The 26th day of Ramadan 2023 marks the sixth anniversary of Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz’s ascension to the position of Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
The Crown Prince has surprised the world with his decisions and approach to both domestic and foreign affairs since assuming his duties six years ago.
With wisdom, foresight, and ability to bear heavy responsibilities and make difficult and correct decisions, he has continued to achieve comprehensive development internally, while simultaneously shaping Saudi foreign relations.
The Crown Prince, in a surprise move, successfully restored relations with Iran, putting an end to years of tension and estrangement marked by threats, maneuvers, and statements.
Concurrently, he has also succeeded in bringing Syria and Iraq back into the Arab fold.
The Crown Prince has made the issue of complete independence for Saudi political decisions a priority, facing numerous hostile positions on both regional and international levels. However, with determination and perseverance, he was able to achieve this goal.
He has also forged a series of major international alliances and agreements, prioritizing the Kingdom and its interests.
On the domestic front, the Crown Prince has adopted a vision encompassing all goals for achieving broad development in Saudi Arabia.
His perspective is that internal success and national stability will yield results both domestically and internationally, allowing Saudi Arabia to play a prominent and influential role on the world stage.
Enhancing Saudi Arabia’s National Identity
The Saudi government, led by the Crown Prince, has been working to strengthen the national identity of the Kingdom with unprecedented momentum through programs aimed at promoting culture and heritage and empowering the Ministry of Culture.
It has launched economic projects in AlUla region in the north of the Kingdom and Diriyah, the first capital of the Saudi state.
Fighting Corruption
After the launch of the national transformation plan, dubbed “Vision 2030,” Saudi Arabia poured efforts into development and underwent radical economic reform programs, including effective plans to combat financial and administrative corruption and to prevent financial waste within the government.
These efforts were led by the “Supreme Committee to Combat Corruption,” which was established in November 2017 and is headed by the Crown Prince. The committee has been tasked with identifying violations, crimes, and entities related to corruption.
Eleven Programs to Achieve 96 Strategic Objectives of Vision 2030
Looking to achieve the 96 strategic objectives of Vision 2030 on time, 11 realization programs including the National Transformation Program, Quality of Life Program, and Public Investment Fund, have worked together over the past six years to integrate the main axes of the economic reform plan “Vibrant Society, Thriving Economy, and Ambitious Nation.”
In 2021, these programs moved from the planning stage to the implementation phase.
Rise in Non-Oil Revenues, Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Saudi Arabia has focused on developing non-oil revenues and reducing its overall dependency on oil. This led to the announcement of the Kingdom’s largest budget in history in 2018, with spending exceeding SAR1.1 trillion and revenues reaching SAR975 billion.
With direct support from Vision 2030 programs, non-oil revenues for the general budget in the third quarter of 2017 reached around SAR48 billion, an increase of 80% compared to the previous year, according to figures from the Ministry of Finance.
Despite global economic impacts, the Kingdom’s GDP growth rate continued to increase. It achieved the highest level among G20 countries and exceeded the trillion-dollar mark by 8.7% in 2022.
Launching Mega Projects
Supporting the diversification of national income sources, the Crown Prince, who also chairs the Board of Directors of the Public Investment Fund, worked on implementing the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques by establishing new systems and sectors under the theme: “mega projects.”
These projects rely on technology and knowledge, strengthen their use in Saudi Arabia, and contribute to gaining an unprecedented momentum for the Saudi identity and local historical heritage.
