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The Blessing of Saudi Growth

The Blessing of Saudi Growth

Al Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 30

I closely followed the activities of the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, and during the conference’s three days I enjoyed listening to the opinions of a select group of heads of major international banks and the most important CEOs around the world. The conference boasted over 180 sessions and 30 workshops in which important social, political, and economic matters were discussed. There is no doubt that this kind of high-end brainstorming will be pivotal in reshaping the global economy in the decade to come. One thing that caught my attention was the remarks made by Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan regarding the promising economic future of Gulf countries over the next six years. Indeed, the Arab region should be optimistic about the Gulf’s propensity for growth and success. Saudi Arabia, for example, which is the largest Arab economy, is growing at a two-decade record pace, with 7.6% in 2022 alone. This is thanks to reforms, strong financial conditions, the strengthening of the investment environment, and the securing of more job opportunities. This positive view of Saudi growth undoubtedly applies to the rest of the Gulf countries that benefited from the rise in oil prices. A conference of such important caliber in Riyadh highlights the kingdom’s growing global influence, especially after the relocation of many regional offices of international companies to Riyadh. The goal now is to reorganize the economic visions of the Gulf countries to achieve mutual benefit and maximize their shared strategy of diversifying sources of income away from oil. For this reason, the kingdom recently launched an integrated plan to revitalize over 12 sectors of the economy with more than 800 investment opportunities at a total value of 1 trillion riyals (roughly $266 billion). At the same time, the kingdom launched a flexible initiative for global supply chains, which will make it a vital link and a preferred place for international companies, and there is no doubt that such qualitative ideas will serve the entire Arab region and will revive the intraregional trade in the coming decades. The latest figures indicate that trade between Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states during the first half of the year jumped 11%, with an increase of 18.19 billion riyals ($4.84 billion), bringing the value of exchanges in just six months to 71.59 billion riyals ($19.06 billion). Certainly, this economic approach, which prioritizes regional stability, will benefit the rest of the Arab countries and the Middle East by reviving direct and indirect investments. Most importantly, these encouraging figures restore hope in the kingdom’s ability to achieve its goals for the Vision 2030 plan. We are already witnessing Riyadh’s insistence on securing the Gulf’s sovereignty and reducing its reliance on others, as was evidenced in the recent OPEC+ decisions, which were purely economic and did not pay attention to America’s threats. –Khaled Ramadan (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)

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