Saudi Arabia has been a success story in itself, positioning itself as one of the most prolific countries when it comes to contributing to the global economy. Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, launched the Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 in 2016.
The vision is based on three pillars; the country’s status as the heart of the Arab and Islamic worlds, its determination to become a global investment powerhouse, and transforming its unique strategic location into a global hub.
Vision 2030: Three Primary Themes
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 is a highly ambitious project that creates a blueprint for the country to achieve its long-term goals. One of the main objectives of Vision 2030 is to reflect Saudi Arabia’s strengths and capabilities in utilizing its resources to create a strong, thriving, and stable country. The vision is based on three primary themes:
A Vibrant Society
Saudi Arabia takes immense pride in its Islamic historical and cultural heritage. Among the goals included in the vibrant society, -one of the main focus areas is increasing the annual capacity for Umrah visitors from 8 million to 30 million. The vision also includes creating world-class museums, including the largest Islamic Museum, and doubling the number of Saudi heritage sites registered with UNESCO.
The country wants to increase household recreational spending to 6% from the current 2% and increase the citizen exercising ratio to 40% from the current 13%. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia is working towards becoming one of the top 10 countries in the Social Capital Index. It also aims to increase the life expectancy to 80 years from 74 years.
A Thriving Economy
Saudi Arabia wants to nourish its culture to reward determination and create an economy that provides equal opportunities to everyone to maintain a good standard of living. The main goals of Vision 2030 for a thriving economy are to lower the unemployment rate to 7% from the current rate of 11.6% and increase the SME contribution to GDP from 20% to 35%.
Being an avid advocate of women’s rights, the country wants to increase women’s participation from 22% to 30% in the workforce. Saudi Arabia aims to join the League of the 15 largest economies of the World. Moreover, it also wants to increase the Public Investment Fund’s assets from SAR 600 billion to over 7 trillion and its foreign direct investment to 5.7% from 3.8%. Lastly, Vision 2030 includes raising the share of non-oil exports from 16% to 50% in non-oil GDP.
An Ambitious Nation
Saudi Arabia aims to increase its non-oil government revenue from SAR 163 billion to SAR 1 trillion and raise its ranking from 80 to 20 in the Government Effectiveness Index. It wants to be in the top five nations from the current 36 in the e-government Survey Index and rally one million volunteers annually, which is only 11.000 currently.
Furthermore, Vision 2033 includes raising household savings from 6% to 10% and the non-profit sector’s contribution from less than 1% to 5%.
New Initiatives to Reach Vision 2030
Saudi Arabia has launched the following programs to achieve the goals set in Vision 2030:
The Government Restructuring Program: Under the program, the government aims to eliminate Supreme Councils by establishing the Council of Economic and Development Affairs and the Council of Political and Security Affairs.
The Strategic Directions Program: The program will allow reviewing and analyzing existing roles to align with future social and economic needs.
The Fiscal Balance Program: The program will result in the formation of various committees and departments to review relevant regulations and analyze expenditures.
The Project Management Program: Under the program, the government will adopt an effective project management approach and form expert Project Management Offices (PMOs) to ensure effective coordination.
