Prince Mohammed bin Salman: Architect of modern Saudi Arabia

 

Prince Mohammed bin Salman: Architect of modern Saudi Arabia

Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi crown prince and prime minister, is a highly influential leader on the world scene. The crown prince steadily rose to ranks in Saudi government due to his dedication , commitment, perseverance and determination.

Holding vast experience in the private sector before involving in government affairs, he has the relevant knowledge, understanding and expertise to develop the Saudi economy on modern lines.

 

Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s dream to modernize Saudi Arabia

For decades, Saudi Arabia thrived on petro-dollars and spent vast amounts of money on building the infrastructure of the kingdom and improving the lives of millions of Saudi citizens. However, a forward looking approach demanded to transform the Saudi economy as long-term future of oil-based revenues is not very bright. This was the vision of crown prince Mohammed bin Salman who knew that in order to grow in the long-run, Saudi economy needed to be diversified and wean away its dependence on oil-based revenues.

 

Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 for Saudi economy

In April 2016, Prince Mohammed bin Salman officially unveiled the Vision 2030 to restructure the Saudi economy. This vision set the strategic orientation of the country for the next 15 years.

This foresight plans to reform Saudi Arabia's economy towards a more diversified and privatized structure with goals and measures in various fields, from developing non-oil revenues and privatization of the economy to e-government and sustainable development.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman realized that reliance on rent seeking economy could not do well to the country and the future of next Saudi generations will be at stake. Saudi Arabia is believed to hold vast reserves of oil but the demand for this black gold is going to shrink in the coming decades, because of the development of alternative energy sources due to concerns of global warming.

Oil revenue accounts for 30-40% of the real GDP of Saudi Arabia, not including the proportion of the economy that is also dependent on oil distribution. Decreasing this dependence on oil resources has been one of the goals of the government since the 1970s.

Another major aspect is to lower the dependency of the country's citizens on public spending by spending on subsidies, higher salaries and increasing the portion of the economy contributed by the private sector to provide more employment opportunities.  

Saudi Vision 2030 stands on three main pillars: to make the country the "heart of the Arab and Islamic worlds", to become a global investment powerhouse, and to transform the country's location into a hub connecting Afro-Eurasia.

Saudi 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 2030.

 

Neom; the flagship project of crown prince Mohammed bin Salman

At the inaugural Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh in October 2017, Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced plans for the establishment of a new city called Neom. This was a $500 billion undertaking to cover an area of 26,000 square kilometers on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast, extending into Jordan and Egypt

The Saudi crown prince said, “NEOM will focus on nine specialized investment sectors and living conditions that will drive the future of human civilization, energy and water, mobility, biotech, food, technological & digital sciences, advanced manufacturing, media, and entertainment with livability as its foundation. The focus on these sectors will stimulate economic growth and diversification by nurturing international innovation and manufacturing, to drive local industry, job creation, and GDP growth in the Kingdom. NEOM will attract private as well as public investments and partnerships. NEOM will be backed by more than $500 billion over the coming years by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, local as well as international investors”.  

Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s announcement followed plans to develop a 34,000 square kilometer area across a lagoon of 50 islands on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coastline into a luxury tourism destination with laws on a par with international standards.  In a further effort to boost the tourism industry, in November 2017 it was announced that Saudi Arabia would start issuing tourist visas for foreigners, beginning in 2018.

 

High speed rail between Makkah and Madinah

In September 2018, Prince Mohammed bin Salman inaugurated the $6.7bn high-speed railway line connecting Makkah and Madinah, the two holiest cities of Islam. The Haramain Express is 450 km line travelling up to 300 km/h that can transport around 60 million passengers annually. The commercial operations of the railway began on 11 October 2018.

 

Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s reforms

Prince Mohammed bin Salman established an entertainment authority that began hosting comedy shows, professional wrestling events, and monster truck rallies. In 2016, he shared his idea for "Green cards" for non-Saudi foreigners with Al Arabiya.  In 2019 the Saudi cabinet approved a new residency scheme (Premium Residency) for foreigners. The scheme will enable expatriates to permanently reside, own property and invest in the Kingdom.

In April 2017, Mohammed announced a project to build one of the world's largest cultural, sports and entertainment cities in Al Qiddiya, southwest of Riyadh. The plans for a 334-square kilometer city include a safari and a Six Flags theme park. 

Further cultural developments followed in December 2017 with Saudi Arabia's first public concert by a female singer, and in January 2018 a sports stadium in Jeddah became the first in the Kingdom to admit women. In April 2018, the first public cinema opened in Saudi Arabia after a ban of 35 years, with plans to have more than 2,000 screens running by 2030.

The first measures undertaken in April 2016 included new taxes and cuts in subsidies, a diversification plan, the creation of a $2 trillion Saudi sovereign wealth fund, and a series of strategic economic reforms called the National Transformation Program.

In October 2017, Mohammed said he aimed to have Saudi Arabia start "returning to what we were before—a country of moderate Islam that is open to all religions and to the world". 

In an interview with a CBS 60 Minutes that aired on 29 September 2019, Mohammed bin Salman invited people to visit the kingdom to see the transformation, asking for people to meet Saudi citizens for themselves.