJOR ROLE IN REFORM
The Lebanese sources said the candidates being seriously considered included former minister Camille Abousleiman, Firas Abi-Nassif, head of an investment firm, and Philippe Jabre and Karim Souaid, both heads of their own asset management firms.
The next governor will play a major part in any economic and financial reforms, which Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam have pledged to prioritize to help Lebanon emerge from a devastating financial meltdown that began in 2019.
Triggered by widespread corruption and profligate spending by the governing political elite, the economic crisis impoverished most Lebanese, demolished the Lebanese pound and brought the banking system to a standstill. Lebanon’s new government is looking to resume talks with the International Monetary Fund for a financing program, but the reforms remain a prerequisite. Western and Arab countries have also set reforms as a condition to provide any reconstruction support to Lebanon, large swathes of which were left in ruins by Israel’s military campaign last year.
In that vein, US officials were discussing the candidates for central bank governor with Saudi Arabia, according to the Western diplomat and the Trump administration official.
The Saudi government’s media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The incoming governor would replace interim chief Wassim Mansouri, who has been overseeing the bank since the 30-year tenure of longtime head Riad Salameh ended in disgrace in 2023.
Through most of his time as central bank chief, Salameh was feted as a financial wizard and enjoyed the backing of the US, which has a keen interest in the position because it oversees Lebanon’s broader banking system and helps keep it compliant with US laws preventing the financing of groups designated as “terrorist” factions, including Hezbollah.
But Lebanon’s financial collapse tainted Salameh’s legacy. A month after he left office in 2023, Salameh was sanctioned by the United States, Britain and Canada, which accused him of corrupt actions to enrich himself and his associates, and is facing charges of financial crimes in Lebanon and broad. Last year, Lebanon was placed on a financial watchdog’s “grey list” after failing to address concerns about terrorism financing and money laundering through its financial system.