Saudi Vision 2030 Quotes

dozen cabinet subcommittees that rarely met have been replaced by two that meet weekly, the Council for Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA) and the Council for Political and Security Affairs (CPSA). Now, all large projects must be approved by CEDA or CPSA, and will be approved only if they directly support Vision 2030.

Under King Salman, the technocrats’ representative body has lost influence. Major reforms have bypassed it. The Majlis al-Shura did not vote on Vision 2030, the Saudi Aramco initial public offering, or the imposition of a value-added tax.

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 was not the first such vision in the neighborhood. It had been preceded a decade earlier by another Vision 2030, this by its neighbor Abu Dhabi, which has been a pacesetter in diversifying.

Improved government finances are only one part of Vision 2030. The program also seeks to diversify the economy beyond crude oil production, refining and petrochemicals into other sectors where Saudi Arabia has some form of comparative advantage—specifically, mining and tourism. The country holds 7 percent of the world’s phosphate reserves as well as significant deposits of bauxite, gold, copper, and zinc. Yet in 2015, mining contributed only 4 percent of Saudi GDP. Vision 2030 sets out to double that number and create 90,000 jobs in the mining sector.

Nor will Vision 2030 dismantle the Saudi welfare system, but it can make it more sustainable. Finally, like everything else in Saudi Arabia, Vision 2030 will be affected by oil prices. With $100-a-barrel oil, the entire plan will look inspired; at $40 a barrel parts of it will appear ill-conceived and at $20 a barrel it will largely need to be rewritten.