Hammad Khalid Albalawi, Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), spelt out a clear message of change within Saudi Arabia in his address to the XIII ‘Opportunity Arabia’ conference held in London this week.
He spoke about the intensive, collaborative planning done by 35 ministries in preparing the Vision 2030 and National Transformation Programme and the unprecedented public manner in which Vision 2030 was announced by ministers. “It was released live on TV with the ministers taking questions from the national and regional press,” he said.
He recognised that there are significant challenges in terms of building a diversified economy capable of productively employing the young workforce, but emphasised the political will of the leadership behind the drive to reach that goal.
“We are going through a transition period – a transition period where we are understanding how we need to change our culture; we need to understand that progress is the name of the game,” he said.
Problems such as late payment which act as a drag on investor confidence were being addressed, he said, and would be easier to tackle in the more joined up government being promoted.
“Our government agencies are now goal orientated. We have KPIs that everyone can see. We have targets that we have to achieve and there is now a new focus on collaboration between government agencies. Government agencies are picking up the phone to each other. We try to action items as fast as we can.
“We want to streamline government procedures. We are bringing the private sector mentality into government. We want to move away from the ideas of companies using Saudi as a hub for winning contracts – we will transition out of that in the next few years.
Lord King, the UK Prime Minister’s personal trade envoy to Saudi Arabia, said he had been particularly impressed with informative and open engagement by Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir, Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, in his recent address to the Houses of Parliament.
“He gave the most impressive address in the Houses of Parliament to a gathering of all parties – some pretty critical. He made the best case for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that I have heard made,” he said.
Lord King noted that the first treaty between Saudi Arabia and the UK was signed 100 years ago in 1916.
“Over those 100 years we have seen an amazing transformation into what the Kingdom now is. The sharp change in the oil price has had an enormous impact on Saudi finances. They will adjust; it’s a hugely rich country – it has enormous resources. Undoubtedly though, it is causing a lot of pain at the moment,” he said.
Speaking about the challenges faced by the UK and Saudi, he quoted the saying ‘The future is not what it used to be’.
“If ever that was true, it is true now,” he said. “Our two Kingdoms are facing extraordinary changes. As I stand here now there is not a single person in this room who actually knows what the outcome of Brexit will be. We are facing an upheaval and total change in a relationship established forty years ago. Every time you open your newspaper for the next two, three, five years there will be somebody saying ‘It’s all working well’ and somebody else saying ‘It’s a total disaster and they are going to make an example of us to discourage anybody else leaving the EU’. We are facing very tough challenges but that doesn’t mean that things stop.
“We have great opportunities and long established relationships which can endure and still prosper very well.”
With regard to Saudi, he noted that King Abdullah’s visionary scholarship programme and the advances in education and healthcare had come to fruition in context of a rapidly growing young population whose expectations of employment cannot at present be met.
He said that foreign companies needed to understand this reality. Simon Collis, UK Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, commented that “Saudi now feels more alone than previously within the region.” He added that in his 35 year long career, “I’ve never seen the Middle East more dangerous or complex.”
As a result Saudi is taking steps to bolster its role in the region, he said.
“It’s clear from the contents of Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Programme that they see themselves as central to the region with their economic assets, financial strength, geographic location and their religious convening power.
“Look at where the Foreign Minister al-Jubeir is travelling; he is visiting a swathe of countries that Saudi foreign ministers have not visited for a very long time in Africa and South Asia. They have begun to engage intensively with India and China. We see the formation of the Islamic Military Coalition against terrorism – 47 Muslim States across the Sahel, Horn of Africa into South East Asia. This didn’t exist a year ago and it does exist now – its chiefs of staff have met and its headquarters is in Riyadh. Things are moving.”
Looking at the domestic situation, he said:
“Internally, the model they have had over recent decades is clearly not sustainable. You can’t have a country with 30mn people of whom 18mn are Saudi nationals with Kuwait style level of public support into healthcare, education, jobs for life in the public sector – it’s not sustainable.”
With regard to the goals of the 2030 Vision, he said that if even 40% of the targets were met this would have a significant positive impact.
He emphasised that for the UK it is imperative to keep close relations with regular ministerial visits to sustain the partnership: “Regular political dialogue is critical to sustain the relationship.”
Opportunities for the UK to partner with Saudi Arabia are particularly strong in education, healthcare, professional and financial services, infrastructure and energy.”
He noted that the UK is perceived by Saudi as one of eight top tier partners alongside the US, France, Germany, India, China, Japan and Korea.
Peter Meyer, Chairman & Ceo, Middle East Association, which organised the event said that it is important to recognise that the new, young leadership in KSA is looking for long term relationships with its partners.

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