The Kingdom’s 2026 budget is balancing spending and sustainability: “Spending efficiency does not mean reducing budgets; it means maximizing the return on every riyal spent,” Finance Minister Al-Jadaan said at the 2026 Bugdet Forum (watch, runtime: 6:53). This principle has evolved from a ministry-led process into a government-wide culture, ensuring that all officials focus on delivering higher-impact outcomes.

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We’ve been going counter-cyclical: The Kingdom’s fiscal policy has shifted from following the economic cycle to moving against it. Al Jadaan said. Spending is increased during periods of slower growth to stimulate the economy, while faster growth accompanied by inflation prompts moderate spending reductions. This approach enabled the Kingdom to achieve an average non-oil growth of 5% annually over the past eight years, despite negative oil sector growth of approximately 0.5%, Al Jadaan.

Saudi is open to any adjustments to announced Vision 2030 projects, including cancelations, deferrals, acceleration or expansion, Al Jadaan said during Wednesday’s briefing. The Public Investment Fund will make these decisions on projects such as Neom, based on analyzing the details of each project and recalibrating them into the right direction, the finance minister added.

Pundits welcomed the flexibility: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank’s chief economist told Bloomberg the remarks spark confidence in the government’s ability to rein in capital expenditure, whil Goldman Sachs’ Farouk Sousa said the transparency is increasingly reassuring that “the financial and economic considerations will trump the social and political drivers of investment,” leading markets to look more favorably on Saudi’s investment landscape.

The Economy Minister shared the view: “There is now a transition from achieving at any cost…to a stage of achieving at the right cost and maximizing the impact.” Economy and Planning Minister Faisal Al Ibrahim said.

Investment needed for the next 10 years ranges between SAR 3.5-4 tn, opening the door for increased private sector participation and enabling it to take a more leading role in the Kingdom’s development, Al Ibrahim said. “In the next stage, quantitative growth is important, but the priority is quality,” Al Ibrahim said, adding that achieving sustainable, high-quality growth relies on innovation, qualitative investments, and private sector leadership.

Policy incentives are now focused on sectors with higher productivity and value-added potential, while efforts continue to reduce uncertainty and encourage private sector-led job creation, local production, and global market participation.

Humain is the new Aramco: AI will be a key economic accelerator, enhancing productivity, attracting talent, and fostering innovation in sectors such as energy and health, Al Ibrahim said. Non-oil sector growth is expected at 4.5-6% in 2026 and the medium term with initiatives like Humain positioning Saudi Arabia as a leader in the economy of the future, similar to the role Aramco played in the oil and gas sector.

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