The ambitious development plan titled Saudi Vision 2030 did not disappoint anybody. It lived up to the expectations of Saudis. It is a long-term strategy to help realize the full potential of the Kingdom and to put the country on the road to success and development.
The first thing that came to everybody’s notice about the announcement of the vision and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s interview was its candid style and openness. The deputy crown prince openly acknowledged the problems, highlighted the opportunities and put forward a well-crafted strategy to deal with the situation and to introduce reforms in every sphere of life. He made it clear that everybody was responsible and everyone was accountable. He did not talk about committees that would later meet to put up plans and then meet again, and again, to put those plans into practice. The timeline of the vision is pretty strict and the plans to transform that vision into reality should be stricter.
The Saudi Vision 2030 is bold and ambitious. Currently, our economy is facing some problems like low oil prices, inflamed borders, mega infrastructure projects, below potential foreign investments etc., but we should confront these challenges and take necessary measures to resolve all these issues.
“There may be a lesson in this Saudi audacity, especially for other countries that own ample natural resources but have somehow mismanaged them. The lesson is this, at least from Prince Mohammed’s perspective in his design of the plan: Don’t focus on the problems but rather on the opportunities,” wrote the CS Monitor’s editorial board.
In a nutshell, the Saudi Vision 2030 is built upon three pillars; being a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation. Under each one of these pillars comes a list of goals, numbers, and plans all aiming to satisfy the paramount objective of the vision, which is a country less dependent on oil revenues, a country no longer “addicted” to oil as the deputy crown prince emphasized several times during the interview.
The vision clearly admitted that “We are well aware that the cultural and entertainment opportunities currently available do not reflect the rising aspirations of our citizens and residents, nor are they in harmony with our prosperous economy,” so promoting cultural and entrainment venues was on the top of strategies under this category. Right after that, came the focus on promoting a healthy lifestyle. “We intend to encourage widespread and regular participation in sports and athletic activities, working in partnership with the private sector to establish additional dedicated facilities and programs,” the vision stated.
Under the category of thriving economy came many long-awaited plans and programs. Investing in education and training while aligning them with the market needs was of the first points the vision stressed on.
“Boosting our small businesses and productive families firms, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are among the most important agents of economic growth; they create jobs, support innovation and boost exports.”
Moreover, under the thriving economy came the most well-known parts of the vision; transforming Aramco into an energy and industrial company and releasing part of it to public investment, in addition to establishing the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world.
Under the third pillar of the vision — an ambitious nation — came many objectives to encourage and support non-profits organizations besides stressing on a number of ethical and moral practices in society as a whole or in business.
Among the ambitious objectives in this category is increasing the household savings from 6 percent to 10 percent of the total household income, raising the non-profit sector’s contribution to GDP from less than 1 percent to 5 percent, and rallying one million volunteers per year, compared to the current 11,000.
The next few years the success of this vision will be put to test. We all have to work together to ensure the success of this ambitious plan.
The first thing that came to everybody’s notice about the announcement of the vision and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s interview was its candid style and openness. The deputy crown prince openly acknowledged the problems, highlighted the opportunities and put forward a well-crafted strategy to deal with the situation and to introduce reforms in every sphere of life. He made it clear that everybody was responsible and everyone was accountable. He did not talk about committees that would later meet to put up plans and then meet again, and again, to put those plans into practice. The timeline of the vision is pretty strict and the plans to transform that vision into reality should be stricter.
The Saudi Vision 2030 is bold and ambitious. Currently, our economy is facing some problems like low oil prices, inflamed borders, mega infrastructure projects, below potential foreign investments etc., but we should confront these challenges and take necessary measures to resolve all these issues.
“There may be a lesson in this Saudi audacity, especially for other countries that own ample natural resources but have somehow mismanaged them. The lesson is this, at least from Prince Mohammed’s perspective in his design of the plan: Don’t focus on the problems but rather on the opportunities,” wrote the CS Monitor’s editorial board.
In a nutshell, the Saudi Vision 2030 is built upon three pillars; being a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation. Under each one of these pillars comes a list of goals, numbers, and plans all aiming to satisfy the paramount objective of the vision, which is a country less dependent on oil revenues, a country no longer “addicted” to oil as the deputy crown prince emphasized several times during the interview.
The vision clearly admitted that “We are well aware that the cultural and entertainment opportunities currently available do not reflect the rising aspirations of our citizens and residents, nor are they in harmony with our prosperous economy,” so promoting cultural and entrainment venues was on the top of strategies under this category. Right after that, came the focus on promoting a healthy lifestyle. “We intend to encourage widespread and regular participation in sports and athletic activities, working in partnership with the private sector to establish additional dedicated facilities and programs,” the vision stated.
Under the category of thriving economy came many long-awaited plans and programs. Investing in education and training while aligning them with the market needs was of the first points the vision stressed on.
“Boosting our small businesses and productive families firms, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are among the most important agents of economic growth; they create jobs, support innovation and boost exports.”
Moreover, under the thriving economy came the most well-known parts of the vision; transforming Aramco into an energy and industrial company and releasing part of it to public investment, in addition to establishing the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world.
Under the third pillar of the vision — an ambitious nation — came many objectives to encourage and support non-profits organizations besides stressing on a number of ethical and moral practices in society as a whole or in business.
Among the ambitious objectives in this category is increasing the household savings from 6 percent to 10 percent of the total household income, raising the non-profit sector’s contribution to GDP from less than 1 percent to 5 percent, and rallying one million volunteers per year, compared to the current 11,000.
The next few years the success of this vision will be put to test. We all have to work together to ensure the success of this ambitious plan.
