RIYADH: Amr Al-Dabbagh, governor of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), sought to assure foreign investors about the strength of the Saudi economy, saying that the fundamentals of the Kingdom’s economy were very strong.
Al-Dabbagh said the Saudi government was moving forward with its visionary development plans, which were not only bringing increased international exposure but increased foreign direct investments (FDI) into the Kingdom.
“More and more countries are starting to recognize Saudi Arabia’s value proposition, especially at a time of global economic downturn,” said the SAGIA chief, while the keynote speech at a business event in Egypt on Monday. More than 3,500 business leaders heard Al-Dabbagh speaking at the annual EFG Hermes Conference. His speech, entitled “The Challenges & Opportunities Ahead” was a welcome message during the current economic turmoil. A text of the speech was made available to Arab News. Referring to the Saudi government’s plans, he said: “Our mega-economic cities are being seen as ways to compensate for diminishing sales and shrinking markets and we are seeing huge interest from all over the world.” This is also evident from the works, which are in progress on economic cities’ projects. A total of six agreements have been signed for an economic city in the northern province of Saudi Arabia.
The Prince Abdulaziz bin Mousaed Economic City, proposed for the province of Hail, took a big step forward recently as agreements were signed for a dry port and education facilities.