2016 - Saudi Vision 2030 unveiled to the world

Then-Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announces Vision 2030. AFP
Short Url
Updated 19 April 2025
Follow

2016 - Saudi Vision 2030 unveiled to the world

  • Mohammed bin Salman’s eagerly awaited moment of change was welcomed in particular by the youth of the country, who form the majority of the population

RIYADH: A seminal event occurred on April 25, 2016. On that date, Saudi Arabia’s then-Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, often referred to simply as MBS, announced the details of what we have come to know as the path-breaking, paradigm-shifting Saudi Vision 2030. 

That day, he gave Al Arabiya News Channel an exclusive interview, his first-ever on television. At the time, I was based in Dubai editing the channel’s English-language digital arm, and it was obvious to me that if ever there was an eagerly awaited moment of change that would positively impact the region, this was it. 

Here was a man who was charting a new course that represented an almost total about-face for Saudi Arabia. It was the kind of thing nobody had tried before. The young prince was giving hope to a nation in which about 60 percent of the population was under the age of 35. 

He talked about the government having targets, key performance indicators and project management offices, and of ridding the Kingdom of its dependence on oil — all things that were unheard of in the past. 

How we wrote it




Arab News celebrated the launch of Vision 2030 with a special front page and an editorial headlined, “KSA’s leap into future.”

Five months later, on Sept. 26, 2016, to be precise, I was in Jeddah after being appointed editor-in-chief of Arab News. Having lived there during my formative years, I felt I had a genuine feeling for, and understanding of, the city. 

What I failed to consider, however, was that in the five months since the announcement of Vision 2030, change had become the new norm. And not a slow, glacial process of change but a fast and urgent one. 

I was nonetheless pleasantly surprised, and on my first day at Arab News I wrote about my sense of optimism. In that column, I mentioned how I was assisted upon my arrival at the Rosewood hotel in Jeddah by a female Saudi receptionist. 

“While the thought of having a woman do such a job was unheard of 20 years ago, I must confess that I honestly have never dealt with a more professional, meticulous and ‘happy to serve’ receptionist in my travels around the world,” I wrote in the piece, which was aptly titled, “The Return of the Prodigal Son.” 

It was a coincidence that I returned to the Kingdom only five months after the announcement of Vision 2030. But from the perspective of a journalist it was an exciting time, even though I had no idea what to expect. Nor did I know whether the announced changes, genuine as they and the intentions underlying them were, would ever materialize into reality. 

Day after day, however, it became evident that Saudi Arabia was on a new track and nothing could stand in the way. For example, curbing the powers of the religious police was a giant step away from what had been the norm. In one fell swoop, the fears that had for so long stopped Saudis from thinking outside the box were done away with. Before the curbs, members of the religious police had been a virtual law unto themselves and, in a few tragic cases, they were responsible for the deaths of young Saudis. 

Key Dates

  • 1

    Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launches his Vision 2030 plan for national development and diversification.

    Timeline Image April 25, 2016

  • 2

    King Salman appoints him crown prince.

    Timeline Image June 21, 2017

  • 3

    At the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, the crown prince pledges a return to moderate Islam and launches NEOM, a $500-billion project to develop a new Saudi megacity.

    Timeline Image Oct. 24, 2017

  • 4

    First commercial movie theater opens in Riyadh, with a screening of the Marvel movie “Black Panther,” ending a 35-year ban on cinemas in the Kingdom

    Timeline Image April 18, 2018

  • 5

    Ban on Saudi women driving is lifted.

    Timeline Image June 24, 2018

  • 6

    Crown prince launches a tourism megaproject in AlUla, including a resort designed by architect Jean Nouvel and a nature reserve.

  • 7

    Saudi authorities establish three new ministries, for sports, tourism and investment, as part of commitment to Vision 2030.

    Timeline Image Feb. 25, 2020

  • 8

    Kingdom bids successfully to host Expo 2030 in Riyadh, beating competition from Rome and Busan.

    Timeline Image Nov. 28, 2023

  • 9

    Saudi Arabia awarded hosting rights for 2034 FIFA World Cup, which will be the first time the expanded, 48-team tournament is held in a single country.

