Riyadh, Rabi'I 23, 1438, December 22, 2016, SPA -- The Cabinet approved in its extraordinary session under the chairmanship of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Thursday the State's general budget for the new fiscal year 1438/1439 AH. The session started with a recitation of verses from the Holy Quran. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques delivered the following speech to citizens, announcing the budget. In the name of Allah, Most Gracious and Most Merciful, Praise be to Allah and His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family and companions, Dear citizens, Allah's peace, mercy and blessings be upon you. With the help of Allah Almighty, we announce today the budget of the next fiscal year 1438/1439 AH, which comes in very severe economic volatile situations suffered by most states and led to the slow pace of the global economic growth and fall in oil prices which impacted on our country, and the state has sought to deal with these variables in a way that does not affect what we are looking for achieving goals. Dear brothers and sisters: Our economy is firm and it has sufficient strength to cope with the current economic and financial challenges, and this is the result of the prudent fiscal policies taken by the State. We are determined to strengthen the elements of our national economy, where we adopted Kingdom's vision 2030 and its programs according to a comprehensive reform vision that can transfer the Kingdom to broader and more comprehensive horizons to meet the challenges and strengthen its position in the global economy. Our vision is not only a set of ambitions, but it is executive programs to enable us to achieve our national priorities and provide opportunities for all through strengthening and developing partnership with the private sector, building a system capable of achievement, raising the pace of coordination and integration among all government agencies, continuing fiscal discipline, and promoting transparency and integrity. --More 16:54 LOCAL TIME 13:54 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w296466