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Five Key Areas Drive Social, Economic Growth in Saudi Arabia

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Five Key Areas Drive Social, Economic Growth in Saudi Arabia

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As Saudi Arabia’s public and private sectors strive to exceed expectations set by “Vision 2030,” an international report highlighted five key areas crucial for social and economic growth in the kingdom.
The recent report stressed the importance of developing regions outside the main urban centers to achieve the ambitious goal of making Saudi Arabia one of the world’s top 15 economies.
Published by Arthur D. Little, the report estimated a potential economic contribution of 27 billion riyals ($7.2 billion). The growth focused on five main areas: strategy, governance, human capital, infrastructure, and investment.
The report outlined success factors that can strengthen regional economies and boost national growth to meet Vision 2030 targets.
Saudi regions have significant potential to support GDP growth, especially major urban centers like Riyadh, Dammam, and Jeddah, which have a per capita GDP of around 107 riyals ($28.5).
Dr. Abdul Rahman Baashen, head of the Al Shorouk Center for Economic Studies in Jazan, highlighted that Saudi Arabia’s strategic approach is crucial for the kingdom’s development in various fields, including civilization, sports, culture, and economy.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Baashen emphasized the successful collaboration between Saudi Arabia’s public and private sectors, which has greatly advanced the goals of “Vision 2030.”
He pointed out that achievements in economic growth, investment attraction, and innovation have been significant.
Baashen noted the impressive performance of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which doubled its revenues to $88.5 billion in 2023, thanks to the growth in its portfolio’s market value and the strong performance of the National Industrial Development Program, which increased by 87%.
He also mentioned that rapid growth in key sectors like energy, industry, mining, and logistics has driven comprehensive development. Foreign direct investment (FDI) into Saudi Arabia increased by 5.6%, reaching 9.5 billion riyals ($2.5 billion) in the first quarter of this year.

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Business

Pakistan’s Finance Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: We Draw Inspiration from Saudi Arabia

The Pakistani Finance Minister during his meeting with Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference (SPA)
The Pakistani Finance Minister during his meeting with Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference (SPA)
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Pakistan’s Finance Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: We Draw Inspiration from Saudi Arabia

The Pakistani Finance Minister during his meeting with Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference (SPA)
The Pakistani Finance Minister during his meeting with Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference (SPA)

Pakistani Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb discussed the future of his country, which has frequently experienced a boom-and-bust cycle, saying Pakistan has relied on International Monetary Fund (IMF) programs due to the absence of structural reforms.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies, Aurangzeb acknowledged that Pakistan has relied on IMF programs 24 times not as a coincidence, but rather as a result of the absence of structural reforms and follow-up.

He stressed the government has decided to "double its efforts" to stay on the reform path, no matter the challenges, affirming that Islamabad not only has a reform roadmap, but also draws inspiration from "Saudi Vision 2030" as a unique model of discipline and turning plans into reality.

Revolution of Numbers
Aurangzeb reviewed the dramatic transformation in macroeconomic indicators. After foreign exchange reserves covered only two weeks of imports, current policies have succeeded in raising them to two and a half months.

He also pointed out to the government's success in curbing inflation, which has fallen from a peak of 38 percent to 10.5 percent, while reducing the fiscal deficit to 5 percent after being around 8 percent.

Aurangzeb commented on the "financial stability" principle put forward by his Saudi counterpart, Mohammed Aljadaan, considering it the cornerstone that enabled Pakistan to regain its lost fiscal space.

He explained that the success in achieving primary surpluses and reducing the deficit was not merely academic figures, but rather transformed into solid "financial buffers" that saved the country.

The minister cited the vast difference in dealing with disasters. While Islamabad had to launch an urgent international appeal for assistance during the 2022 floods, the "fiscal space" and buffers it recently built enabled it to deal with wider climate disasters by relying on its own resources, without having to search "haphazardly" for urgent external aid, proving that macroeconomic stability is the first shield to protect economic sovereignty.

Privatization and Breaking the Stalemate of State-Owned Enterprises

Aurangzeb affirmed that the Pakistani Prime Minister adopts a clear vision that "the private sector is what leads the state."

He revealed the handover of 24 government institutions to the privatization committee, noting that the successful privatization of Pakistan International Airlines in December provided a "momentum" for the privatization of other firms.

Aurangzeb also revealed radical reforms in the tax system to raise it from 10 percent to 12 percent of GDP, with the adoption of a customs tariff system that reduces local protection to make Pakistani industry more competitive globally, in parallel with reducing the size of the federal government.

Partnership with Riyadh

As for the relationship with Saudi Arabia, Aurangzeb outlined the features of a historic transformation, stressing that Pakistan wants to move from "aid and loans" to "trade and investment."