    Timeline Image Dec. 11, 2024

It is disappointing that the Saudi leadership gets very little credit for their remarkable achievement, which represented a complete reversal of the status quo in the Kingdom. 

That decision followed the introduction of concerts and musical performances in front of live audiences, the very kind of events that had been unheard of in the past. Some of the old-timers in the newsroom flinched when we decided to run large photos showing ordinary Saudi men and women sitting next to each other, eating popcorn as they enjoyed themselves and hummed along to live music during a show. 

The first concert with a mixed audience of men and women that I personally attended in the Kingdom was by “iLuminate,” the spectacular hit music and light show from New York. In the run-up to the performance, in October 2016, there was a conflict between the security forces, who said the mixed-audience event could not take place, and officials from the Kingdom’s General Entertainment Authority, who insisted it had to be mixed.

Ultimately, the GEA won the argument and it was a fabulously memorable performance that mesmerized thousands of people in the massive Al-Jowhara Stadium. Men, women and children sat together and enjoyed a dazzling show, full of music, energetic dance moves and special effects. 

This was a symbolic moment, in my opinion, because shortly afterward the inevitable occurred; in mid 2017, the Kingdom awoke to the news that MBS had been named crown prince by his father, King Salman. He replaced his predecessor, Mohammed bin Nayef who, as per royal protocol, stepped down and gave his blessing to the appointment of his younger cousin. 




To launch the Sharaan Nature Reserve in AlUla, the Crown Prince symbolically released an idmi gazelle, a species threatened in the wild and experiencing a rapid population decline. SPA

MBS now had full control to push ahead with his plans, and if the world was stunned at the pace of change before, they had seen nothing compared with what was to come. 

Next, the ban on women driving was lifted and draconian guardianship laws were abolished. People of my generation never thought we would see women driving in the Kingdom but we were proved wrong. I invited our senior editor, Mo Gannon, a Canadian working in our Dubai office who had an international driving license, to visit Jeddah and asked her to be part of the history that was unfolding in Saudi Arabia. 

On the day the driving ban was lifted, we got her into the driver’s seat. I sat next to her to record her reactions and those of our Saudi female members of staff who were also in the car. It was an incredible moment and feeling of liberation for the women of Saudi Arabia. The happy faces that appeared on our front pages were those of proud and traditionally, but fashionably, dressed Saudi women of all shades, from all regions. What had been the forbidden exception became the accepted norm. 

Then there were the high-decibel concerts that began to take place at Diriyah. The setting is straight out of the “Arabian Nights,” and it was enthralling to see the nation’s history encounter the modern world in the ancient deserts of Arabia.

As a result of these cultural and social changes, the crown prince received huge support and the admiration of the people. He earned popularity and respect, especially among the youth of the country and women, by making longed-for changes and getting rid of suffocating restrictions. 

At the same time, the crown prince did not forget about Saudi Arabia’s history and heritage. Yes, we have futuristic projects such as the NEOM megacity on one hand, but when it came to preserving history, heritage and even wildlife, MBS was adamant about the importance of that as well. Places such as Diriyah, AlUla and the old town of Jeddah are living examples of this commitment. 

He also set about rehabilitating the image of the country and transforming it into a center of moderation. To do this, he hosted leaders of other religions in Saudi Arabia and focused on the virtues and advantages of interfaith cooperation. He invited Jewish rabbis and Christian preachers to the Kingdom and encouraged them to engage in dialogue with one another and with the Saudi ulema. 

The most significant announcement by MBS, however, was the one in which he stated that he wanted to restore Saudi Arabia to a more moderate form of Islam or, in his words, return things to the way they were before 1979. 

Why 1979? Because, as he said during an interview with Norah O’Donnell on CBS in September 2018: “We were living a very normal life, like the rest of the Gulf countries. Women were driving cars. There were movie theaters in Saudi Arabia. Women worked everywhere. We were just normal people, developing like any other country in the world until the events of 1979.” 

Having said all of this, I must now ask a question: Has the crown prince’s Vision 2030 succeeded in all that it set out to achieve? No. Will it? Probably not. But this is no secret, and Arab News publishes an annual report in which we keep track of the progress and the shortcomings. 




