Saudi Arabia’s Influential Presence at Davos Consolidates its Leadership Position

Saudi Arabia participated in the World Economic Forum, held between January 15 and 19, 2023 in Davos, Switzerland, where it reached several agreements and partnerships, and suggested initiatives.

This successful participation is the result of the Kingdom’s advancement in fields such as economy, technology, environment, society, industry, and geopolitics.

The Kingdom’s participation in the annual meetings of the forum also highlights its role in supporting regional and international stability through its steps to stabilize energy markets and maintain the balance between energy-producing and energy-consuming countries. Moreover, the Kingdom’s measures toward relying on renewable energy make it an imposing presence on and global stage.

In 2018, the Kingdom participated in the 48th session of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, which was held under the slogan “Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World”, King Khalid Charitable Foundation joined as an affiliate partner of the World Economic Forum due to its contributions to non-profit organizations.

At Davos, the King Khalid Foundation focused on enhancing multi-stakeholder dialogue and supporting public-private partnerships among business leaders, policy makers, civil society organizations, academia, and other international organizations.

In 2019, the World Economic Forum recognized the Saudi Aramco gas plant in the Uthmaniyah region as an “Industrial Lighthouse” that uses the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. This recognition confirms Saudi Aramco’s success and technical leadership, and made it the first oil and gas company in the world to join the list of “Industrial Lighthouses” and the first in the Middle East to be so acknowledged by the World Economic Forum.

The same year at Davos, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) showcased its latest innovations in plastic recycling and presented several innovative products used in circular economy, which aims to have closed manufacturing cycles for carbon production and consumption, reducing energy consumption and material waste. The products consist of quick-to-assemble structures that use composite materials manufactured by SABIC that can be repeatedly reused and recycled to manufacture new products.

The Kingdom also signed a memorandum of understanding with the World Economic Forum to establish the Forum Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) in the Kingdom, with focus on partnerships between the public and private sectors, and on major initiatives pertaining to the future of energy, health, financial and monetary systems, and other fields.

Finally, during the same year, the “Misk Global Forum” held a series of panel discussions addressing the role of youth in engineering the economy of the future, changes in the global economy and its future opportunities in light of globalization. Young business leaders and executives in several government and private institutions worldwide participated in these discussions.

In 2020, the World Economic Forum was held under the theme “Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World”, focusing on topics concerning economy, technology, environment, society, and geopolitics. Over 3,000 participants from the finance, business, politics, and academic sectors attended the meetings.

The 2020 forum addressed pressing climate and environmental challenges, the transformation of industries into sustainable and inclusive business models, and the mitigation of risks associated with Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. Discussions also revolved around adapting to demographic, social, and technological changes that are reshaping education, employment, job opportunities, and entrepreneurship.

As in previous editions, a high-level Saudi delegation participated in the forum, emphasizing the theme “Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, an Effective Global Enabler” and aiming to enhance its international presence and consolidate its global leading position. The Kingdom chaired the G20 leaders’ summit in 2020.

The Kingdom participated in six sessions of the forum focusing on three main axes: to establish the Kingdom as a potential power in the international community, highlighting its efforts in supporting regional and international stability; to emphasize the Kingdom’s role in the global energy balance, including its efforts to stabilize the energy market and balance between energy-producing and consuming countries; to highlight the Kingdom’s activities and ambitions in the renewable energy sector, showing the Kingdom as an economic power.

For the third consecutive year, the Initiatives Center of the Mohammed Bin Salman Foundation (Misk) participated in the Davos meeting with various events. The centerpiece was a pavilion that showcased interactive content for general attendees, with particular focus on young leaders, a topic that had been discussed at the Misk Global Forum. The forum is held annually in Riyadh and serves as a platform for global leaders and influencers to engage in discussions about knowledge economy and the empowerment of entrepreneurs. Dialogues among WEF attendees, took place in the pavilion, with particular focus on the future of work and empowering youth in various fields, including entrepreneurship and innovation.

In collaboration with the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, the Misk Foundation’s Initiatives Center had a cultural space called the “Saudi Café”, which featured interactive digital content. The café introduced international attendees at Davos to the Saudi community and its authentic culture, as well as the Saudi Vision 2030, which had facilitated communication with diverse cultures and opened doors for the Kingdom. The café also provided numerous opportunities for attendees to form partnerships and contribute to Misk’s initiatives in business, culture, technology, and media. The Initiatives Center also presented an overview of Misk Foundation’s initiatives and its role in empowering youth, showcasing the events organized by the center through its various programs.

During Davos 2020, SABIC further solidified its leadership by launching the TRUCIRCLE™ plastic recycling initiative. The aim was to bridge gaps in plastic recycling operations and boost efforts in the field. It entails using materials and technologies that promote a circular economy, including chemically recycled circular polymers derived from mixed plastic waste, renewable bio-based polymers, new polycarbonate materials made from renewable raw materials, and mechanically recycled polymers.

