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Saudi Vision 2030

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Saudi Vision 2030
رؤية السعودية 2030
The official logo of the project.
Development programme overview
Formed25 April 2016 (2016-04-25)
TypeDevelopment programme
JurisdictionGovernment of Saudi Arabia
MottoSaudi Arabia the heart of the Arab and Islamic worlds, the investment powerhouse, and the hub connecting three continents
Minister responsible
Key document
Websitevision2030.gov.sa
Politics of Saudi Arabia

Arab League Member State of the Arab League

Basic Law
Monarchy
Government
Legal system
Recent elections
Administrative divisions
Foreign relations
flag Saudi Arabia portal

Saudi Vision 2030 (Template:Lang-ar) is a plan to reduce Saudi Arabia's dependence on oil, diversify its economy, and develop public service sectors such as health, education, infrastructure, recreation and tourism. Goals include reinforcing economic and investment activities, increasing non-oil industry trade between countries through goods and consumer products, and increasing government spending on the military, manufacturing equipment and ammunition.

The first details were announced on 25 April 2016 by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.[1] The Council of Ministers has tasked the Council of Economic and Development Affairs with identifying and monitoring the mechanisms and measures crucial for the implementation of “Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030”.[2]

Description

Oil comprises 30-40 percent of the real GDP of Saudi Arabia, not including the proportion of the economy that is also dependent on the oil distribution. Decreasing this dependence on oil resources has been one of the goals of the government since the 1970s, however, the implementation of this goal has been rather unstable and largely dependent on the prices of oil. The core priority is to be able to develop more alternative sources of revenue for the government such as taxes, fees and income from the sovereign wealth fund.[3] Another major aspect is to lower the dependency of the citizens of the country on public spending such as spending on subsidies and higher salaries and to increase the portion of the economy contributed by the private sector to provide more employment opportunities and to provide growth in the GDP.[4]

The vision has 3 main pillars: the status of the country as the “heart of the Arab and Islamic worlds”; the determination to become a global investment powerhouse; and finally to transform the country’s location into a hub connecting the 3 continents (Asia, Europe, Africa).[5]

The plan is supervised by a group of people employed under the National Center for Performance Measurement, the Delivery Unit, and the Project Management Office of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs. The National Transformation Program was designed and launched in 2016 across 24 government bodies to enhance the economic and development center.[4]

Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 lays out targets for diversification and improving competitiveness. It is built around three main themes which set out specific objectives that are to be achieved by the year of 2030.[6]

  1. A vibrant society: urbanism, culture and entertainment, sports, Umrah, UNESCO heritage sites, life expectancy.
  2. A thriving economy: Employment, women in the workforce, international competitiveness, Public Investment Fund, Foreign direct investment, private sector, non-oil exports
  3. An ambitious nation: Non-oil revenues, government effectiveness, and e-government, household savings and income, non-profits and volunteering

Projects

About 80 major projects are expected to be developed in Saudi Arabia by the year 2030. Most of these projects are financed by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.[citation needed]

National Transformation Program

On the 7th of June 2016, the Saudi Council of Ministers approved the National Transformation Program which sets out the goals and targets to be achieved by the Kingdom by 2020.[7] It is the first out of three phases each lasting for five years. Each phase will towards achieving a certain number of goals and targets that will eventually help the Kingdom in reaching the ultimate goals of Vision 2030. Also, to assist the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to finance all the projects to be developed and facilitate the process of achieving the goals and targets of Vision 2030, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman announced, in January 2016, that an IPO of Saudi ARAMCO is going to take place. However, only 5% of the company will be offered on the stock market.[8]

Red Sea luxury resort project

A beach resort is proposed to be built on the Red Sea between the towns of Umluj and Al-Wajh in the northern section of the Hejazi coast.[9] The resort project will involve, "50 islands and 34,000 square kilometers in a global upmarket tourism and leisure mega-development"[9][10] and will be, "governed by laws on par with international standards." The resort will allow women to wear bikinis in the pool and beach areas.[11][12]

