Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Premier and Chairman of the Council of Economic Affairs and Development, stressed that Saudi Arabia will not waste years dealing with extremist ideas, because the Kingdom wants a life that translates Islam, the tolerant religion. Crown Prince pledged that Saudi Arabia will work to eradicate the remnants of extremism.
Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative Forum, hosted by the Public Investment Fund till Thursday, Prince Mohammed said that Saudi Arabia is just returning to the era prior to 1979 where Islam was a moderate and open religion that is tolerant to all other religions, traditions, and people.
He continued, "Saudi was not like this before 1979. Saudi Arabia and the entire region went through a revival after 1979. All we're doing is going back to what we were: a moderate Islam that is open to all religions and to the world and to all traditions and people."
Speaking of the youth, the Crown Prince said that 70 percent of Saudi society are young people who are no older than 30 years old.
"They are motivating me. They are the engine pushing me forward. If they work and follow the appropriate direction, they will create another country. Seventy percent of the Saudis have passion, accuracy and cleverness to achieve the unattainable," he added.
Prince Mohammed reiterated: "We will not spend the next 30 years of our lives dealing with destructive ideas. We will destroy them today."
Under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince Mohammed inaugurated on Tuesday the Future Investment Initiative Forum.
About 2,500 prominent business leaders from over 60 countries participated in the forum to discuss opportunities and challenges that would shape the global economy and investment environment over the coming decades.
Saudi Council of Senior Scholars stated on its Twitter account that Saudi Arabia should be a leader and pioneer in achieving its goals. The council wished the Crown Prince the best of luck in consolidating the Kingdom's standing worldwide.
The council added in a tweet that, based on King Salman's directives, Saudi Arabia will continue to have an international influence.
Earlier, the Crown Prince announced the launch of NEOM project which is within the framework of Vision 2030 aiming to transform the Kingdom to a pioneering global model.
The NEOM region will focus on nine specialized investment sectors targeting the future of human civilization including: future of energy and water, future of transport, future of bio-technologies, future of food, future of technical and digital sciences, future of advanced industrialization, future of information and media production, future of entertainment and the future of living.
