Saudi Arabia Stresses Global Need for Structural Reforms at Davos

Saudi Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan participating at a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos titled “Resilience: What It Means and What to Do About It” (screengrab)

Saudi ministers at the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, highlighted the need for governments to take proactive steps such as implementing structural reforms, boosting the ability to handle shocks, and investing in human resources.
The officials argued that these steps are essential for economic resilience.
On his part, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan stressed the importance of investments for low-income countries.
He highlighted the need to build economic resilience and boost productivity to create job opportunities for youth.
The minister made the remarks while participating at a session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos titled “Resilience: What It Means and What to Do About It.”
Al-Jadaan highlighted the importance of aiding African countries facing debt challenges. He emphasized the responsibility to offer support and suggested that banks play a role in assisting these nations in rebuilding their economies.
He clarified that some African countries also face the challenge of having over 3 million job seekers, while others lack a sufficient workforce. This presents an opportunity to leverage the available workforce in Africa.
Al-Jadaan discussed the financial lessons learned from recent economic shocks. He highlighted the need for governments to focus on structural reforms, boost their ability to respond to shocks, and invest in human resources. These steps are crucial for enduring financial and economic resilience.
“I think governments will need to ensure that they do what they can every day, every week, every month and every year, to be more resilient by (applying) structural reform and continuing to enhance that, and increase(ing) your ability to respond to shocks,” Al-Jadaan said.
In a session titled ‘Gulf Economies: All In,’ Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih shared his optimistic outlook for the Gulf, noting how “the GCC is attracting Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) at more than twice the average rate than around the world when you compare it and normalize it for GDP.”
“We believe we are at an inflection point of increase of FDIs, as we have seen in Saudi Arabia,” affirmed the minister.
Al-Falih mentioned that the GCC countries will mostly see growth in non-oil sectors.
Talking about the digital shift in the region, al-Falih noted that factors like connectivity and speed are vital for attracting investors to the kingdom. He stressed the crucial role of digitization in the Gulf’s economic strategies.
Bandar Alkhorayef, Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, said in a session on ‘Supply Chains of the Future’ high-growth sectors including logistics, manufacturing and mining are becoming critical drivers of Saudi Arabia’s nationwide diversification.
“Saudi Arabia offers a combination of enablers, including energy and petrochemicals, but also our geographic location,” affirmed the minister.
He explained how the Kingdom collaborates with investors to eliminate carbon from operations and shift towards clean energy and “green initiatives,” aligning with diverse models to reduce carbon emissions in pursuit of the Vision 2030 targets.
He emphasized that the supply chain process should be driven by market dynamics, not politics.