The Middle East

The expansion of Saudi Arabia’s industrial sector is a core part of the Vision 2030 strategy to diversify the economy and reduce reliance on hydrocarbons revenue. Industry has been targeted as a driver of future non-oil growth and job creation. Expansion plans are under way for the country’s main strategic industrial segments: oil and gas; petrochemicals; and mining, a...

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reigniting debate about the pace of the energy transition and the risks of relying on oil and gas imports from countries with opposing agendas, discussion in the Gulf is framed around how to extract maximum benefit from hydrocarbons while also playing a responsible role in efforts to both mitigate climate change and maintain stability in...

Saudi Arabia is seeking to attract SR637.7bn ($170bn) worth of investment in the mining industry by 2030 to help the country capitalise on its wealth of mineral resources, the total value of which is estimated to exceed SR4.88trn ($1.3trn), according to figures from the government. Global demand for minerals is likely to increase as the energy transition accelerates, with...

Vision 2030 was launched in 2016 with the aim of renewing the social contract between the long-ruling Al Saud family and various segments of society, as well as addressing fiscal imbalances resulting from a reliance on oil revenue, low labour force participation rates and generous social benefits.

In June 2022 the UK and the GCC officially launched negotiations for a comprehensive trade deal to reduce or remove tariffs on a series of goods and services. Anne-Marie Trevelyan, former UK secretary of trade, met with Nayef Falah Al Hajraf, the GCC secretary-general, and representatives from the six GCC countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.