SAUDI ARABIA'S BUDGET TRANSPARENT

UNCLAS RIYADH 000572 DEPT FOR NEA/ARP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ECON PREL SA SUBJECT: SAUDI ARABIA'S BUDGET TRANSPARENT REF: A. STATE 28885 ¶B. 08 RIYADH 1880 ¶1. (U) In response to request in ref A, Post submits the following: -- Is the central government expected to receive or is it already receiving U.S. foreign assistance funded using FY 09 funds? Yes. -- Is the host country's budget publicly available? Yes. The SAG publishes its annual budget on both the Ministry of Finance's website and in the press. -- Are incomes and expenditures included in the publicly-available budget? Yes, the budget includes both incomes and expenditures. ¶2. (U) For additional reporting on the SAG's 2009 budget, see ref B. RUNDELL