Saudi Arabia"s Ministry of Finance,and the National Debt Management Center signed an agreement with the international banks, including BNP Paribas, to join primary dealers in government debt instruments. The deal also includes CitiGroup, Goldman Sachs, Standard Chartered and J.P. Morgan, the ministry said in a statement released on Oct 3. The Minister of Finance Mohammed Al Jadaan said: “These agreements are a continuation of the developmental steps taken towards achieving Vision 2030 objectives under the umbrella of the Financial Sector Development Program.” This will be primarily achieved through cooperation between relevant entities, to develop the infrastructure of the local debt market and increase the liquidity of the government"s local debt instruments by attracting more capital from foreign investors, he added. The five international banks will join five other local banks in that role — the Saudi National Bank, AlJazira Bank, Alinma Bank, and AlRajhi Bank. The applications for subscription in the primary market for the government"s local debt instruments are submitted to the National Debt Management Center.