Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Kingdom’s Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA), reaffirmed that Vision 2030 programs were able to make exceptional achievements, as well as address structural challenges in the past five years.
The Crown Prince thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz for his great support and utmost care for the national transformation plan. He also hailed the efforts of all government agencies to overcome many challenges during the past period.
Lauding the invaluable experiences gained, the Crown Prince said it enhanced confidence in achieving the goals and objectives of Vision 2030.
“There are many things that remain to be done on various levels to achieve the goals of the Vision 2030 as hoped and desired,” he said.
Meanwhile, a CEDA meeting reviewed progress on Vision 2030 projects over the last five years.
Announced in 2016, Vision 2030 includes key goals such as reinforcing economic and investment activities and increasing non-oil international trade.
Over the past five years, the focus was mainly on establishing infrastructure, building institutional and legislative structures, framing public policies and empowering initiatives.
In the coming phase, efforts will center around implementation, accelerating achievements and further enhancing the participation of citizens and the private sector.
Reviewing accomplishments on transforming the Kingdom into a global destination, CEDA found that access to emergency health services within four hours improved to 87%, compared to 36% in the past.
As for housing in the Kingdom, homeownership increased to 60%, up from 47% five years ago. Moreover, the process of obtaining housing subsidies became very prompt.
Concerning the growing interest in Saudi archaeological and heritage sites, the number of historic locations open to visitation in the Kingdom stood at 354 in 2020. Only 241 heritage spots could be visited in 2017.
The number of urban heritage sites registered in the Kingdom’s national database reached 1,000 in 2020, compared to just 400 in 2016.