The two massive tourism projects along the Red Sea planned by the Saudi government were to be run under the directorship of Richard Branson. On 11 October 2018, Branson issued a statement that he is suspending his advisory role for the two projects amidst the Jamal Khashoggi controversy.[13] Branson also suspended his talks with the Saudi government about investment in his Virgin Galactic venture. He said he had “high hopes for the current government in the kingdom and its leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman…the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, if proved true, would clearly change the ability of any of us in the West to do business with the Saudi Government.”[14]

Entertainment sector

In May 2016, a General Authority for Entertainment was announced by royal decree, into which over $2 billion have been invested. In Riyadh, the first public live music concert in over 25 years was held in May 2017, which featured American country star Toby Keith and Saudi singer Rabeh Sager.[15][16] In April 2017, the government announced a large sports, culture and entertainment complex, of 334 square kilometres (33,400 ha) at Al-Qidiya, south-west of Riyadh. The project will include a Six Flags theme park, due to open in 2022.[17] As a component of Vision 2030 there was a celebration of the 87th anniversary of the Saudi founding with concerts and performances, with women for the first time being allowed into the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.[18] On March 5, 2018, a 10-year strategic multiplatform partnership between American sports entertainment company WWE and the General Sports Authority in support of Saudi Vision 2030 was announced.[19] The partnership started on April 27, 2018 with Greatest Royal Rumble at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah.[19]

Women's rights

In January 2013, women were announced as members of the nation’s Consultative Assembly. In 2015, they were allowed to run for office in municipal elections.[20]

In early 2017, Saudi state schools announced offering physical education classes to both boys and girls starting in the fall of 2017.[21] Later that same year, the state announced allowing men and women to attend sporting events, including inside sports stadiums.[22] On September 26, 2017, a royal decree granted women the right to drive vehicles, a move which would take effect in June 2018.[23]

While a few relaxations were suggested and implemented by the government for the welfare of women, a lot still needs to be done. As many women activists have been held and criminalized since 2015, without allowing access to a lawyer. The case of Israa al-Ghomgham came into light after she and her husband were arrested in December 2015 for calling the release of political prisoners and an end to anti-Shia government discrimination.[24] Saudi prosecutors are seeking death penalty for Ghomgham.[25]

Other projects

Some of the other major projects to be developed are listed in the table below:

Some of the projects to be developed as a part of Vision 2030
Project Name Location Total Area (km²) Date of Announcement Expected Finish Date Cost
New Taif Project[26] Taif 1250 1 March 2017 2020 3 Billion Dollars
Al-Qidiya Project[17] Al-Qidiya, south-west of Riyadh 334 8 April 2017 2022 2.7 Billion Dollars
Downtown Jeddah[27] Jeddah 5.2 27 September 2017 First phase will be completed by the end of 2022 4.8 Billion Dollars
NEOM[28] Northwest of Saudi Arabia includes land within Egypt and Jordan 26,500 24 October 2017 First Phase will be completed by the end of 2025 500 Billion Dollars

Implementation

To achieve the strategic objectives of Vision 2030, new government entities were created and existing entities were reconstructed and/or merged.[29]

New entity Reconstructed and/or merged from previous entity Previous entity
Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA) PMO No
Delivery Unit (DU) No
National Center for Performance Management (Adaa) No
Corporate Communication Unit at CEDA (CCU) No
General Authority for Culture (GAC) No
General Authority for Entertainment of (GEA) No
Strategic Management Committee and Strategic Management Office (SMO) No
Ministry of Commerce and Industry Yes Ministry of Commerce and Investment
Ministry of Labor Ministry of Labor and Social Development Yes Ministry of Social Affairs
(Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and Ministry of Water and Electricity and Ministry of Agriculture) Yes Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources and Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture
Ministry of Hajj Yes Ministry of Hajj and Umrah
Public Education Evaluation Commission Yes Education Evaluation Commission

To achieve the strategic goals and targets of vision 2030, 12 programs called Vision Realization Programs (VRPS) were established. The VRPs were presented by CEDA on Monday the 24th of April 2017. The VRPs presented are: Enriching the Hajj and Umrah Experience Program, National Transformation Program, Public Investment Fund Program, National Industrial Development and Logistics Program, Financial Sector Development Program, Lifestyle Improvement Program, National Companies Promotion Program, Strategic Partnerships Program, The Housing Program, Privatization Program, Saudi Character Enrichment Program, Fiscal Balance Program.

