Mohammad bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, introduced the 2030 vision, which aims to develop the nation beyond the energy sector, focusing on a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and comprehensive development.

Mohammed bin Salman is the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia who introduced the 2030 vision, aiming to implement structural reforms in the financial and economic sectors.

Saudi Arabia's 2030 vision focuses on economic diversification, tourism, and sports development to achieve its objectives.

The name of MBS' comprehensive plan for Saudi Arabia's development is Vision 2030.

The primary focus of Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud's 2030 vision is to transform Saudi Arabia into a global economic hub, reducing its reliance on oil.

Mohammed bin Salman launched Saudi Arabia's 2030 vision in 2016.

"Mohammed bin Salman's plan for Saudi Arabia's development involves implementing Vision 2030, which includes structural reforms in the financial and economic sectors, and has already led to remarkable achievements since its launch."

The main economic goal of MBS's 2030 vision is to build Saudi Arabia into a global economic hub that is not exclusively reliant on oil.

King Salman is supporting Mohammed bin Salman's (MBS) vision for Saudi Arabia's future, as outlined in the Vision 2030 plan, which aims to enable the Kingdom to move forward towards a better future.

Mohammed bin Salman has been the crown prince of Saudi Arabia since 2017, when he replaced Mohammed bin Nayef in a palace coup.

Saudi Arabia aims to achieve a coalition of moderate states, advance modernization and economic diversification, and improve prospects for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement in the Arab region.

Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, is leading the efforts of reform and development in the country, particularly through the implementation of Vision 2030 and structural reforms in the financial and economic sectors.

Mohammad bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, introduced the 2030 vision, which aims to develop the nation beyond the energy sector, focusing on a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and comprehensive development.

Title:

Content: Moderate ideology: The silent Saudi revolution

Sports events, movie screenings, art exhibitions and music concerts are becoming increasingly common in the kingdom, and Saudi citizens are lapping them all up.

Published: 25th July 2023 12:34 AM  |   Last Updated: 25th July 2023 12:45 AM   |  A+A-

It has been ‘work in progress’ for some time now. Saudi Arabia is changing the tone and texture of its ideology from what has always been considered obscurantist to something that keeps with the times. Sports events, movie screenings, art exhibitions and music concerts are becoming increasingly common in the kingdom, and Saudi citizens are lapping them all up.

The kingdom has rapidly secured its position as a centre for cultural events, art exhibitions and film screenings. The nation’s Vision 2030 envisages and fully supports the expansion of the entertainment market to SR30 billion. Almost every domain of entertainment for which Saudi citizens earlier travelled far and wide is now available at home. This is thanks to a break from the past that the de facto ruler, Mohammad bin Salman (MbS), the Crown Prince, has initiated. It makes eminent sense in a nation seeking to develop itself beyond the energy sector with three visionary themes: a vibrant society, a thriving economy and continuity in terms of ambition in comprehensive development.

All this translates into a modern civilisational outlook with technology, intellectualism, private investment, trade, tourism, academics and more, all becoming the prime domains of functioning. The traditional worldwide perception of Saudi Arabia as the centre of the obscurantist ideology of Islam and a nation with an anti-reformist outlook has persisted, and not without reason. A brief understanding of this is important to appreciate the degree of change that Prince MbS has been able to generate.

As the custodian of the Holy Shrines of Mecca and Medina and the land where Islam’s first message was delivered, the Saudi rulers and clergy have always been all-powerful, even more so after adopting the core ideology expounded by Saudi thinker Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. There is a long history behind this.

A virtual pact between the powerful clergy and the Royal Family has existed to promote the Wahhabi ideology in return for the powers that the Royals enjoyed. The pact saw enhanced clergy power after 1979 when the Shia Revolution occurred in Iran, the Saudi Ikhwan attempted a takeover of the Holy Shrine at Mecca, and the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Wahhabi ideology was about going back to the basics and making the faith much less tolerant by supporting ‘Takfir’, or the power of declaration of a believer as an apostate if Wahhabi tenets are not adhered to. The militant part of the ideology started to come to the fore after 1979. From segments of the Arab world to Afghanistan, Pakistan, parts of India, Indonesia, Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations, militancy promoting the Saudi brand flourished, giving rise to the notion of a clash of civilisations.

Saudi Arabia’s energy resources always dictated US policy. A grey zone existed here with simultaneous US support to Israel and Saudi Arabia, stacked primarily against Iran and the collective Arab will against Israel. A couple of factors brought the trigger for change. Among them were the discovery of shale gas in the US and the progressive decline in US dependency on Saudi energy resources. Second was the dwindling Saudi economy and the realisation that in an energy-based economy, without expansion into other domains of economic development, such as trade, technology, tourism, investments, entertainment and intellectual research, Saudi Arabia would waste its opportunities and resources. The tremendous advantage of being the centre of the Islamic world could give it enduring leadership status if it could neutralise the rising militancy within Islam. Nations all around, such as the UAE, had fully utilised their possessions and drawn major economic attraction due to pragmatism followed in all domains, including faith issues. The position of women in Saudi society, in particular, had a damning effect on the nation.

