Minister of Finance Dr Ibrahim Al-Assaf, addressing in Washington DC today a meeting of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank (WB) affiliate, affirmed that the economic measures adopted last year by the Saudi government had led to a minimum rate of inflation as well as surpluses in the country’s foreign account and State budget. He went on to describe the Kingdom’s healthy economic situation as having enabled its private sector to play a pioneering role in the process of diversification of the country's economic base.

Dr Al-Assaf also spoke about the Kingdom's role regionally and internationally, and its efforts to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). He cited a strong global demand for oil, plus factors such as tense situations in certain parts of the world, as having an impact on oil prices, and stressed the need for cooperation among oil producing and oil consuming countries in order to preserve oil price stability under the auspices of the Riyadh-based International Energy Forum.

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