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Recent gloomy reports on a downturn in Saudi economic growth were underpinned by the announcement that Riyadh was extending its 1m b/d production cut until end-2023. However, the higher prices are not enough to make up for the fall in output. 

With the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and other state-owned bodies driving many developments in the Saudi economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s annual Article IV consultation places the development of a Sovereign Asset-Liability Management (Salm) framework as "a high priority to support fiscal sustainability".  

Among the issues raised in the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s 2023 Article IV consultation, published in early September, were notable comments on the Saudi rial’s peg to the US dollar and measures to crack down on local and international corruption.

Recent data give some grounds for optimism that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s bets on stimulating non-oil growth and liberalising society is yielding dividends, but an IMF report and other recent analysis show just how much further the country needs to go to end its dependency on oil and gas revenues.

G20 summit: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman was a prominent figure at the G20 summit in New Delhi on 9/10 September. He held talks with a series of other leaders, including India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez, Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Several Saudi ruling family members are involved in the food and hospitality sectors, including Prince Saud Bin Abdelaziz Bin Fahd Al-Farhan,  Prince Waleed Bin Nasser Bin Fahd, Prince Abdelaziz Bin Saud Al-Saud and Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed. 

Kuwaiti Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah was named president of the Asian Shooting Confederation (ASC) for another four-year term, during a general assembly held in Kuwait early September.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his wife Michelle declined to answer questions from federal police about jewellery, watches and other gifts given to them by Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and never declared.

Saudi Prince Fahad Bin Jalawi Bin Abdulaziz Bin Musaed was named president of the International Camel Racing Federation (ICRF), during a general assembly held in Taif. He will hold the position for five years.

Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Iran Abdullah Bin Saud Al-Anzi arrived in Tehran on 5 September to assume his official duties. On the same day, his Iranian counterpart Alireza Enayati arrived in Riyadh to start his work there.

Saudi King Salman Bin Abdelaziz travelled from Jeddah to the new northwestern city of Neom on 1 September. He chaired a cabinet meeting in the city on 5 September. The ruler spent an extended period in Neom in 2020 and 2021. 

Personnel from Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are among the 8,000 troops from 19 African, European and Middle East countries involved in the Bright Star 23 exercise, which is being led by the United States and Egypt, and is centred around the Mohammed Neguib Military Base, west of Alexandria.

The Saudi economy fell into a recession in Q2, with initial estimates pointing to a quarter-on-quarter decline of 0.1% in GDP during the period, following a 1.4% fall in Q1. While non-oil activity grew, the limits the government has imposed on oil output meant the oil sector contracted by 1.4%.

It is not yet the dawn of a new world order, but the formal invitation for Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE to join the Brics group is a further sign of China’s growing influence and of wider shifting global alignments. A turbocharged Brics could boost the trend towards 'dedollarising' international trade, as Gulf states and other 'middle powers' seek to find a balance between the world's established and emerging powers. 

Saudi Arabia is continuing to push to join an initiative by Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom to develop a sixth-generation fighter jet. Saudi defence minister Prince Khalid Bin Salman had claimed in March the kingdom was set to join the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme but this was soon politely denied by the UK.