Saudi Arabia is halfway through achieving Vision 2030: Minister

Faisal bin Fadel Al-Ibrahim, Minister of Economy and Planning

Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Al-Ibrahim said Saudi Arabia managed to achieve the fastest economic growth rate of 8.7% in 2022, with non-oil activity growing by 5.6% and is still going strong for constituting 51% of the Kingdom’s real GDP, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

"The Kingdom’s non-oil economy is larger than its oil economy," he added during his participation in a seminar on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the New Champions of the World Economic Forum, held in Dalian, China.

The seminar, titled “What to Expect from Future Growth”, focused on the rapid growth of the Saudi non-oil activity since the launch of Vision 2030.

"The Kingdom is halfway through its journey towards Vision 2030, and we will continue to deliver what we started seven years ago, during which several achievements have been made and we have priorities, which are: accelerating the pace of economic diversification and enhancing the outcomes of human capital development," Al-Ibrahim was quoted as saying.

"We now stand on the threshold of a new economic era that will witness exciting transformations over the coming decades," he continued.

The Kingdom plays a major role in energy security and climate action. It is at the forefront of producers of the cleanest hydrocarbon energy and is also among the pioneers in the field of renewable energy, namely green hydrogen, solar energy, wind energy, and other sources, the minister stated.

He also emphasized the necessity of building a comprehensive and integrated approach to tackle global economic challenges, noting that by adopting international cooperation, innovation and comprehensive solutions, the international community can effectively address some of these challenges and mitigate their severity.