Al-Qasabi Participated in the G20 Trade and Investment Ministers' meetings held in India
Dr. Majid Abdullah Al-Qasabi, the Minister of Commerce and Chairman of the General Authority for Foreign Trade, represented Saudi Arabia at the G20 Trade and Investment Ministers' meetings on August 24-25, 2023, in Jaipur, India.
The Minister expressed Saudi Arabia's dedication to ongoing collaboration and trade integration to foster global economic prosperity. In a session focused on "Trade for Growth and Prosperity, and World Trade Organization Reforms," he highlighted the positive effects of recent reforms on the Saudi economy under the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative. This initiative has spearheaded several critical efforts to bolster the Saudi economy's regional and global integration. He shared that the Kingdom's foreign trade had surged to $172 billion within a year, non-oil exports had climbed by 40% from 2018-2022, totaling $28.7 billion, and the Saudi Export-Import Bank had granted loans worth $4.6 billion.
Moreover, Al-Qasabi pointed out that there are now 1.2 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia, accounting for 80% of employment, and the e-commerce sector has witnessed an annual growth rate of 33% from 2016-2022.
Al-Qasabi also emphasized the considerable strides made by the Kingdom due to the reforms executed over the past few years, enhancing its global competitiveness. According to the 2021 Digital Riser report, Saudi Arabia ranked second among G20 countries in digital competitiveness. Additionally, it secured the sixth position among 50 emerging countries in the 2022 Agility Emerging Markets Index.
It ranked 17th out of 64 countries in the 2023 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, and 38th out of 138 in the 2023 Logistics Performance Index.
Lastly, he noted that India, this year's G20 host, has adopted the theme "One Earth, One Family, One Future" to promote the development of a robust and progressive global economy.