He expressed his great admiration for "Vision 2030," not only as an ambition, but as a model that achieved its targets ahead of schedule.

He revealed a formal Pakistani request to benefit from Saudi "technical knowledge and administrative expertise" in implementing economic transformations, stressing that his country's need for this executive discipline and the Kingdom's ability to manage major transformations is no less important than the need for direct financing, to ensure the building of a resilient economy led by exports, not debts.

World

Russia's FSB Says Ukraine's SBU Was behind Assassination Attempt on Top General

In this image made from video and provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, on June 23, 2023, Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alexeyev speaks to servicemen in an undisclosed location. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this image made from video and provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, on June 23, 2023, Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alexeyev speaks to servicemen in an undisclosed location. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
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Russia's FSB Says Ukraine's SBU Was behind Assassination Attempt on Top General

In this image made from video and provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, on June 23, 2023, Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alexeyev speaks to servicemen in an undisclosed location. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this image made from video and provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, on June 23, 2023, Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alexeyev speaks to servicemen in an undisclosed location. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Russia's Federal Security Service said on Monday that the men suspected of shooting one of the country's most senior military intelligence officer had confessed that they were carrying out orders from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

Ukraine has denied any involvement in Friday's attempted assassination of Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev, deputy head of Russia's ‌GRU military ‌intelligence service. Alexeyev has regained ‌consciousness ⁠after surgery, reported Reuters.

Russia ‌said that the suspected shooter, a Ukrainian-born Russian citizen named by Moscow as Lyubomir Korba, had been questioned after he was extradited from Dubai. A suspected accomplice, Viktor Vasin, has also been questioned.

The FSB said in ⁠a statement that both Korba and Vasin had "confessed their ‌guilt" and given details ‍of the shooting which ‍they said was "committed on behalf of ‍the Security Service of Ukraine."

The FSB did not provide any evidence that Reuters was able to immediately verify. It was not possible to contact the men while they were in detention in Russia. The SBU could ⁠not be reached for immediate comment on the FSB statement.

The FSB said Korba was recruited by the SBU in August 2025 in Ternopil, western Ukraine, underwent training in Kyiv and was paid monthly in crypto-currency. For killing Alexeyev, Korba was promised $30,000 by the SBU, the FSB said.

The FSB said Polish intelligence was involved in his recruitment. ‌Poland could not be reached for immediate comment.

Arab World

Israel Says Killed Four Militants Exiting Tunnel in Gaza’s Rafah

Boys walk past the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees in the northern Gaza Strip on February 8, 2026. (AFP)
Boys walk past the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees in the northern Gaza Strip on February 8, 2026. (AFP)
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Israel Says Killed Four Militants Exiting Tunnel in Gaza’s Rafah

Boys walk past the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees in the northern Gaza Strip on February 8, 2026. (AFP)
Boys walk past the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees in the northern Gaza Strip on February 8, 2026. (AFP)

Israel's military said it killed four suspected militants who attacked its troops as the armed men emerged from a tunnel in southern Gaza on Monday, calling the group's actions a "blatant violation" of the ceasefire.

Despite a US-brokered truce entering its second phase last month, violence has continued in the Gaza Strip, with Israel and Hamas accusing each other of breaching the agreement.

"A short while ago, four armed terrorists exited an underground tunnel shaft and fired towards soldiers in the Rafah area in the southern Gaza Strip.... Following identification, the troops eliminated the terrorists," the military said in a statement.

It said none of its troops had been injured in the attack, which it called a "blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement" between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli troops "are continuing to operate in the area to locate and eliminate all the terrorists within the underground tunnel route", the military added.

Gaza health officials have said Israeli air strikes last Wednesday killed 24 people, with Israel's military saying the attacks were in response to one of its officers being wounded by enemy gunfire.

That wave of strikes came after Israel partly reopened the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on February 2, the only gateway to the Palestinian territory that does not pass through Israel.

Israeli forces seized control of the crossing in May 2024 during the war with Hamas, and it had remained largely closed since.

Around 180 Palestinians have left the Gaza Strip since Rafah's limited reopening, according to officials in the territory.

Israel has so far restricted passage to patients and their accompanying relatives.

The second phase of the Gaza ceasefire foresees a demilitarization of the territory -- including the disarmament of Hamas -- along with a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Hamas has repeatedly said that disarmament is a red line, although it has indicated it could consider handing over its weapons to a future Palestinian governing authority.

Israeli officials say Hamas still has around 20,000 fighters and about 60,000 Kalashnikovs in Gaza.

A Palestinian technocratic committee has been set up with a goal of taking over day-to-day governance in the strip, but it remains unclear whether, or how, it will address the issue of demilitarization.