Vision 2030… It Pays Off After Eight Years

By Mohammed Hassan Mohammed Al-Naimi

The journey of the future began towards progress and prosperity on the twenty-fifth of April 2016, where the launch of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Vision 2030, was a real transformation through one of the largest national transformation programs globally, it is an insightful and ambitious vision.

Before the twenty-fifth of April 2016, it was not the same as after it, neither for the Saudis, nor for the region, nor even for the world, the “vision of the Kingdom 2030”, which surprised the Saudis and the world first with an ambition that has not been preceded by a country in the region in modern times.

Following the announcement of the kingdom’s vision, King Salman said at the time: “my first goal is for our country to be a successful and leading model in the world at all levels, and I will work with you to achieve this.

The godfather of the vision, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, added:”I am pleased to present to you the vision of the present for the future, which we want to start working with today for tomorrow, so that it expresses all our ambitions and reflects the capabilities of our country.

Eight years later, Vision 2030 has been achieved.. The vision has achieved over the past 8 years many achievements at many levels and dimensions, which included environmental, economic, social, sports and entertainment aspects.

It was amazing for observers locally and internationally, the speed of Saudis adapting to a new and rapid start for their country according to a modern compass set by the direction of the nascent vision, the vision became present in the councils of Saudis, their diwans and private and public conversations, discussing and touching its impact on their lives and seeing the eye in the rapid reforms they have experienced day by day since 2016 until the moment.

Eight years have passed since Saudi Arabia and the Saudis have been able to impress the world with their modern achievements, and introduce those who do not know their vision through hundreds of conferences and exhibitions globally, and they are waiting for their arrival date to achieve their vision after eight years, while their dreams are flying away.. Preparing for the post-Vision 2030.

The kingdom’s “Vision 2030” is on track at a speed faster than the speed of light, being a roadmap for a journey aimed at building a vibrant society, a prosperous economy and an ambitious homeland through an unprecedented transformation of the kingdom over several years up to 2030.

At the forefront of those great transformations brought to fruition by Vision 2030… Non-oil activities recorded the historically highest levels of contribution to GDP by 50%, non-oil government revenues increased to reach 457 billion riyals, and the real GDP of the kingdom increased by 0.9%, with the reduction of inflation levels at the end of 2023 to reach 1.6%, which is in line with the vision’s goals to achieve a prosperous economy through diversifying growth engines through the implementation of vision programs and major projects.

And under the vision … The kingdom continued its progress in the yearbook of global competitiveness, achieving the 17th place globally out of 64 countries, and the third place among the group of twenty countries, and the kingdom’s ranking in the economic performance axis reached the third place, government efficiency in the 11th place, business efficiency in the 13th place, and the infrastructure axis, the kingdom advanced to the 34th place.

The recent IMF forecasts indicated that the Saudi economy is a candidate for achieving the second best economic performance among the group of twenty countries during 2025, by 6% after India, and its economy is expected to grow by 6.5%.