“Saudi Arabia is the greatest success story of the twenty-first century,” Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in an interview with Fox a few days before the Kingdom celebrates its 93rd National Day, which summarizes the achievements and ambitions of the Kingdom, which is today living its golden age.
Many headlines and many complex messages were launched by the young crown prince, who owns an inexhaustible reservoir of ideas and projects aimed at diversifying his country’s economy away from oil.
His political and economic messages charted the course of the Kingdom and its future in the region and the world. His followers noticed the crown prince’s abilities and wide knowledge.
One of them said in a chat with Economy Saudi Arabia that he was surprised by the sense of rhetoric possessed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is not yet 37 years old. This interview, which is one of the most rare interviews conducted by the crown prince, proved that he is a statesman who wants to place his country in the ranks of highly developed countries.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pointed out that Saudi is currently the fastest growing country in all sectors, and said that “our goal is to always bring Saudi Arabia to its best, and turn challenges into opportunities.”
“Vision 2030 is ambitious, and we have achieved its goals faster, and we have set new targets with greater ambitions,” he said.
“Saudi Arabia has achieved the fastest GDP growth among the Group of Twenty for two consecutive years,” he added. He explained that the Saudi non-oil economy this year will be one of the fastest in the G20. “The Saudi economy is number 17 in the world, and we can be on the list of seven,” he added.
He pointed out that Saudi Arabia’s investment in tourism has raised its contribution to the GDP from 3 percent to 7 percent.
The Saudi crown prince stressed that new targets have been set with greater ambitions for Vision 2030.
He pointed out that “work is underway to accomplish some things that we look forward to completing in the first half of 2024, and then we must move to implementation and preparation for Vision 2040, and announce it in 2027 or 2028. This is the main thing that we focus on.”
“To achieve our goals in the Kingdom, the region must be stable, and we look forward to the region and all its countries enjoying security and stability to progress economically,” he said. “I am focusing my time on what serves the interests of Saudi Arabia and its people.”
Read: Saudi National Day celebrations to mark on your calendars
Oil Policy
Regarding Saudi Arabia’s oil policy, the crown prince said: “Our petroleum policy is governed by supply and demand, and we are committed to the stability of oil markets. OPEC+ decisions do not support one party at the expense of the other.”
Regarding the economic corridor recently announced by the crown prince during the G20 summit in India, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that the corridor that will connect the Middle East with Europe will save time and money.
He stressed that the BRICS group is not against America, as evidenced by the presence of Washington’s allies inside it, and BRICS is not a political alliance, noting that he is in constant contact with the Chinese president.
“No one wants to see China weak. If China collapses, the whole world is at risk of collapse, including America,” he said.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman explained: “I say to those who are reluctant to visit the kingdom that Saudi Arabia is the greatest success story of the 21st century.”
“The pace of our progress will continue at a higher pace, and it will not stop or subside for a day,” according to the Saudi crown prince.
Sports
The Saudi crown prince said he did not care about accusations of “sports washing” and would continue to use the sport to increase his country’s wealth. The Saudi Public Investment Fund bought 80 percent of the shares of the English football club “Newcastle” in 2021, and recently attracted a large number of stars to join the Saudi Professional League.
Veteran Portuguese international star Cristiano Ronaldo joined the ranks of Saudi Arabia’s Al Nasr earlier this year, who also signed Senegalese Sadio Mane this summer.
Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Roberto Firmino and Riyad Mahrez also moved to the Saudi league in the summer transfer window, in addition to a group of other international stars. Saudi Arabia has also recently invested in golf, F1, snooker, boxing, and horse racing.
“If sports washing is going to increase GDP by 1 percent, I will continue to do sports washing,” the Saudi crown prince added.
“GDP grew by 1 percent because of sports, and I aim for it to be 1.5 percent, you name it, and we’re going to get that percentage.”
Saudi Arabia sees sports as an important part of the Vision 2030 strategy, as the country invests heavily in many sectors as it seeks to diversify its economy away from oil, and sports is one of these sectors.
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