US, Saudi officials review Vision 2030

Commerce and Investment Minister Majid Al-Qassabi, Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Khalid Al-Falih and Mohammed Al-Jasser, adviser at the Royal Court, participated in a US-Saudi Arabian Business Council (US-SABC) meeting.

They discussed several topics that focused on improving the investment environment and diversification of the national economy, growth in the various sectors, local content, privatization and increasing participation of the private sector, as well as Kingdom's Vision 2030 and the related National Transformation Program 2020.
During the meeting, Al-Qassabi highlighted Vision 2030 and the partnership opportunities between the Saudi public and the private sector and corporate America. He noted that it was complementary to the vision of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and President Barack Obama for developing the strategic relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States.
Al-Jasser pointed to the importance of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, explaining its solid economic base, the Kingdom’s unique geographical location linking the continents of Asia, Africa and Europe, in the heart of the Arab and Muslim worlds, as well as its ability to invest both at home and abroad in addition to the diverse investment opportunities offered to foreign investors.
He added that economic diversification was crucial and would change the economy through the contributions of the private sector. The GDP will rise from 40 percent to 65 percent by 2030, with the government’s focus on the development of defense and internal security policy, foreign affairs, education and basic infrastructure development, which is linked to the privatization of the majority of the leading state-owned enterprises and other sectors and services and the opening of new markets in the Kingdom to local and foreign investors.
Al-Falih highlighted the importance of preserving the gains of the energy sector, further diversification of the economy and raising the proportion of income from non-oil sectors, including entertainment, defense, financial services, infrastructure, education and health care.
For equipment and services in the oil and gas sector, he said the local content would be increased from 35 percent to 70 percent over the next five years in an initiative that provides great opportunities for American companies to invest in the Kingdom.
The nation will build new power plants to promote high-tech industries through education, research, development, innovation and business projects, along with its commitment to build a digital infrastructure and the digital economy to support e-government and advanced scale initiatives of industrial and commercial activities.
US-Saudi Arabian Business Council Vice President for Business Advisory Services David Callahan confirmed that American businessmen, especially in small- and medium-sized companies, were looking to invest in the Kingdom within the framework of Vision 2030.
Callahan confirmed US side's interests in increasing the volume of investment in the Kingdom, at the level of the giant and small- and medium-sized companies within the framework of the ambitious vision of the Kingdom in 2030 and the National Transformation Program 2020, noting that the details of these aspirations have increased American businessmen’s desire to fully engage in the Saudi market.

Source: Arab News