Nothing changes without a leader and a vision. Saudi Arabia was fortunate to get MbS, although his personal equation with the US has remained strained for various reasons, not the least being the Khashoggi factor. However, none of that has affected his intent of modernising the nation and for that, a more moderate form of Islam within the kingdom is necessary. To his credit, he has convinced the clergy of the need to follow his vision, which will also project Islam differently to many others who follow the Saudi guidelines on faith.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, from Saudi Arabia, who recently visited New Delhi for six days, is the Secretary General of the Muslim World League. The organisation was once at the forefront of promoting obscurantist ideology but is now transformed, as is evident from Sheikh al Issa’s message in New Delhi. The Sheikh’s belief which he transparently shared is that a whole generation of Muslims has grown up with an ideology that has given them a negative view of other faiths and an intolerantly sectarian understanding of their own.

In his several meetings with intellectuals, leaders and clergy from diverse faiths in India, he emphasised the role of the clergy in any faith. He admitted that Islam had earned a bad name for itself due to the acts of a few and the refusal of the followers to condemn those acts. He spoke of the role of family and education and decried religious teachers’ unsupervised education of young Muslim children. He mentioned that when intolerance and militancy were rising, people feared confronting them. His most poignant argument was that such obscurantism and militancy cannot be eliminated in the typical military way; they have to be removed from the roots by narratives stronger than the ones expounded.

Sheikh Al-Issa’s visit to India was symbolic of what appears to be the fading of the intolerant and militant element of Islam, but we cannot read too much into this. That change is taking place at the ideological centre is positive, but there is no guarantee of permanency. It is also not necessary that the message from Saudi Arabia is gelling with the vast Muslim populations worldwide. These populations are enmeshed with their local cultures and unlikely to follow examples. What is true is that a message supporting reformation has emanated from the nation considered the custodian of the shrines and, by many, of the faith. Nurturing this and taking it beyond is now the challenge.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

Former Commander, Srinagar-based 15 Corps. Now Chancellor, Central University of Kashmir

(atahasnain@gmail.com)

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What are some of the key goals of Vision 2030 for society and economy?

What are the main goals of the 2016- launched Vision 2030?

To lessen reliance on oil.
To diversify Saudi Arabia's economy

What has MBS done since becoming Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia?

Mohammed bin Salman is the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia who introduced the 2030 vision, aiming to implement structural reforms in the financial and economic sectors.

Title:

Content: RIYADH — Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman highlighted the remarkable achievements made by Saudi Arabia ever since the launch of its Vision 2030 and the government’s relentless efforts to implement structural reforms in the financial and economic sectors. The Crown Prince, who is also chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, said this in a statement issued on the occasion of the approval of the state’s general budget for the fiscal year 2024 by the Council of Ministers on Wednesday.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman underscored that the Kingdom is witnessing sustainable economic growth in light of the great development capabilities and opportunities that the Kingdom enjoys within the framework of the Vision 2030 to enable it to move forward towards a better future worthy of its status in accordance with the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman. “This produced a clear and prominent impact on the growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) of non-oil sectors.”

The Crown Prince affirmed the commitment made by the government in the budget for the fiscal year 2024 so as to enhance economic growth through the expansion of government spending. “The budget figures announced by King Salman come supportive and enabling many programs and initiatives. These include investments to strengthen infrastructure, raise the quality of services provided to citizens, expatriates and visitors, in addition to developing promising economic sectors, enhancing investment attraction, stimulating industries, and raising the proportion of local content and non-oil Saudi exports,” he said while praising the effective and important role of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the National Development Fund.

The Crown Prince emphasized that work would continue to develop the Kingdom’s public financial performance, by increasing financial capacity and building government reserves, in a way that enhances the capacity of the Kingdom’s economy, maintains sustainable levels of public debt, and enables it to confront any developments or crises that may arise in the future. “The increase in spending is mainly due to the government’s keenness to continue developing the level of public services provided to citizens, expatriates and visitors, as well as to implement many projects and expand spending on sectoral and regional development strategies that would achieve positive structural changes, leading to expanding and diversifying the economic base,” he said.