The plan is supervised by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. Three levels ensure the application of the plan:

  • Overall, Vision 2030's directions and decision-making roles lie within a Council of Ministers and a Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA)
  • CEDA's director, as well as the managers of the first 12 Vision Realization Programs, ensure the following-up of the plan on the five-year level.
  • Annually, each entity concerned in the 2030 Vision is individually responsible for its budget and objectives.[citation needed]

Critical reactions

The IMF's country report on Saudi Arabia, launched a few months following the announcement of Vision 2030, explained that the fiscal deficit in the Saudi economy would indeed continue to narrow in 2016. It also claimed that recent, major government deposits at the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) acted as policy buffers to smooth the transition that the plan is leading.[30] In 2016 the IMF publicly warned that Saudi Arabia risks having no more foreign reserve currency within a 5-year period.[31] In 2017, it projected that SAMA’s net foreign assets would continue to decline, though remaining at a “comfortable level”. It expects that the fiscal deficit will continue to improve over the coming years, also noting that non-performing loans remained low, despite a slight increase to 1.4 percent in 2017.[32]

Over 300 specific targets have been announced across 24 government entities via the National Transformation Plan document to reach these objectives by 2020. The National Transformation Plan brings over 150 expected initial public offerings. However, reports noted the "key person dependency" of the Vision and the NTP, with regards to Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.[33] Other criticisms have been regarding the lack of information about the detailed plans to accompany the intended transformation.[34]

Certain journalists speculated that the plan’s goals were overly ambitious, and noted that non-oil growth so far was insufficient and would threaten the plan’s successful implementation.[35][36] One report felt that despite the national plan’s overall forward-thinking direction, "political reform appears to be absent from the policy agenda".[37]

Reactions were mixed following the announcement that Saudi Arabia would lift the driving ban on women.[38] Similarly to the overarching Vision 2030, some understood the announcement via royal decree as a reaction to outside pressure, while others applauded the move.[39]

According to a research paper written by Jane Kinninmont for the Middle East and North Africa Programme, from the structural disadvantages of the country such as weak institutions, inefficient bureaucracy and significant gaps between the labor force required by the labor market and the current educational system hinder some of the growth prospects of the country. Rebalancing the job market in the private sector will also prove to be a challenge since it is currently majority staffed by expatriates. One of the difficulties is that the private sector has lower paying salaries and expats are easier to hire and fire. Currently twice as many Saudi nationals work in the public sector than in the private sector. The challenge lies in getting a larger portion of the nationals to accept lower paying jobs that could require higher working hours than that of the public sector. Another aspect to be considered is moving the private sector away from the business activities that require very low-cost labor.[3]

According to Hilal Khashan from the American conservative think tank Middle East Forum, to have the 2030 plan succeed ignoring the relationship between economic and political development is no longer a viable option, the developments required to increase the GDP as planned will encourage the breakage of the tribal system taking place. Another aspect is the “zero tolerance to corruption” that may be very difficult to achieve with a “society where family, tribal, and regional ties are stronger than the nebulous conception of state identity”.[40]

