Delegates arrive ahead of the G20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies and Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meetings, at the Capital hotel in Zimbali, Durban
JOHANNESBURG - Saudi Arabia made its mark as a G20 member through its participation during the 2008 Washington meeting at the height of the global financial crisis.
The Kingdom assumed the G20 Presidency in December 2019 leading up to the Leaders’ Summit held in Riyadh in November 2020.
After the death of 90-year-old King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in 2015, young Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman consolidated political and economic power, including assuming chairmanship of the country’s sovereign wealth fund (Public Investment Fund).
Since taking over the Saudi leadership Human Rights Watch has linked Crown Prince Mohammed to several human rights abuses. The watchdog alleges that the PIF used its capital to forcibly evict members of the Huwaitat community from the area planned for the construction of the Neom city. Those residents who defied the evictions were arrested and one protester was killed.
Saudi Arabia’s PIF was the world’s most valuable and fastest growing sovereign wealth fund for the second year in a row, since 2024.
The PIF manages approximately $925-billion in investments, with some in futuristic sectors such as electric vehicles, space tech, NEOM smart city, and tourism.
Saudi Arabia’s GDP expanded by 3.9% year-on-year in Q2 2025 with growth primarily driven by non-oil activities.
The country’s GDP was worth $1237.53-billion in 2024.
5 FUN FACTS ABOUT SAUDI ARABIA
- Saudi Arabia is bordered by Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait to the north; by the Persian Gulf, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman to the east; by Yemen to the south; and by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba to the west.
- It is thought that Saudi Arabia was given its named by the ancient Egyptians. The cat-loving, pyramid builders used to refer to the area as ‘Ar Rabi’.
- Saudi Arabia exports more petrol than any other country in the world. The Kingdom possesses approximately 16 percent of all proven petroleum reserves on Earth.
- Hunting wiped out the Nafud region’s wild population of the Arabian Oryx during the 1950s, however due to a reintroduction programme there are now approximately 500.
- King Fahd’s Fountain in Jeddah is the tallest fountain in the world. Spraying forth from the Red Sea, the fountain is 312 metres high, gushing water skywards at 350km per hour. It was donated by King Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and completed in 1985.