The economy of Saudi Arabia is presently changing dramatically. The ambitious Vision 2030 initiative, which aims to diminish the Kingdom’s reliance on its oil-exporting economy and usher in a new era of diversification and opportunity for its population, has already made tremendous progress toward achieving its full economic potential over the course of 15 years. However, through recruiting firms or job-search websites like https://layboard.in, foreigners will also have several options to obtain employment in Saudi Arabia.
As 2024 draws to a close, it is worthwhile to consider the roadmap’s key accomplishments as well as the outlook for the Middle East’s largest economy (by nominal gross domestic product) for the rest of the decade.
Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS, was a major driving force behind the April 2016 launch of Vision 2030, which has drawn attention from numerous government institutions. The three primary focuses were worldwide outreach, economic/financial, and social.
Regarding the economy, the plan remains steadfast in its goal of diversifying away from oil and offering its people a wide range of high-value job possibilities. At a time when fossil fuels are being examined and ignored more than ever before, the desired diversification away from crude oil is occurring. A coordinated divestment from oil and gas could not be more fitting at a time when the world’s attention is focused on numerous oil-producing nations, including the Kingdom itself.
In fact, the Kingdom’s shift to greener energy sources has become crucial after a 2022 study by the United Nations (UN) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) revealed that in order to meet the 2015 Paris Agreement’s global warming target of less than 1.5 degrees Celsius (°C), carbon emissions must be cut by 43% from 2019 levels by 2030 and reach zero emissions by 2050.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) claims that an enhanced business and regulatory environment has a major role in supporting the diversification process. The fund announced on September 28 that the number of new investment deals and licenses increased by 95 percent and 267 percent, respectively, in 2022 as a result of a new set of rules designed to encourage entrepreneurship, safeguard investors’ rights, and lower operating expenses.
The Public Investment Fund (PIF), the nation’s sovereign wealth fund with a current value of approximately $776 billion, was also commended by the IMF for its critical role in funding many of the program’s most ambitious and exciting economic projects. It has also made investments in new projects and private growth sectors that are currently propelling the nation’s advancement.
A prime example of PIF’s achievement is the $1.3 trillion Center for Strengthening Partnerships with the Private Sector (Shareek), which has already made investments in a number of technology research centers, renewable hydrogen, and catalysts for industrial refining and chemical manufacture. By 2040, the state also intends to add around 64,000 new employment. Saudi Arabia will therefore surprise you if you’re looking for a career. To expedite your search, use job search websites like Layboard.
Development initiatives
Despite not being officially included in Vision 2030, PIF’s globally recognized giga projects have developed a strong connection with the initiative. Some projects, such as the Addiriyah Gate heritage efforts, Kiddies entertainment city, and global tourism on the Red Sea, have already started construction.
However, the Kingdom’s most contentious sustainability-based giga-project has attracted the most international attention due to its distinctive scale and design, as well as the noticeably little environmental effect it aims to foster through a new sustainable living paradigm. Once more, PIF accounts for the great majority of the investment in these giga projects; further private funding sources are anticipated to surface in the upcoming years.
Indeed, in order to support this all-encompassing economic revolution, enormous resources are being allocated to a variety of programs. In a June 2023 article for the U.S. edition of Project Syndicate, Tariq M. Yousef, director and senior fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, and Rabah Aretsky, director of research at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), co-authored the statement, “Efforts are underway to transform the country into a center for green energy (including hydrogen), mining, logistics and infrastructure, sports, music, tourism, digital services, finance, and entrepreneurship.”
And it’s already evident that a lot of Vision 2030’s ambitious aims are coming true, along with notable advancements in important economic objectives. In late October, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) declared, “In our assessment, the results are robust against most of the 14 quantitative economic goals contained in the original vision document.” While there is potential for additional progress in certain categories, such as women’s house ownership and labor force participation, the results range from notable outperformance in other areas. Religious tourism and foreign direct investment are two areas that require attention, but there are already indications that things will become better in the years to come.
Connecting the Saudi economy and oil
The IMF attributes the strong performance to strong private consumption and non-oil private investment, including massive projects and high growth in wholesale trade. In fact, Saudi Arabia’s GDP (gross domestic product) grew by 8.7 percent in 2022, making it the fastest growing G20 (Group of Twenty) economy. Its non-oil GDP growth was as high as 4.8 percent. transportation, building, and retail. The IMF also noted that the share of non-oil activities doubled from 30 years ago, while the share of oil activities “declined substantially over the same period,” indicating that a commitment to diversifying the economy and lowering reliance on the oil sector “has led to a significant transition.”
The unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia is at an all-time low. Overall unemployment has decreased from 9 percent during COVID-19 to 4.8 percent by the end of 2022 due to higher labor force participation. This is due to both a rise in the number of Saudi workers in the private sector and foreign workers (primarily in the construction and agriculture sectors) who have once again surpassed pre-COVID levels, the IMF reported on September 6 after concluding consultations with Saudi Arabia on July 20. “Female labor force participation reached 36 percent in 2022, exceeding the 30 percent target set under the Vision 2030 reform agenda, while youth unemployment has halved over the last two years to 16.8 percent in 2022.”
Results
Goldman Sachs stated that significant projects must increase efficiency and profits, as well as foster an atmosphere that is more favorable to innovation and workforce skills that support diversification plans, in order to overcome the obstacles anticipated in the push for wider diversification. In a national report released in October, the U.S. bank clarified that “improving business fees and taxes, particularly at the local and city levels, will further support private sector development.”
