His Excellency the Minister of Commerce, Dr. Majid Al-Qasabi said that since the launching of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 in 2016, Saudi Arabia’s economy has been witnessing radical changes that have opened many new commercial sectors to foreign investors, and raised the Kingdom’s economy to 18th rank globally.
During H.E. meeting with 110 investors from major American companies, Dr. Al Qasabi stressed in his speech that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia welcomes all investors and visitors who would come to explore the opportunities in the field of tourism, economy, culture and humanitarian.
H.E. Dr. Al Qasabi delivered a speech at the opening of the "American-Saudi Business Leaders Forum", hosted by Washington City USA on Monday 02.03.2020 AD, attended by a group of V.I.P., headed by His Excellency the US Secretary of Commerce "Wilbur Ross", the United States Ambassador to Riyadh "John Abi Zaid", Her Royal Highness Princess Rima Bint Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to the United States of America, and Kush Shoxy, Vice President of the American Chamber of Commerce for Middle East Affairs.
H.E. Dr. Al-Qasabi affirmed the depth of the historical relations between the two countries that date back decades, recalling the meeting of the late American President "Franklin Roosevelt" with His Majesty the founder of KSA, King Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud - may Allah have mercy on him - on board the American warship "Quincy" in the Suez Canal.
H.E. said that the two late leaders expressed great aspirations for the future of the relationship between the two peoples. They had laid the foundations for strong and fruitful relations that still bring the two countries together currently.
During the said forum, H.E. the Minister of Commerce drew the attention to the changes taking place in the Kingdom today, especially the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, launched by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense that aims to diversify the economy, promote the economic opportunities in many sectors in the Kingdom, besides developing trade and investment activities.
H.E. Dr. Al-Qasabi identified a number of opportunities available in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, especially with the presence of natural resources, the geographical location that mediates three continents, which constitutes a major transportation point for humans and goods, along with the Kingdom's religious and human symbolism. H.E. referred also to the Saudi human resources, in terms of expertise and knowledge.
His Excellency said: "We are in the midst of a dynamic and fast growing region that includes more than 424 million consumers, and there are more than two billion consumers near us, we need only 3 hours of air travel to reach them, besides we have been playing a global leading role in terms of energy for years, in addition to other natural resources in the Kingdom which make us an excellent platform for manufacturing and developing products in many sectors and industries that need large energy resources. "
His Excellency the Minister of Commerce referred to the latest developments in the Kingdom relevant to business environment that witnessed recently great reforms and improvements for attracting talents, expertise and international investments in the private sector. H.E. pointed out that the Kingdom had achieved a lot in the past, and it is ready to achieve more as far as the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 is concerned.
H.E. Dr. Al Qasabi mentioned a number of achievements since the launching of the Kingdom’s Vision in 2016, including the great leap in tourism sector, also the Kingdom is chosen to be the first Arab country to organize the G20 summit, along with enabling the foreign investors of full ownership, as well as the reforms applied in terms of empowering and enabling the Saudi women professionally and socially.
His Excellency said: “Our economy today is stronger than ever before, we occupy the eighteenth rank among the 20 largest global economies within the G20. We have a rich culture and heritage that our visitors can explore, we have new fast-growing sectors that provide great economic opportunities in different fields for our citizens and foreign investors alike. "
His Excellency was keen during the session to review the world indexes and indicators related to the Saudi economy, including 9% increase in foreign direct investment in the Kingdom, including as well great deals in several investment sectors not limited to oil and gas, promising to start preparing for an international summit on foreign direct investment in the Kingdom during the coming month of October, in coordination with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, besides choosing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia among the most competitive economies by the World Economic Forum and the World Bank.
His Excellency Dr. Al-Qasabi also drew the attention to the expectations of the International Monetary Fund that the economic growth in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will continue to grow during the next two years by 1.9% and 2.2%, respectively, supported by high government spending that makes the Kingdom the eighth largest spending country in the world in proportion to its GDP, yet it maintains the lowest levels of loans in the world by no more than 20%., according to its GDP.
His Excellency the Minister of Commerce concluded his speech by inviting all the attending investors to visit the Kingdom and participate in exploring the promising opportunities, taking into consideration the deep partnerships that unite the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America.
It is noteworthy that the "American-Saudi Business Leaders Forum" comes within a business tour conducted by His Excellency the Minister of Commerce, Dr. Majid Al Qasabi to the United States, in order to promote investment in the Kingdom, then H.E. will proceed to New York and Boston, where he will hold a series of meetings to promote the current investment opportunities available in the Kingdom in various Sectors, foremost of which are health, energy, industry, tourism and financial services.