A giant step in realizing Vision 2030

SEALING THE DEAL: The deputy crown prince's visit to China cemented an already robust relationship between the two countries.

JEDDAH: The Kingdom is moving toward its clearly mapped future by taking advantage of all opportunities to strengthen its political, culture and economic presence.

These opportunities boost the Kingdom’s quest to overcome obstacles and push forward the National Transformation Plan 2020 and Vision 2030 objectives by creating an environment of economic security and elevating the Kingdom’s regional and international status.
Ten days ago, the Royal Court announced the visit of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Pakistan, China and Japan, and his participation, at the head of the Saudi delegation, in the G20 summit.
The deputy crown prince’s first stop was Islamabad. During the brief visit, Prince Mohammed met with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, with whom he discussed bilateral relations, which are strong, rooted in Islamic values and of mutual interest.
At the conclusion of his visit to Pakistan, the deputy crown prince said the two sides “discussed issues of common interest in order to serve the Islamic nation, as well as the depth of the strategic relationship between our two countries.”
During the visit to China, the focal point of discussions was promising sectors and investment opportunities. The first Joint Saudi-Chinese High-Level Committee meeting was held, and 15 agreements and memorandums of understanding covering the areas of energy, housing and technology were signed.
In China, the prince met with the Chinese president, the prime minister and the defense minister. Top-level meetings between members of the Saudi delegations and the Chinese side were also held, resulting in agreements to open the Saudi market to Chinese companies.
Information and telecommunications technology giant Huawei is the first Chinese company now licensed to invest in the Kingdom in the field of telecommunications and information technology, and this points to the Kingdom’s determination to diversify its economy to achieve the objectives of Vision 2030.
The deputy crown prince also met with officials of more than 15 top Chinese companies and institutions to identify investment opportunities and areas of partnerships and cooperation.
On his next stop, Tokyo, Prince Mohammed was greeted by Japanese Emperor Akihito. Meetings between the two sides resulted in seven MoUs, including an agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Information and the Japanese Foreign Ministry, aimed at improving cultural exchange.
Other agreements addressed SME development and strengthening economic cooperation, exchange of knowledge and experience in the field of industry, and new partnerships to generate employment for the youth in the Kingdom.
An agreement between the Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources and the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry was also signed, highlighting the excellent cooperation between the two countries.
Japan depends on the Kingdom to meet nearly 30 percent of its oil needs.
Agreements were also reached in international development, investment and exchange of information between the Saudi Fund for Development and the Japanese Agency for International Cooperation.
The Saudi and Japanese sides also discussed means of boosting military and defense cooperation, as well as development of human resource in various sectors in the Kingdom.
At the G20 summit, the Saudi presence was noticeable. The delegation chaired by the deputy crown prince presented the country’s Vision 2030 during a series of meetings with heads of member states.
Prince Mohammed met with the Turkish president, IMF director, with Indian and British prime ministers, the US secretary of state, the Indonesian and Russian presidents on the sidelines of the two-day summit.
Following the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the deputy crown prince said that cooperation between the Kingdom and Russia will benefit the global oil market.
Putin said Russia wants to boost cooperation with Saudi Arabia, “as no significant problem in the region can be settled without Saudi Arabia.”
That the discussions started bearing fruit was evident within 24 hours, when a joint Riyadh-Moscow statement reiterated that cooperation between the two biggest oil-producing countries in the world aims at stabilizing the market and ensuring steady investments in the long term.
The deputy crown prince also met with French President Francois Hollande, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with whom he discussed regional issues, national security, and the war along the Saudi border, in which innocent women and children are falling victim to Houthi missiles. Meetings were also held with Brazilian, Kazakh, Italian and German heads of state.
The deputy crown prince said he hoped the agreement reached at the summit will increase cooperation among member states and enhance global economic growth.