ALULA — Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) Governor Ayman Al-Sayari affirmed that maintaining the peg of the Saudi riyal to the US dollar—supported by substantial foreign exchange reserves—has contributed to preserving domestic price stability.

“The average annual inflation in the Kingdom has remained below 3 percent over the past five years,” he said while attending a panel session titled “Implications of global uncertainty for the international monetary and financial systems” at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies 2026 in AlUla on Monday.

Al-Sayari said that rising global uncertainty has become a structural rather than cyclical phenomenon, driven by geopolitical fragmentation, rapid technological transformations, commodity price volatility, and the expansion of non-bank financial intermediation, whose assets now exceed 50 percent of total global financial assets. He noted that geopolitical tensions, trade fragmentation, and elevated debt levels are among the most prominent and impactful challenges facing policymakers in emerging market economies.

Al-Sayari stated that Saudi Arabia’s experience underscores the importance of maintaining adequate reserves and well-integrated monetary and fiscal policy frameworks to safeguard monetary and financial stability.

“To enhance effective cross-border cooperation, policymakers should prioritize improving the quality of data-driven supervisory reporting, reinforcing unified standards, ensuring interoperability when prudently adopting emerging technologies, and accelerating the exchange of knowledge and expertise among regulatory authorities,” he said.

The conference is hosted in partnership between the Ministry of Finance and the International Monetary Fund, with high-level participation from economic decision-makers, finance ministers, central bank governors, leaders of international financial institutions, and a group of global experts and specialists.

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