Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing countries are currently reaping tremendous profits from oil revenue. For Saudi Arabia, this is both fortunate and challenging.
I would like to see Saudi Arabia taking advantage of this great opportunity to reduce its dependence on oil income, say from 85 percent to 15 percent over the next 15 years. To those who say this cannot be done, I say that I am willing to take the chance and take up the challenge. Saudi Arabia and the world’s economic future can only benefit from it.
The age of hydrocarbons is far from over, but I am hoping that the hydrocarbon will become an industry supporting many other industries in Saudi Arabia, from construction to high-tech, from tourism to alternative energies. In the past we have let oil companies drill the lands of Arabia to extract oil. Today I want us to drill in the minds of Saudi Arabia to extract their creativity and innovativeness. I want us to transform our thinking, to invest in energy development and to harness new energy sources.
Over the next 15 years I want to see Saudi Arabia become a leader in energy development and investment, and I want this to start today. We must dedicate ourselves, our land and our best brains to achieve this goal. I want the mountains of Asir to become mountains of vision, I want us to fill the Empty Quarter and then rename it Filled Quarter. Let us fill the area with water and turn the desert into a flourishing center of tourism, education and innovation.
I want our education system to set its sights on achieving this vision, dedicating its resources and training our best brains to become leaders in energy development and innovation. We are incredibly fortunate to have been afforded the money and the time to do this.
We should stop spending it on silly projects and think about what we really want our Saudi Arabia to look like in 15 years. It is time to think big and to take on leadership roles.
As we embark on our trip to Asia we should think about these ideas and about our vision for the future of our Saudi Arabia.
We should talk to our Asian partners about our goals and invite them to join us in developing new sources of energy, in reducing emissions and doing all we can to limit the pollution that is destroying our environment. We can work with them in offering a new vision and in ensuring Saudi Arabia and the world’s future prosperity.
We are a small population in a vast land. Our real strength must be our brains and our innovation, not the oil that lies under our earth. Saudi Arabia should be dependent on ingenuity and innovation, not the oil which others burn to speed ahead of us.
By becoming leaders in energy development and alternative energy sources we will be helping both ourselves and others.
So let us be grateful for the tremendous opportunities that we have been offered.
As the center of Islam and the location of the world’s greatest oil reserves, we have been bestowed both with great riches and great responsibility. Let us welcome others, seek their help, but rely most of all on our minds and our vision to turn our country into a center of innovation and creativity. I think we can do it; once we have the vision, we must keep thinking big and get to work.