The master plan for Riyadh Expo 2030 revealed. Royal Commission for Riyadh City

Were there mistakes along the way? Yes; painful ones, too, some of which have had harmful consequences on progress and the reputation of the Kingdom. While nothing can be said in their defense, there are two overarching arguments that can be made here. 

The first is to imagine, despite the mistakes, if all these reforms had not happened. What would have become of Saudi Arabia then? 

The second is to consider whether the Kingdom is better off, and its people happier, now than they were nine years ago? Just ask the youths who form about 60 percent of the Saudi population what they think, and there you will find the answer. Or if not, check out the report published by market research and consulting firm Ipsos in 2024 that ranked Saudi Arabia as the world’s second-happiest country. 

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


Israel commits ‘extermination’ in Gaza by killing in schools, UN experts say

Updated 19 min 49 sec ago
Follow

Israel commits ‘extermination’ in Gaza by killing in schools, UN experts say

  • In its latest report, the commission said Israel had destroyed more than 90 percent of the school and university buildings and more than half of all religious and cultural sites in Gaza

VIENNA: UN experts said in a report on Tuesday that Israel committed the crime against humanity of “extermination” by killing civilians sheltering in schools and religious sites in Gaza, part of a “concerted campaign to obliterate Palestinian life.”

The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel was due to present the report to Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council on June 17.

“We are seeing more and more indications that Israel is carrying out a concerted campaign to obliterate Palestinian life in Gaza,” former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, who chairs the commission, said in a statement.

“Israel’s targeting of the educational, cultural and religious life of the Palestinian people will harm the present generations and generations to come, hindering their right to self-determination,” she added.

The commission examined attacks on educational facilities and religious and cultural sites to assess if international law was breached.

Israel disengaged from the Human Rights Council in February, alleging it was biased.

When the commission’s last report in March found Israel carried out “genocidal acts” against Palestinians by systematically destroying women’s health care facilities during the conflict in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the findings were biased and antisemitic.

In its latest report, the commission said Israel had destroyed more than 90 percent of the school and university buildings and more than half of all religious and cultural sites in Gaza.

“Israeli forces committed war crimes, including directing attacks against civilians and wilful killing, in their attacks on educational facilities ... In killing civilians sheltering in schools and religious sites, Israeli security forces committed the crime against humanity of extermination,” it said.

The war was triggered when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in Israel in a surprise attack in October 2023, and took 251 hostages back to the enclave, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.

Harm done to the Palestinian education system was not confined to Gaza, the report found, citing increased Israeli military operations in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as well as harassment of students and settler attacks there.

“Israeli authorities have also targeted Israeli and Palestinian educational personnel and students inside Israel who expressed concern or solidarity with the civilian population in Gaza, resulting in their harassment, dismissal or suspension and in some cases humiliating arrests and detention,” it said.

“Israeli authorities have particularly targeted female educators and students, intending to deter women and girls from activism in public places,” the commission added.


Israel says activist Greta Thunberg leaving on flight to France

Updated 5 min 10 sec ago
Follow

Israel says activist Greta Thunberg leaving on flight to France

  • Israel says Greta Thunberg is being deported after Gaza-bound ship she was on was seized

PARIS: Israel on Tuesday said Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg was leaving the country on a flight to France, after she was detained along with other activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid boat and taken to a Tel Aviv airport for deportation.
“Greta Thunberg is departing Israel on a flight to France,” Israel’s foreign ministry said on its official X account, along with two photos of the activist on board a plane.

Five French activists aboard the boat for Gaza were set to face an Israeli judge, the French foreign minister said on Tuesday.
“Our consul was able to see the six French nationals arrested by the Israeli authorities last night,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X. “One of them has agreed to leave voluntarily and should return today. The other five will be subject to forced deportation proceedings.”


