Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has introduced a new National Industry Strategy (NIS) that aims to triple industrial output and increase the value of the kingdom’s industrial exports to about SAR 557 billion ($148.5 billion) by 2030.
Experts believe that the strategy has drawn a clear roadmap to push the Kingdom towards becoming a global industrial hub that supplies international markets with high-quality and competitive products.
Saudi businessman and head of “Al-Tamayuz” software company in Riyadh, Abdullah bin Zaid Al-Malehi, stressed that the NIS is considered a strong indicator for the Saudi economy and its pivotal role in backing the global economy.
“The strategy will enhance the position of the Saudi economy among the ranks of the world’s 20 largest economies,” Al-Malehi told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Al-Malehi predicted that the NIS will likely produce global and local alliances and partnerships in the field of advanced industrial technology and the manufacture of large data centers in Saudi Arabia.
The new strategy calls for increasing the number of factories in the Kingdom to 36,000 by 2035. Moreover, the NIS will help create tens of thousands of quality jobs.
Al-Malehi pointed out that the total investments of the industrial sector will exceed SAR 1.37 trillion ($364.5 billion), according to the bulletin of the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources in Saudi Arabia.
The strategy is a major driver for the work of industrial training centers for Saudi cadres, added Al-Malehi, noting that training on the latest industrial technologies, such as artificial intelligence and robotics, is a significant part of the industrial future.
Al-Malehi also explained that several reliable international institutions have reached the conclusion that Saudi industrial investment incentives are among the first in the world.
For his part, Abdulrahman Baeshen, head of Al-Shorouk Center for Economic Studies in Jazan, Saudi Arabia, stressed that the NIS will turn into a major pivot for diversifying the national economy.