The Crown Prince stressed the government’s keenness on developing and strengthening partnership with the private sector so as to enable and motivate it to play its major role in achieving economic diversification, as far as to enable the labor market to absorb more of the Saudi workforce, create job opportunities in the labor market and reduce unemployment rates among Saudis. “The total number of Saudis in the labor market this year jumped to 2.3 million, in addition to improving the investment environment to be an attractive environment that contributes to raising the proportion of domestic and foreign investment, developing non-oil exports and improving the non-oil trade balance of payments,” he said.

The Crown Prince emphasized that the journey of economic diversification continues through supporting promising sectors, as the Kingdom works to raise tourism targets to 150 million visitors internally and externally by 2030 in addition to building an effective sports sector through the “Investment and Privatization Project for Sports Clubs,” in order to achieve the goals of the Vision 2030 in the sports sector, as these sectors are witnessing rapid growth and providing diverse opportunities.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman reiterated the Kingdom’s determination to develop its industrial sector, as it is one of the most important vital sectors in the Saudi economy, by diversifying the industrial base and value chains through the “National Strategy for Industry'', which focuses on 12 sub-sectors to diversify the industrial economy and raise the industrial domestic product by around three times compared to the year 2020, reaching SR895 billion in 2030 to be a major contributor to the development of non-oil exports. This is in integration with the important role of the PIF as it is the investment arm that contributes and complements the efforts undertaken by the government in diversifying the economy, and the pivotal role of the National Development Fund and its affiliated funds in providing concessional financing to the private sector, he pointed out.

Speaking about the pivotal and leadership role of the Kingdom, the Crown Prince stressed the Kingdom’s role regionally and internationally, and its endeavor to ensure that the countries of the world enjoy security and stability, as they are the main factors for development and prosperity, and its keenness to develop and stabilize supply and value chains in a way that serves the development and economic prosperity of all countries of the world.

The Crown Prince stressed the Kingdom’s determination to continue the development momentum during the coming year and in the medium and long term with boosting the attractiveness of the Kingdom’s economy as a base for local and foreign investments besides diversifying the economy through the development of all economic sectors.

© Copyright 2022 The Saudi Gazette. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

To drive development in  financial services

What are some of the key goals of Vision 2030 for society and economy?

What are the main goals of the 2016- launched Vision 2030?

To lessen reliance on oil.
To diversify Saudi Arabia's economy

What has MBS done since becoming Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia?

Saudi Arabia's 2030 vision focuses on economic diversification, tourism, and sports development to achieve its objectives.

How has Saudi Arabia diversified its economy under Vision 2030?

What are some of the key goals of Vision 2030 for society and economy?

What are the main goals of the 2016- launched Vision 2030?

To lessen reliance on oil.
To diversify Saudi Arabia's economy

What has MBS done since becoming Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia?

The name of MBS' comprehensive plan for Saudi Arabia's development is Vision 2030.

Title:

