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).



Saudi Arabia Expands Efforts to Integrate into Global Supply Chains

Al-Falih speaking during the 28th Annual World Investment Conference in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Al-Falih speaking during the 28th Annual World Investment Conference in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Expands Efforts to Integrate into Global Supply Chains

Al-Falih speaking during the 28th Annual World Investment Conference in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Al-Falih speaking during the 28th Annual World Investment Conference in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia is intensifying its efforts to secure access to essential materials, promote local manufacturing, enhance sustainability, and strengthen its participation in global supply chains. This follows Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih’s announcement of nine new agreements, alongside 25 additional deals under review, under the Global Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (Jusoor).
Speaking during the 28th Annual World Investment Conference in Riyadh, Al-Falih described these agreements as a major step toward building more resilient and efficient supply chains in the Kingdom.
He noted that the program, which reflects the vision of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, forms part of the National Investment Strategy and is supported by government programs such as the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP).
Al-Falih highlighted Saudi Arabia’s plans to facilitate access to critical minerals, promote local manufacturing, and expand its footprint in global green energy markets. He emphasized that “green supply” is a fundamental pillar of the initiative, supported by investments in renewable energy.
The Kingdom aims to develop 100 new investment opportunities across 25 value chains, including projects in green energy and artificial intelligence (AI), he underlined.
The government is also offering incentives for companies to invest in special economic zones and aims to attract investments in emerging sectors such as semiconductors and digital manufacturing. Al-Falih stressed the importance of collaboration between public and private sectors in advancing Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goals.
He reiterated the government’s full commitment to realizing this vision, with ministries continuing to support this strategic initiative focused on sustainable development and the localization of advanced industries.
Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Al-Khorayef announced that Saudi Arabia has attracted over $160 billion in investments to its market—nearly triple previous figures. Capital in the mining sector has grown to $1 billion, while investments in mineral wealth have exceeded $260 million.
Al-Khorayef underlined the Kingdom’s commitment to building strong, reliable partnerships through strategies that prioritize supply chain development and sustainability. He identified the Jusoor initiative as a key mechanism for linking Saudi Arabia to global supply chains, tackling challenges such as energy transitions and the growing demand for critical minerals.
For his part, Minister of State and Cabinet Member Dr. Hamad Al-Sheikh, who also serves as Secretary-General of the Localization and Balance of Payments Committee, highlighted Saudi Arabia’s strategic investments in infrastructure, saying that these efforts aim to position the Kingdom as a leading global logistics hub.