See also

References

  1. ^ Marwa Rashad (24 April 2016). "Saudis await Prince's vision of future with hope and concern". Reuters. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  2. ^ "National Transformation Program 2020" (PDF).
  3. ^ a b "Vision 2030 and Saudi Arabia's Social Contract Austerity and Transformation" (PDF). Chathamhouse.
  4. ^ a b "Vision 2030" (PDF).
  5. ^ "Full-text-of-Saudi-Arabia-s-Vision-2030". Archived from the original on 2016-04-29. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "Full text of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030". english.alarabiya.net. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
  7. ^ "Saudi Arabia sets out 10 programs to achieve Vision 2030". Alarabiya.net. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  8. ^ "Saudi Arabia is considering an IPO of Aramco, probably the world's most valuable company". The Economist. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
  9. ^ a b "Red Sea resort an essential element of Saudi Vision 2030". 2 August 2017.
  10. ^ "Bikini-clad women in Saudi Arabia? Yes, really..." 2 August 2017.
  11. ^ "Saudi Arabia to allow women in bikinis at new beach resort". 4 August 2017.
  12. ^ "Women to be allowed to wear bikinis at Saudi Arabia beach resort". 5 August 2017.
  13. ^ "My Statement on the Kingdom of audi Arabia". Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  14. ^ "Sir Richard Branson suspends Saudi business talks over Khashoggi affair". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  15. ^ "Saudi Arabia allows concerts—even country music". Economist.com. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  16. ^ Anastasia Tsioulcas (22 May 2017). "How Did Toby Keith Get To Do A Concert In Saudi Arabia?". Npr.org. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  17. ^ a b "Prince Mohammed bin Salman announces Saudi plans for largest entertainment city". english.alarabiya.net. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
  18. ^ "Women allowed into stadium as Saudi Arabia promotes national pride, part of reform push". 23 September 2017.
  19. ^ a b WWE.com staff (March 5, 2018). "Saudi Arabia to host the Greatest Royal Rumble". WWE. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  20. ^ "Saudi king grants women seats on advisory council for 1st time". Foxnews.com. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  21. ^ "Saudi Arabia: State Schools to Allow Girls' Sports". Hrw.org. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  22. ^ "Saudi Arabia to allow women into sports stadiums as reform push intensifies". Theguardian.com. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  23. ^ Ben Hubbard (26 September 2017). "Saudi Arabia Agrees to Let Women Drive". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  24. ^ "Saudi Arabia plans to execute first female political activist". The Independent. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  25. ^ "Saudi Arabia seeks death penalty against female human rights activist". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  26. ^ "King inaugurates SR11bn New Taif projects". Saudigazette. 2017-10-01. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
  27. ^ "Saudi Fund to Develop Jeddah Downtown With $4.8 Billion Project". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-05. Retrieved 2017-12-13. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  28. ^ "Saudi Arabia Just Announced Plans to Build a Mega City That Will Cost $500 Billion". Bloomberg.com. 2017-10-24. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
  29. ^ "KSA Vision 2030 Strategic Objectives and Vision Realization Programs".
  30. ^ "IMF Country Report No. 16/326" (PDF). Imf.org. October 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  31. ^ Ian Leclecr (16 May 2016). "Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 Is Going To Fail". Theodysseyonline.com. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  32. ^ "IMF Executive Board Concludes 2017 Article IV Consultation with Saudi Arabia". Imf.org. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  33. ^ "Assessment of the National Transformation Program (NTP)" (PDF). Gib.com. 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  34. ^ "Looking to the Future: Saudi Arabia and Vision 2030". Bath.ac.uk. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  35. ^ Rakesh Upadhyay (7 April 2017). "How Realistic Is Saudi Arabia's $2 Trillion Sovereign Wealth Fund?". Oilprice.com. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  36. ^ Vivian Nereim (1 October 2017). "Saudi Non-Oil Growth Is Stagnating Even With 2030 Vision: Chart". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  37. ^ Jane Kinninmont (July 2017). "Vision 2030 and Saudi Arabia's Social Contract" (PDF). Chathamhouse.org. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  38. ^ "Saudi women driving ban lifted: Euphoria and sarcasm". Aljazeera.com. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  39. ^ Eman Quotah (28 September 2017). "Yes, letting women in Saudi Arabia drive is a baby step. But we shouldn't laugh at it". Washinpost.com. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  40. ^ Khashan, Hilal (2017-01-01). "Saudi Arabia's Flawed "Vision 2030"". Middle East Quarterly.
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