Content: In June, Saudi Arabia, along with two other Gulf states and Egypt, began putting pressure on Qatar on the grounds that Doha was providing financial support for international terrorism.
Saudi Arabia ’ s statements against Qatar could be taken as a joke, given that Riyadh itself has long financed the spread of fundamentalist Salafi Islam, which is often associated with extremism, writes Ayaan Hirsi Ali in an article for The New York Times.
Ivan Shilov IA REGNUM
The Saudis
On the one hand, Saudi Arabia ’ s actions against Qatar can be called a classic example of “whose cow is moaning ”.
On the other hand, Riyadh could use the smokescreen of the diplomatic crisis around Qatar to divert attention from the growing tensions within its own kingdom.
See also: Asia Times: US and China do not face the danger of the “Thucydides trap ”
The newly appointed crown prince of the Saudi throne, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, has promised to modernize the country ’ s economy, which includes measures to diversify the national economy to reduce its dependence on oil prices, expand trade, increase employment and eliminate some restrictions in public life.
However, within Saudi Arabia there are two factors that could put all plans of the crown prince in jeopardy.
First, the crown prince has a rival who can challenge him.
This is the former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef Al Saud, whom in November 2017 Mohammed bin Salman placed under house arrest and froze all his bank accounts.
The current crown prince has taken a very bold step, even by the standards of the royal dynasty.
However, Mohammed bin Nayef, who previously headed the secret intelligence of Saudi Arabia, can be a very dangerous enemy.
Ivan Shilov IA REGNUM
Saudi Arabia
Second, Mohammed bin Salman ’ s grand strategic reform plan, known as Vision 2030, poses a direct threat to the prestige and authority of the Wahhabi clergy in Saudi Arabia.
The clergy have influence, and they have a motive to try to thwart the Crown Prince ’ s plans.
If private enterprise begins to strengthen its position through reforms, the resources and influence of the clergy will decrease, therefore, the opportunities for retaining control over the kingdom will be reduced.
For centuries, the royal family relied on the support of the Wahhabi clergy to ensure the religious legitimacy of the ruling dynasty.
If modernization threatens to destroy the authority of the clergy, how long will it remain submissive to the crown prince?
Earlier, the crown prince made it clear that the influence of the clergy could become an obstacle to economic growth and reduce the dependence of the Saudi economy on oil.
In case of resistance of the clergy, the Crown Prince promised to take appropriate measures.
Most likely, the clergy will begin to openly resist the Westernization of the country with the same zeal with which Saudi Arabia seeks to attract foreign investors.
Since 1973, the Saudi government and its semi-official “charities ” have spent billions of dollars spreading Wahhabi ideology abroad.
The continuation of such a policy would be detrimental to the efforts of the international community to combat radicalization.
Saudi clerics have a powerful social network that provides a direct link to their supporters across the country.
The clergy can use this platform to undermine the plans of the Crown Prince and the position of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia.
In this regard, there is a risk of fomenting unrest in a country with a high youth unemployment rate.
In an effort to stifle dissent, in September 2017, Saudi Arabia detained several influential clerics who opposed Saudi Arabia ’ s position on Qatar.
In November, the fight continued, only under the guise of anti-corruption purges, in which more than 200 officials, large businessmen and members of the royal family were detained.
See also: “On whom should the US make the main bet in the Middle East? ”
Riyadh
Saudi Arabia ’ s Wahhabi clerics have extensive ties to Islamist organizations around the world.
Qatar can use these ties to discredit the crown prince in the eyes of international public opinion.
As a response to diverting attention from Saudi Arabia, Riyadh may intensify the conflict with Qatar.
The stakes are very high.
If the crown prince manages to carry out modernization, it will strike a blow to radical Islamism.
If modernization plans fail, the country could roll back several decades, continuing to export extremism abroad.
From the point of view of most Middle Eastern political players, any compromise is seen as a disgrace to the country.
Instead of accepting an ultimatum from Saudi Arabia, such as closing the news agency and severing ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, Qatar has only strengthened its alliance with Iran and Turkey.
Back in June 2017, the diplomatic crisis around Qatar seemed like a minor event in the Middle East, in 2018 it could trigger a big conflict.

What are the main goals of the 2016- launched Vision 2030?

To lessen reliance on oil.
To diversify Saudi Arabia's economy

The primary focus of Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud's 2030 vision is to transform Saudi Arabia into a global economic hub, reducing its reliance on oil.

Title:

Content: Can China Deliver In Middle East? – Analysis

By

By Kabir Taneja*

As the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran met in China to commence a thaw in relations, Beijing has positioned itself as an ‘alternate’ power, keeping a policy of cooperation, consultation, and non-interventionism at the forefront. With serious discussions over the conflict in Yemen now underway, can China deliver as a mediator and peacemaker in West Asia?

Beijing clearly puts a lot of weight behind the success of this initiative, as it leverages its rapidly growing relations with Tehran and Riyadh while marketing itself as a power standing for peace and stability. The fact that Wang Yi, former foreign minister and now Director of the Chinese Communist Party’s Foreign Affairs Commission, was present last month with lower-ranking representatives of Saudi Arabia and Iran to announce the resumption of diplomatic ties between the two, showcased the weight that China was willing to put behind this exercise. In a world where Beijing is increasingly seen as a disruptor, this offered a moment of statesmanship for President Xi Jinping in a geography where, until now, the West has been the traditionally dominant external influence.

However, a fundamental question remains: Can China truly deliver? It is one thing to strategically benefit from the work done by the Western and regional states when it comes to building dialogue in the region, but another to be a guarantor of that dialogue, and to intricately place oneself as a fulcrum of power both politically, and by association, militarily. For a long time, Beijing has maintained a similar policy towards West Asia as India, i.e., of not interfering in inter-regional politics. In fact, China has been a critic of American interventionism, not only from a tactical point of view such as the war in Iraq, but strategic as well, disagreeing with Washington’s designs of pushing and tugging on regional leaders for them to align with American strategic thinking. Today, Beijing markets its assistance in the region without such strings attached, with promises of vast economic cooperation without ethical or value-based demands that substitute economic or military assistance. This is an attractive proposition to many in the region.

The Saudis started to drift away from the United States (US) not long after heir-apparent Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (also known as MbS) stamped his authority over the House of Saud. The Crown Prince, only in his late 30s, has a massive agenda in mind. He aims to build the Kingdom into a global economic hub that is not exclusively reliant on oil. For this, MbS needs access to global markets, particularly Asian markets, and even more so, China’s US$18 trillion economy. Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-run oil company, posted a profit standing at US$ 161.1 billion for 2022. Some estimates suggest this is the highest profit posted by any corporate in modern history. This came on the back of Riyadh’s close cooperation with an embattled Moscow through the OPEC+ mechanism, much to the dismay of the White House.

