Saudi Arabia’s defence expenditure was the sixth highest worldwide in 2021, behind the US, China, India, Russia and the UK. The localisation of industry, and enhanced research and development (R&D) are core to Vision 2030, the government’s long-term blueprint for development. Given the defence sector’s traditional prominence in the annual budget, it is among the areas...
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Articles & Analysis | Saudi Arabia targets increase in defence R&D spending from The Report: Saudi Arabia 2022
Articles & Analysis | Saudi reforms focus on youth empowerment from The Report: Saudi Arabia 2022
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.
Articles & Analysis | Talks between the UK and GCC aim to improve trade relations from The Report: Saudi Arabia 2022
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.
Articles & Analysis | Saudi Arabia’s reform and energy initiatives attract investment from The Report: Saudi Arabia 2022
As the world’s largest oil producer and the only Arab country in the G20, Saudi Arabia is a key geopolitical player on the global stage. Officially established in September 1932 the Kingdom has begun to pour its considerable financial resources into a series of large-scale economic development, diversification and modernisation initiatives in recent years. Saudi Arabia has...
Articles & Analysis | The changing role of women in Saudi Arabia’s workforce from The Report: Saudi Arabia 2022
Saudi Arabia has traditionally had low rates of female labour force participation, as legislative, social, educational and occupational constraints prevented women from fully taking part in the labour market. Vision 2030 – the Kingdom’s blueprint for socio-economic transformation – sought to create a society and economy in which women could play a much fuller role. As such,...
Articles & Analysis | Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund key to diversification from The Report: Saudi Arabia 2022
A key institution in the enactment of Vision 2030, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) is one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds. The PIF became the fifth-largest sovereign wealth fund in the world in April 2022 with $620bn in terms of assets, following a $40bn contribution in February 2022 from a 4% share in Saudi Aramco, the Kingdom’s oil and gas producer.