Saudi Supply Chain Initiative Aims To Strengthen Kingdom in Global Economy

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched an initiative to position the kingdom as a key link in the global supply chain. The program, known as the “Global Supply Chain Resilience Initiative,” aims to raise an initial investment of 40 billion riyals, or $10.64 billion, according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA). Some 10 billion riyals of the initial investment will be used for incentives for supply chain investors, according to SPA. “The pandemic, trade disputes and the geopolitical landscape have broken or weakened global supply chains, driving up commodity prices and disrupting production and distribution. This initiative aims to strengthen the position of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the global economy, and to mitigate the impact of global disruptions,” according to the report on Sunday. “The Global Supply Chain Resilience Initiative will leverage the kingdom’s resources, infrastructure and location to bring greater resilience to economies and companies across Europe, the Americas and Asia, while further enhancing Saudi Arabia’s position in the global economy.” The initiative falls in line with Prince Mohammed’s Vision 2030 plan, which aims to modernize Saudi Arabia and wean its economy off oil revenues. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign Public Investment Fund is in advanced negotiations to order up to 40 A350 jets from Europe’s Airbus, at a cost of some $12 billion, as part of a plan to launch a new airline, Reuters reported citing unnamed industry sources. The purchase could be announced this week at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) forum being held in Riyadh. Another source reportedly said that the kingdom would purchase Boeing jets, however.