MbS orchestrated the above by using the fault lines in Riyadh’s relations with Washington D.C., his own ruptures with the American Democrats, and the Ukraine crisis that has brought forward a great power competition. In the event of a fallout, both the Saudis and Iranians will lose face, but otherwise, lose little. Beijing, on the other hand, would lose much more—both a perception of its role in bringing ‘peace’ in a traditionally conflict-riddled region and a setback to Chinese power projection. China, at the end of the day, has brought the two parties to agree to open embassies, which were shut down in 2016 over Saudi Arabia’s decision to execute a prominent Shia cleric. A move towards this was already in play, with regional actors such as Iraq and Oman facilitating talks between the two parties.

The narrative of a diplomatic coup having been orchestrated did not come as a difficult one for China. In fact, Beijing only platformed an ongoing process while Saudi Arabia leveraged China’s good relations with Tehran to push a struggling Iran into agreeing towards potential normalcy, something the US could not have done. Reports also suggested that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, was frustrated at the lack of progress over normalisation talks in the past two years, giving both Riyadh and Beijing a pressure point to work with. This also fed into a larger discontent in the Arab world over Washington’s nonchalance on the seriousness of a fast-developing threat from Iran while simultaneously isolating another regional power, Israel, which was hoping to rope in MbS into the Abraham Accords architecture.

Despite the diplomatic normalisation progressing positively up until now, fundamental issues that divide Saudi Arabia and Iran will remain. While theological and ideological rapprochement is unrealistic, geopolitical fissures such as the war in Yemen, the role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in supporting militias in places such as Syria and Lebanon, and peace and stability across the Strait of Hormuz remain up in the air for now. Ending the war in Yemen will be the litmus test. Ceasefire agreements of the past had failed to hold, and the regional countries brokering talks today also tried the same back then. The only new player on the chessboard is China.

Beijing’s victory here is that of offering a table to sit across with no strings attached. It looks at both the Arab states and Iran as big business opportunities; and as the US tightens the screws around the rise of China, the middle powers are hedging their bets to secure long-term interests. The question remains: Is China willing, and able, to play the role of the traditional superpower? Is it willing to be a political and military guarantor? We are set to get answers to these questions soon.

*About the author: Kabir Taneja is a Fellow with Strategic Studies programme. His research focuses on India’s relations with West Asia, specifically looking at the domestic political dynamics, terrorism, non-state militant actors and the general security paradigm of the region.

Source: This article was published by Observer Research Foundation

Observer Research Foundation

ORF was established on 5 September 1990 as a private, not for profit, ’think tank’ to influence public policy formulation. The Foundation brought together, for the first time, leading Indian economists and policymakers to present An Agenda for Economic Reforms in India. The idea was to help develop a consensus in favour of economic reforms.

What are some of the key goals of Vision 2030 for society and economy?

What are the main goals of the 2016- launched Vision 2030?

To attract foreign investment
To lessen reliance on oil.
To diversify Saudi Arabia's economy

What has MBS done since becoming Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia?

Mohammed bin Salman launched Saudi Arabia's 2030 vision in 2016.

Title:

Content: Extensive reforms in the Kingdom in 2022
Financial: The reforms of the Crown Prince have great support from the youth
2020-12-28 at 08: 16
The Citizen - Translated by Hala Abdulrahman
The Financial Times pointed out that the Kingdom is carrying out extensive reforms under the auspices of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in rapid steps that enjoy great support from the Kingdom ’ s youth.
Extensive repairs
The newspaper reported that the year 2022 witnessed extensive changes in the Kingdom, based on the ambitious Vision 2030 launched by the Crown Prince, and the year 2022, when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, launched an important series of reforms.
These reforms include renewing and diversifying the economy to make it less dependent on oil and more open to other sources such as tourism.
The Kingdom is trying to attract young talent and Western companies in the face of growing global and regional competition, in addition to providing a more modern lifestyle.
Support for youth and women
The newspaper praised the elements of the empowerment of Saudi women and their inclusion in many fields and participation in many activities, which enabled them to achieve achievements at the local and regional level, while the Saudis welcomed these steps and enjoyed great popularity and support.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has received widespread support from Saudi youth.
The words of support and motivation for young people are always present in most of the speeches of the Crown Prince, which was evident during the launch of the National Intellectual Property Strategy, which is one of the possibilities to achieve the objectives of the Kingdom ’ s Vision 2030, aimed at building an intellectual property system that supports the economy based on innovation and creativity.
The real power.
“We have minds and energies that are passionate about innovation and creativity, and by enabling it, the Kingdom will be a fertile environment for the knowledge economy through an integrated intellectual property system that supports the development of innovative technologies and industries and contributes to the growth of enterprises.
In 2016, His Highness the Crown Prince announced the future vision of Saudi Arabia 2030, and Prince Mohammed bin Salman stressed that youth are the real force to achieve the national vision, which he believes will be achieved only through the Saudi youth, which is one of the most prominent advantages in Saudi Arabia.
Since then, Vision 2030 has placed youth as a pillar and roadmap to empower them, get out of the oil mantle, invest, and diversify economic incomes.

