Saudi Arabia rules out ‘age of austerity’ to fight virus – ZAWYA

Saudi Arabia rules out ‘age of austerity’ to fight virus – ZAWYA

saudi arabia rules out 'age of austerity' to fight virus the government had not reduced spending and the budget set out last year would be maintained, but some funds would be reallocated to health care and away from projects delayed by anti-pandemic measures: minister    a security man checks the temperature of a worker as they work on raising the kiswa, a silk cloth covering the holy kaaba, before the annual pilgrimage season, at the grand mosque in mecca, saudi arabia july 22, 2020. saudi press agency/handout via reuters the minister told a bloomberg online seminar that the recent tripling of vat to 15 per cent was part of a strategy to assess all fiscal options, and that much of the increased revenue would be directed "to provide better services to the people.“the total stimulus injected by the government to combat the fallout from the pandemic amounted to about $65 billion, he said, and liquidity was "ample“ in the system. asked if the kingdom would consider further stimulus in the event of a "second wave“ of economic damage, he replied: "we stand ready, we are assessing the needs of the economy. but yes, definitely, we will provide whatever support is