Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 for Saudi Arabia — showing results already, years before the deadline!
There was a saying in Saudi Arabia until not long ago, “There is no life without oil”. The amazing thing is, as part of the success of Vision 2030, created by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, this saying disappeared from the local lexicon.
The common understanding in the kingdom, that oil is no longer the only thing that drives the Saudi economy, is supported by numbers.
The Saudi economy more than doubled(!) it’s non-oil revenue in just 5 years, between 2016–2020. In 2015, prior to the announcement of the 2030 Vision, non-oil revenue totaled $44 billion. Last year, they reached $98 billion(!), with an annual growth of 11%, despite the global epidemic. In total, the no-oil revenue accounted for 47.2% of the total revenues of the kingdom — a historic level in the Saudi economy.
One of the foundations for the success of Vision 2030 is the creation of an advanced technological environment that can diversify the sources of revenue beyond oil. Clearly, the plans that support the 2030 Vision are already showing substantial results.
The experience of many other countries shows that the high-tech industry is a great engine of future growth. We think that a solid tech eco-system can also serve Saudi Arabia if it wants to further reduce the relative share of the oil sector in t.
The Saudis understand that reducing oil dependency has other advantages. It will protect the Saudi economy from fluctuations, sometimes manipulative, in oil prices in the international market.
Indeed, according to the targets set for 2030, the state’s non-oil revenues are expected to total about $ 270 billion. In addition, Saudi Arabia plans to increase its share of non-oil exports to 50% of total non-oil products, compared to 16% before the vision was announced.