What are the main goals of the 2016- launched Vision 2030?

What has MBS done since becoming Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia?

"Mohammed bin Salman's plan for Saudi Arabia's development involves implementing Vision 2030, which includes structural reforms in the financial and economic sectors, and has already led to remarkable achievements since its launch."

To drive development in  financial services

What are some of the key goals of Vision 2030 for society and economy?

What are the main goals of the 2016- launched Vision 2030?

To lessen reliance on oil.
To diversify Saudi Arabia's economy

What has MBS done since becoming Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia?

The main economic goal of MBS's 2030 vision is to build Saudi Arabia into a global economic hub that is not exclusively reliant on oil.

What are some of the key goals of Vision 2030 for society and economy?

What are the main goals of the 2016- launched Vision 2030?

To attract foreign investment
To lessen reliance on oil.
To diversify Saudi Arabia's economy

King Salman is supporting Mohammed bin Salman's (MBS) vision for Saudi Arabia's future, as outlined in the Vision 2030 plan, which aims to enable the Kingdom to move forward towards a better future.

What are some of the key goals of Vision 2030 for society and economy?

What are the main goals of the 2016- launched Vision 2030?

To lessen reliance on oil.
To diversify Saudi Arabia's economy

What has MBS done since becoming Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia?

Mohammed bin Salman has been the crown prince of Saudi Arabia since 2017, when he replaced Mohammed bin Nayef in a palace coup.

Title:

Content: Latest News

Saudi Crown Prince Signals Family Unity As Royal Succession Looms

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman: Prince Mohammad’s actions sign a passing of the baton.

Riyadh:

An unlikely royal joined a Saudi delegation to the United Arab Emirates(UAE) this week, and readers of the Kingdom’s political panorama are viewing the transfer as a message of household unity from its de facto ruler after fractious years spent constructing his energy base.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Ahmed is the eldest son of Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, the detained brother of the Saudi monarch, and has no official put up.

Yet his identify topped the Saudi state media’s checklist of delegates accompanying Crown Prince and inheritor obvious Mohammed bin Salman to pay respects to the brand new United Arab Emirates ruler.

Known as MbS, Prince Mohammed had held off heading to the UAE till his father King Salman, 86, left hospital after a week-long keep that refocused Saudi watchers’ and analysts’ consideration on problems with succession.

“Having the son of Prince Ahmed sitting next to him in Abu Dhabi is a strong message to local and international public opinions, especially with the succession looming,” stated one Saudi supply aware of the royal household’s workings, declining to be named as a result of sensitivity of the matter.

More broadly, the delegation represented a cautious balancing by MbS of figures from completely different branches of the household, stated Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a political scientist at Rice University’s Baker Institute within the United States.

“(This) perhaps was designed to demonstrate a show of unity within the Al Saud family that has been under strain from issues such as the detention of Prince Ahmed and Mohammed bin Nayef,” he stated.

The Saudi authorities didn’t reply to a request for touch upon the delegation or alerts its composition may need despatched.

Counterbalancing

In a fast ascent to energy, Prince Mohammed has cracked down on perceived rivals and critics since changing Mohammed bin Nayef (MbN), the king’s nephew, as crown prince in a palace coup in 2017.

Having been endorsed by the Allegiance Council that very same 12 months, MbS’s accession is computerized and never anticipated to be challenged. He can be defence minister and tightly controls state safety providers.

But diplomats have recognized the March 2020 detentions of MbN and Prince Ahmed as a sore level between Riyadh and Washington, whose ties have been strained because the 2018 homicide within the Saudi consulate in Istanbul of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Saudi authorities haven’t commented on the detentions, which a number of sources stated on the time have been on prices of treason and depicted as a preemptive effort to make sure compliance throughout the Al Saud household.

Before his detention, Prince Ahmed had stored a low profile since returning to Riyadh in October 2018 following a visit to London throughout which he appeared in on-line footage to criticize the Saudi management.

The Abu Dhabi journey was not the primary time MbS has elevated kinfolk of royals beforehand out of favour, together with these netted in an anti-corruption purge.