WEF also announced the inclusion of the Khurais facility in its prestigious Global Lighthouse Network, which recognizes leaders in applying Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. This achievement makes it the second facility of Saudi Aramco to join the network, further affirming the success and technological leadership of the company.

Moreover, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF), in collaboration with WEF, launched the Saudi Advanced Manufacturing Hub that brings together representatives of the public and private sectors, such as businessmen, and small and medium-sized enterprise owners, and the academic sector to explore opportunities and challenges facing various industrial sectors.

In 2022, the Kingdom sent a high-level delegation to the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting, which focused on the theme “History at a Turning Point: Government Policies and Business Strategies”. The delegation discussed important issues and offered practical solutions to world problems such as climate change, economic situation, shortages in global supply security, geopolitical risks, energy security, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic risks.

The delegation presented the Kingdom’s stance and its domestic and global efforts to address the eight principal concerns of the World Economic Forum: climate and environment, making fairer economies, technology and innovation, jobs and skills, improving the business environment, health and healthcare, international cooperation, society and justice.

In bilateral sessions and meetings, members of the delegation reviewed the Kingdom’s progress in tackling worldwide issues, such as developing the business environment, global insights into income and economic diversification, efforts to attain comprehensive economic and social empowerment for all sectors of society, and achievements. The advanced positions taken by the Kingdom in responding to and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic at all levels, as well as environmental protection initiatives in the Kingdom and the region, the most prominent of which is the “Green Middle East” initiative, all point to the Kingdom’s emphasis on sustainability.

The delegation reviewed the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, an initiative that supports the adoption of intelligent solutions based on advanced technology and Fourth Industrial Revolution solutions, and works to enhance human capabilities. They also highlighted the Kingdom’s vision for the security of critical commodities and resources, and its crucial function in ensuring the stability and security of energy markets.

The Digital Cooperation Organization and the World Economic Forum signed a groundbreaking agreement at Davos in 2022 to increase global digital foreign direct investment. The agreement outlines reforms designed to support investment opportunities in target markets and encourage digital foreign direct investment flows.

The Kingdom signed two agreements at the 2022 forum. As a consequence of the Kingdom’s accession to the forum’s Global Alliance for Value in Healthcare, one of the agreements aimed to advance prudent health care and establish frameworks for collaboration between the public and private sectors, and experts in this domain.

The Ministry of Economy and Planning signed a cooperation agreement with UpLink, the open innovation platform of the World Economic Forum, in order to expand the scope of the most innovative solutions in addressing sustainable development challenges. The signing ceremony took place on the sidelines of the forum. The agreement was part of the ministry’s endeavor to search for and study common topics in the field of food security, food waste management, food stability and climate-related smart agriculture, as part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to help achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals locally and globally.

At the 2023 annual meeting of the forum the Saudi delegation signed a letter of intent designed to support initiatives that strengthen a global network of knowledge, exchange experience, connect experts and knowledge partners from the public and private sectors, and help identify new promising markets that have the ability to contribute to the economic transformation process the Kingdom has embarked on, and identify the best strategies to unleash the development of these markets.

The Kingdom was a pioneering partner in the “Global Metaverse Village”, at the forum, which further encourages of the international community to cooperate.

The Ministry of Economy and Planning, in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, announced the launch of the Innovation Challenge, designed to enhance food security in arid regions.

This cooperation comes as part of the Kingdom’s efforts to develop innovative solutions to the most prominent challenges facing the world, among which food security and climate-related smart agriculture.

The Ministry of Economy and Planning joined the forum’s Jobs Consortium, an alliance gathering presidents, CEOs, ministers and other leaders united to promote a better future of work for all by enabling and providing job opportunities and career transitions.

On the sidelines of the 2023 forum, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hosted a dialogue session titled “Toward a Resilient Interconnection of Urban Development Resources” for key international stakeholders in the public and private sectors and from regional and global organizations. Participants discussed ways to sustain the cities of the future, and exchanged experience and ideas on the emergence of new models for the resilience of cities, and how to cooperate on their design, development and making these models available to the entire world. Speakers also discussed ways to develop new cities and existing capitals to become centers that embrace innovation and environment-friendly technology.

A high-level delegation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia participated in a meeting with global leaders, including Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum Professor Klaus Schwab, and President of the World Economic Forum Borge Brende, to explore areas of common interest.

The Saudi delegation included Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Saudi Ambassador to the US Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah bin Amer Alswaha, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim AlKhorayef, and Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal bin Fadel Alibrahim.

The Saudi delegation participated in dialogue sessions discussing global challenges, and participated in bilateral dialogues with ministers, senior officials, executive directors and high-level representatives of the public and private sectors from several countries. It was an opportunity to share the achievements of Saudi Vision 2030 while exploring the potential for international cooperation and partnerships.

The National Competitiveness Center and the World Economic Forum signed a cooperation agreement at the forum’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, aimed at facilitating and developing services trade in the Kingdom and raising its competitiveness in global markets.