Saudi Arabia is “happy”, but not “complacent” with the country’s diversification achievements, aimed at reducing its dependency on oil revenues and attracting $100 billion in annual foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows by 2030.
Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan stressed that 87% of the Vision 2030 targets “have been achieved or are on track”, adding that the Kingdom’s non-oil economy now accounts for 52% of the country’s GDP.
“It is very significant for a country like Saudi Arabia,” Al-Jadaan said. “The unemployment rate among Saudi nationals now stands at 7.1%. We have a target of 7% in 2030, and we are about to hit that target.”
The minister further recognised the uncertainties created by regional geopolitical conflicts but highlighted Saudi Arabia’s offering of a safe and stable environment for businesses and investors, demonstrated by the $26 billion in FDI inflows the country recorded in 2023.
“Investors are investing in Saudi Arabia despite all the geopolitical tensions because Saudi plays a very important role as the anchor of stability,” noted Al-Jadaan.
Al-Jadaan underlined that the government is focused on achieving the remaining Vision 2030 targets and working to ensure that the diversification programme is completed without pressuring the Kingdom’s economic stability.
Although the success achieved so far is proof of the opportunities available, the minister acknowledged the challenges ahead, including those related to “human resources and the ability to execute”.
“We want to make sure that we don’t have too much leakage from the economy,” Al-Jadaan explained. “If you do too much at the same time and do not allow the economy to grow with you, you could have a lot of leakage from your spending by importing rather than manufacturing in the country. We are monitoring that and recalibrating our plans, and we have been successful so far.”
Looking at the Kingdom’s diversity and inclusion targets, Al-Jadaan discussed Saudi Arabia’s target of achieving 40% female workforce participation in the Kingdom by the end of this decade, an increase from its original 30% goal, already completed.
“If you look at women’s participation today, not only as employees but also as entrepreneurs, it is significant,” noted Al-Jadaan. “We doubled the number of SMEs in the last seven years. What is interesting is that 45% of these are female-led SMEs.”
During the talk, Al-Jadaan emphasised the importance of international cooperation and multilateralism to tackle global economic and geopolitical challenges.
“There are countries which are struggling,” he said. “Sovereign debt is a serious challenge that we discuss extensively globally. Fragmentation is getting more serious. Under the current circumstances of serious geopolitical uncertainties, we need to build bridges rather than burn them.”