MbN was changed as inside minister in 2017 by his nephew Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Nayef. In 2018, Prince Turki bin Talal was appointed deputy governor of Asir area as his brother Alwaleed bin Talal, detained in the course of the purge, was negotiating a launch settlement.

As he empowers youthful royals in positions of authority, Prince Mohammad’s actions additionally sign a definitive passing of the baton from the era of King Salman and Prince Ahmed – surviving sons of King Abdulaziz, who based fashionable Saudi Arabia and was adopted by six offspring as monarchs.

“Mohammed bin Salman has been counterbalancing resentment from some senior members of the ruling family by courting younger princes,” stated Kristin Diwan, senior resident scholar on the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)

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What has MBS done since becoming Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia?

Has consolidated his power and removed potential rivals

Saudi Arabia aims to achieve a coalition of moderate states, advance modernization and economic diversification, and improve prospects for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement in the Arab region.

Title:

Content: Magazine

Washington and the world

Opinion | Biden’s Saudi Arabia Opportunity

The president’s first trip to the Middle East offers a chance to make meaningful gains.

The U.S.-Saudi relationship has lately endured some of the worst tensions in its history. But President Joe Biden’s first visit to the Middle East next month, with stops in Israel and Saudi Arabia, offers a surprising opportunity — if both sides will take it.

A wide range of issues have stoked disagreement and mistrust between the longtime partners: Iran nuclear talks, the war in Yemen, the Saudi posture on U.S. rivals Russia and China, human rights (including the murder of Jamal Khashoggi), social reform in the Kingdom, oil production and prices, and the U.S. commitment to the Middle East.

That’s a lot to tackle in one presidential visit of perhaps 24 to 48 hours. As senior officials from both countries travel between Washington and Riyadh to lay the groundwork, they should be realistic about what is achievable. One principle that should guide preparations: Not all bilateral differences can be resolved at once. However tempting a grand bargain may be, the relationship is more likely to be repaired step-by-step.

What is most critical to address first? Each side has core strategic interests for which they need to see the other side demonstrate concern. Cementing a set of understandings around these issues would make a visit valuable, even while other disagreements remain.

For Saudi Arabia, the core strategic interest is ensuring its defense against the threat posed by the regime in Iran and its proxies, particularly the Houthis in Yemen, who, with Iranian backing, training and arms, have launched dozens of rockets against Saudi civilian targets. Closely related is the Saudis’ desire for confidence that the United States is committed to stopping Iran’s development of nuclear weapons and that Washington retains a strategic commitment to the Middle East and to its regional partners, even as it addresses other strategic priorities in the Indo-Pacific and Europe.

Here, Biden’s experience cultivating the close U.S.-Israel alliance, while also navigating real differences, is relevant. His career-long bond with Israelis is evidence that as long as one demonstrates clear understanding and empathy for a partner’s major security fears, it is possible to have very tough discussions on a range of topics and work through areas of disagreement.

Biden and Saudi leaders may not agree on returning to the Iran nuclear deal, for example; neither do Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (nor do the authors of this article, for that matter). One side sees the agreement as the least bad available alternative to buy the most time delaying Iran’s nuclear program, while the other side argues it only delays the inevitability of an even worse Iranian nuclear breakout and fuels Iran’s other regional aggressions through major sanctions relief.

The bridge to overcome this disagreement is to achieve understandings on what follows the nuclear talks, whether they collapse or result in a renewed nuclear deal. In either case, Iran’s implacable hostility can be expected to fuel escalation. Recognizing the severe threat Iran and its proxies will continue to pose to U.S. forces and partners necessitates clear U.S. commitments, underscored by its ongoing presence in the region: to assist in development of integrated regional air defenses; to sanction and designate Iranian entities engaged in terror and its ballistic missile and drone programs (even while the nuclear agreement lifts terrorism sanctions on Iran’s central bank and oil and tanker companies); to facilitate interdictions of weapons shipments to proxies; to rally international condemnation of the regime’s interference in its neighbors’ affairs and abuse of its own people; and to prepare military deterrence and defense options, alone or with others, to ensure Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon. That should include a clear and credible threat by Biden to use military force to stop an Iranian nuclear weapon. And the Saudis, who were shaken by the lack of any U.S. response to the Iranian attack on its major oil facility at Abqaiq in 2019 under the Trump administration, must have confidence that they will not be left alone in the event of similar attacks in the future. These commitments, which apply both to a renewed Iran nuclear deal and its sunsets and to a no-deal scenario, and which do not rule out maintaining deescalation channels to Iran, should also elicit a Saudi commitment to take no steps toward developing its own uranium enrichment capability.

