Culture & Education | Sunday 30 December, 2018 1:30 am |

The Finance Ministry has for the first time shared its most significant achievements over the years at an interactive pavilion set up at the 33rd Janadriyah Festival, held this month in Janadriyah Park near Riyadh.
Visitors were given a glimpse into how the state budget is allocated and implemented through an interactive presentation that includes how the ministry manages the Kingdom’s most prominent projects, including the expansion works taking place in Makkah and Madinah, the establishment of Princess Nourah University and construction of the King Fahd Causeway, which connects Saudi Arabia to Bahrain.
The pavilion shares information about the ministry’s history and its role in preserving state funds. An interactive chart also offers visitors a glimpse into the budget preparation process.
Residents, many of whom have enjoyed years of tax-free income in the oil-rich country, were briefed on how the new value-added taxation system would be implemented through the newly integrated General Authority of Zakat and Tax.
Tourists also embarked on a three-dimensional tour of an office adaptation of the Kingdom’s first finance minister, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Hamdan. The office contains official documents, old paintings of the cars used at the time and the first calendar ever to be published in Umm Al-Qura in Makkah.
Finally, the pavilion offered children an interactive theatrical performance titled “Money through the generations.”
The ministry has actively promoted partnership with the private sector over the years and has represented the Kingdom in several international financial forums.