Saudi Economist Appointed Visiting Scholar at Stanford University

Dr. Khalid Alsweilem (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Dr. Khalid Alsweilem (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Economist Appointed Visiting Scholar at Stanford University

Dr. Khalid Alsweilem (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Dr. Khalid Alsweilem (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The prestigious Stanford University has recently announced appointing a Saudi economist and investment expert as a visiting scholar.

Stanford Center for Sustainable Development and Global Competitiveness (SDGC) and Stanford Long Term Investing (SLTI) said they are pleased to welcome Dr. Khalid Alsweilem, PhD, as a Visiting Scholar to Stanford.

His research focuses on the study of sovereign wealth funds, with a particular focus on Saudi Arabia’s reserve sovereign funds and their links to the real economy, the University wrote on its official website.

His current efforts complement the theoretical work he did at Harvard’s Department of Economics on portfolio theory approach to public finance in Saudi Arabia and its application to his work as Director General of Investment Department and Chief Investment Officer of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) during the past 30 years. SAMA is the Kingdom’s Central Bank.

Dr. Alsweilem has published numerous scholarly pieces focused on the connection between sovereign wealth and the “real economy.”

His most recent book, dubbed “Sovereign Wealth Funds in Resource Economies” was co-authored with Malan Rietveld, Fellow at the Center for International Development at Harvard University, and published in 2018 by Columbia University Press.

The San Francisco-based University is one of the world’s most important universities that have been operating for over a decade. It was credited with technical progress, as it started from its laboratories at the Silicon Valley in the 1960s.

Dr. Alsweilem is a former Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

He was a lead author for three major papers on sovereign funds models and institutions that were published as joint reports by the Belfer Center for Science and International affairs and the Center for International Development at Harvard.

He is currently working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Golub Center for Finance and Policy (GCFP).



Tourism Minister: Saudi Arabia Sees 27% Increase in Incoming Tourists in 9 Months

Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al Khateeb speaks at the 2025 Budget Forum in Riyadh. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al Khateeb speaks at the 2025 Budget Forum in Riyadh. (SPA)
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Tourism Minister: Saudi Arabia Sees 27% Increase in Incoming Tourists in 9 Months

Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al Khateeb speaks at the 2025 Budget Forum in Riyadh. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al Khateeb speaks at the 2025 Budget Forum in Riyadh. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia's tourism sector continues to achieve remarkable growth, as incoming tourist numbers surged by 27% in the first nine months of 2024 compared to a 14% increase during the same period last year, said Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al Khateeb on Wednesday.

Speaking at the 2025 Budget Forum in Riyadh, Al Khateeb underscored the sector's significant progress toward realizing the goals of Vision 2030.

International tourist arrivals for recreational purposes increased by an extraordinary 600% in 2023 from 2018, he revealed, adding that the rise has been complemented by a boost in visitors arriving for religious purposes, with the Kingdom encouraging such visitors to explore other cities to experience natural and archaeological sites.

The minister said rural tourism has also gained popularity, with increasing demand reported across the Kingdom's diverse regions. By the end of 2023, tourism's contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) reached 5%, and efforts are underway to achieve a 10% contribution by 2030.

Al Khateeb highlighted the economic impact of the sector, noting a surplus of over SAR 41 billion in the balance of payments during the first half of 2024, compared to SAR 48.1 billion for the entirety of 2023. This marks a significant turnaround from 2018 when the balance recorded a deficit of SAR 10 billion, said the minister.

Employment in the tourism sector has also grown substantially, with the number of jobs increasing from 750,000 to 960,000, and localization within the hospitality sector reaching 35%, he added.

The Ministry of Tourism, under the leadership of Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, is investing heavily in training and developing local talent.

The ministry allocates an annual budget of SAR 375 million to support the qualification and training of up to 100,000 Saudis, including over 10,000 opportunities at world-class institutes, enabling them to take on leadership roles within the industry, Al Khateeb stressed.