For Biden, the core strategic interest that must be addressed is ensuring that Saudi Arabia continues to orient its policies toward the United States, rather than hedge its bets by leaning toward Russia and China. There are many aspects to such commitments, from avoiding acquisitions of major Chinese and Russian military systems to standing with the United States in condemning outrages like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s persecution of Muslim Uyghurs. In the context of the war in Ukraine, it also requires Saudi Arabia to agree to increase oil production to bring down prices, so sanctions on Russia have deeper bite and European energy supply needs can be met by non-Russian sources. Abandoning the oil production quotas the Kingdom and Russia established in the OPEC+ agreement will be a clear sign that the Saudis are prepared to give as well as receive, and understand that to be treated as partners, they must act like partners.

That is the essence of the bargain for both sides: the restoration of a partnership. It has always been somewhat transactional — a steady and cheap supply of oil in exchange for security — but its critical elements remain relevant even in the face of serious, perhaps unbridgeable, differences between the countries’ leaders. Saudi Arabia has no serious alternative to the United States as a guarantor of its security against the very real threats it faces. Facilitation of Saudi Arabia’s own defense capabilities, and assurances of U.S. intentions, are fundamental to the Kingdom’s success. Meanwhile, today’s oil price spike underscores the critical role that Riyadh has often played during past geopolitical crises in stabilizing oil markets. And in an era of global superpower competition, keeping key Middle Eastern nations aligned with the United States is imperative.

These are the central requirements that would make a visit to Saudi Arabia worthwhile. And yet it would leave important issues unresolved, from U.S. concerns over Saudi human rights violations to Saudi complaints that its dramatic social reforms underway have not been recognized. Biden should acknowledge these profound changes, perhaps by meeting dynamic female social and business entrepreneurs only recently allowed by Saudi leaders to pursue their ambitions, which they attribute to decisions of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). Biden can give credit where due and encourage a positive trend. But the Saudis should go further: They need to release key human rights activists from prison, especially those who pushed for the very social reforms MBS has now embraced, and commit not to imprison them in the future. They should also allow Raif Badawi and Loujain al-Hathloul, recently released from prison for advocating these social reforms, to secure a clemency from travel bans that would allow them to leave the Kingdom and, in Badawi’s case, reunite with his family in Canada.

The Khashoggi murder will continue to hang heavily over this relationship, as it should. In a clear, direct, private conversation between Biden and MBS, it must be made clear that it is a stain that will remain; that there is genuine remorse; that the Khashoggi family’s needs will be met; that no such crimes will be committed again; and that a pragmatic partnership on broader interests must proceed on this basis.

Beyond the confines of this visit, it’s in the broader interests of both countries for Saudi Arabia to eventually join the Abraham Accords. This is a priority that Biden should advance, and a stabilized bilateral relationship should enable him to do so in the remaining years of his first term. Growing Israeli-Saudi military and intelligence cooperation suggests the promise of greater commercial, technology and people-to-people cooperation, and eventual full diplomatic relations. Cementing a coalition of moderate states in the region, advancing Saudi modernization, development and economic diversification goals, and — handled sensitively — offering the Palestinians a path to participate in normalization that improves, rather than impedes, prospects for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement are all mutual goals that normalization can advance. Biden’s trip may include a signal of what is possible, with a limited step like the resolution of the status of Saudi islands in the Red Sea while ensuring freedom of navigation for Israeli ships, or the expansion of Israeli civilian overflights of Saudi territory. Extending the current U.N.-negotiated truce in Yemen will also help sustain a stabilization of U.S.-Saudi ties, while leaving open the path toward a more permanent settlement.

The mutual interests served by stabilizing this partnership should lead Biden and the Saudi leadership to embrace a framework to recognize and advance their respective core strategic interests. This approach will serve one other critical cause: helping ensure that the U.S.-Saudi partnership is not subject to drastic swings with every change of U.S. administration. Biden is a known skeptic of the Saudis, views he held long before he called them a “pariah” during the 2020 election campaign. Precisely for this reason, in striking such a deal he is well-positioned to strengthen bipartisan support in Congress and among the American people for the principle that this complicated, yet vital, relationship is worth preserving. That is an interest that surely Biden, the Saudis and most Americans can agree on.

What are some of the key goals of Vision 2030 for society and economy?

What are the main goals of the 2016- launched Vision 2030?

Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, is leading the efforts of reform and development in the country, particularly through the implementation of Vision 2030 and structural reforms in the financial and economic sectors.

To drive development in  financial services

What are some of the key goals of Vision 2030 for society and economy?

What are the main goals of the 2016- launched Vision 2030?

To lessen reliance on oil.
To diversify Saudi Arabia's economy

What has MBS done since becoming Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia?