In early 1997, when I joined GE as a customer service manager in Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom’s gross domestic product was $166 billion. Now, almost 25 years later, it will grow fivefold to an estimated $838 billion in 2021. During this time, I have had the opportunity to grow alongside my country, and to lead the GE team in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

The year I joined the company, the Kingdom generated around 28 GW of electricity; by 2021, this has risen to around 78 GW to power an expanding economy and growing population. During this period, more than half of the new power generation was built by GE.

In 1997, there were 11.7 million airline passengers carried in the Kingdom, while by 2019, there were almost 40 million. As air travel has grown, the commercial airline fleet has also grown — today with one of the youngest multicarrier, national fleets in the world and with GE jet engines powering the overwhelming majority of aircraft.

Also, in 2000, there were 0.7 doctors per 100,000 population and by 2018, there were 2.6, demonstrating the great progress made in creating a world-class healthcare system. During this time, GE has developed deep partnerships across the public and private sector, with our critical healthcare equipment in every hospital, and digital software increasingly playing a key role in improving patient outcomes.

In all three of these key sectors of the economy, the Kingdom has at least tripled in scale or capacity, and these are just a few examples of the enormous growth achieved across many sectors in recent decades.

As a Saudi national, I feel I have been incredibly lucky to have worked with, and led, many talented GE colleagues and successfully partnered with many valued customers and stakeholders to contribute to making these great strides in the country’s economic journey.

I’m also very proud of the local capabilities we have built in the Kingdom, including world-class manufacturing and maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities; building out a robust local supply chain; growing exports; and, critically, recruiting, developing and empowering local talent in the thousands, including many Saudi women.

This momentum has clearly accelerated since the launch of Saudi Vision 2030, which has seen the Kingdom embark on hugely ambitious programs that will transform the economy and continue to create myriad opportunities for growth.

The government’s long-term vision and planned investments in both hard and soft infrastructure — from power plants to hospitals, from green and sustainable transformation to schools and education — alongside the economic liberalization and reforms to the business environment, will continue to create countless opportunities for Saudi citizens like myself, as well as for local and international companies.

I have been blessed to have had a front-row seat — not to mention playing a supporting role — in the transformation that has occurred in Saudi Arabia over the past quarter century. Yet, in many ways, this is only a prelude to what is to come over the next quarter century.

That is why, as we celebrate the 91st Saudi National Day, I am so grateful for the tremendous opportunities that I have had, proudly leading the GE team in the Kingdom, to see my country grow year after year, as we as a nation work together to build our home and a bright future for the people and residents of Saudi Arabia.

  • Hisham Al-Bahkali is president GE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.