Vision 2030: A much-needed pulse check

The annual report on what Saudi Vision 2030 has accomplished so far, on the eighth anniversary of the start of the Kingdom’s transformation story, could not have come at a better time. On April 28 Riyadh will host more than 1,000 heads of state, thought leaders and policymakers from around the world at a two-day Special Meeting of the World Economic Forum on Global Collaboration, Growth, and Energy for Development.

The report supplies much needed context for the transformed Kingdom visitors will see when they land in the Saudi capital. Almost everything has changed, including much that was once deemed impossible: from the female airport immigration officer (who along with other women in numerous sectors now form 35.5 percent of the workforce, surpassing the 2023 goal) to the stripping away of the previously unchecked powers of the religious police, to a business environment that encourages foreign direct investment and international companies to relocate and open their regional headquarters here.

Visitors will also notice significantly more greenery, with nearly 50 million trees planted since the launch of the Saudi Green Initiative in 2021.

There is no need to dwell further on the statistics, because the report speaks for itself — and also because over 100 million people already know all of that and much more about Saudi Arabia: the Kingdom surpassed its target of 100 million tourists in 2023, seven years early.

Almost everything has changed, including much that was once deemed impossible: from the female airport immigration officer to the stripping away of the previously unchecked powers of the religious police, to a business environment that encourages foreign direct investment.

Faisal J. Abbas

If you think I am being unduly positive, that is because there is a great deal to be positive about. The report finds that 87 percent of Vision 2030 initiatives are either on track or completed, and 81 percent of Level 3 key performance indicators have been reached. For me, as a journalist, the very reporting of these numbers is encouraging because it shows welcome levels of transparency and accountability by the government.

The report is also the most powerful argument against skeptics and misinformed cynics who cast doubt on Vision 2030 by cherry-picking the slowing down or downsizing of some of the ambitious projects the Kingdom is undertaking all at once. Yes, part of that may be true, but there are other targets that have been surpassed, and other projects expedited. To ignore that would be unfair.

Can more be done, or better results achieved? I will leave it to industry specialists to discuss areas of improvement in their own fields of expertise. However, again as a journalist, I would like to see more media involvement in monitoring and evaluating the performance of government entities, as opposed to just reporting on the results. Indeed, this should be added as a target, since it goes hand in hand, and in perfect harmony, with Vision 2030’s culture of transparency, target setting and KPIs.

With new office bearers elected to the Saudi Journalists Association, and the Ministry of Media having declared 2024 the year of media transformation, I am confident we will see more progress on this front.

• Faisal J. Abbas is the editor in chief of Arab News

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