Saudi Arabia on the path to socioeconomic transformation
In a recent TV interview to mark the fifth anniversary of the launch of the Saudi Vision 2030 reform plan, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman outlined the achievements of the program in a number of economic and financial sectors, including housing, and tackling unemployment.
One of the most difficult challenges faced by the Kingdom for a number of years has been its heavy dependence on oil revenues as a main source of income. Within the first five years of Vision 2030, the country has managed to diversify its economy and reduce its reliance on oil.
The crown prince indicated in the interview that in the fourth quarter of 2019 the non-oil economy grew by around 4.5 percent and, if it had not been for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, it would have exceeded 5 percent. This has been evidenced by the growth of non-oil revenues in the past five years to SR350 billion ($93.3…