In London, the fox has its own ambulance service when it needs help

Updated 53 min 7 sec ago
Follow

In London, the fox has its own ambulance service when it needs help

  • The critters that have admirers and adversaries are well adapted to city life but living on the streets, alleys and back gardens of a dense urban environment can be rough
  • When they are ill, injured or abandoned as cubs in south London and its leafy suburbs, The Fox Project is often there to help

PADDOCK WOOD: The injured fox is cornered in a cage, teeth bared and snarling at the woman trying to help it.
Nicki Townsend is unfazed. Wearing only rubber gloves and an outfit suitable for a yoga class, she approaches with soothing words. “All right, baby,” she coos as she deftly drapes a towel over his head, grabs him by the scruff of his neck, scoops up his wounded legs and moves him to a clean cage.
It’s not the way her day typically begins, but there’s nothing routine about rescuing foxes.
“You can never predict what you’re going to arrive at,” Townsend said.
While not as visible as phone boxes or double-decker buses, the red fox is a fixture in London, a city not known for its wildlife. But living on the streets, alleys and back gardens of a dense urban environment can be rough and when foxes need help, they have their own ambulance service — and Townsend may be on her way.
The foxes didn’t invade London so much as adapt and expand their range inward as the city spread to their habitat in the 1930s and suburbs grew.
Love ‘em or hate ‘em
But people and the bushy-tailed member of the canine family have not always lived in harmony, and the species has admirers and adversaries.
For everyone enchanted seeing a fox trotting nonchalantly down their street at dusk or basking in a sunny backyard, there are plenty who see them as pests. They poop where they like, tear into garbage and the vixens in heat let out terrifying shrieks in the dead of winter when attracting a mate.
“It’s like Marmite with foxes,” Townsend said, referring to the food spread that is an acquired and divisive taste. “You either love them or hate them.”
The divide between the two camps led Trevor Williams to found what became The Fox Project nearly 35 years ago.
Once a bass player in the rock group Audience that opened for Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, Williams had been active in the campaign to stop fox hunting when he redirected his protection efforts to the city, where foxes were once routinely killed.
“Because of the myths that have occurred over the years, there’s still a lot of suspicion about what foxes might be,” Williams said. “You know, they’re going to bite the baby, they’re going to eat the cat, they’re going to run away with your husband.”
The project has since grown from providing information on deterring foxes to rescuing 1,400 a year, including 400 cubs, though only about half survive to be released.
City offers cheap eats and unique hazards
There are estimated to be 15,000 foxes in London. The project covers a swath of south London and its leafy suburbs while other organizations not devoted solely to foxes handle other parts of the city.
While the omnivores survive on small animals, bugs and berries in the wild, they favor easily scavenged leftovers in the city and handouts that make them more dependent on humans.
Their main urban menaces are cars, getting snagged in soccer nets or getting stuck in tight spaces. In their effort to get free, they often get nasty abrasions that can become infected. Many also suffer from mange, a parasitic infestation that leads to all kinds of problems.
Townsend pilots her VW Caddy on city streets, highways and narrow lanes that roll through lush hills, responding to calls about injured or ill foxes or cubs that have lost their mothers.
She’s seen a bit of everything since her first humbling call 2 1/2 years ago when the supposedly injured fox bolted.
“In my inexperience, I chased after him, which is comical because you’re never going to outrun a fox,” she said. “I just remember he ran very fast and I looked silly running after him.”
Despite many challenging situations — she once managed to rescue a fox that lost its footing atop a fence and ended upside down at eye level with its paw lodged between boards — she’s only been bitten once.
Heartbreak with hard cases
Her van carries the distinctly musky scent of foxes. The odor becomes unpleasant when an anxious passenger in a litter of cubs relieves itself enroute to being delivered to a foster care pen where they will stay until being released in the wild.
“Feel free to open the window,” said Townsend, who is accustomed to the stench. “This is a stinky job.”
On a recent day, she was dispatched to meet a heartbroken couple who found a cub with a puncture wound collapsed on their back lawn.
“We thought he was asleep at first, so we went to go and have a close look because we love them,” Charlotte English said. “Then he just didn’t move, so we knew something was wrong.”
That cub had to be put to sleep, as did the adult Townsend transferred at the start of her shift.
Cubs that recover are socialized in packs of five until they mature and are then released in a rural location while the adults are freed in the neighborhoods where they were found.
The fox does not say ‘Thank you’
Given a second chance, it’s not clear how well the foxes fare, because they are rarely tracked. A 2016 study in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science found that rehabilitated foxes were more likely to behave as if they had been displaced when returned to their original territory. They were tracked wandering farther away, potentially exposing them to more traffic and greater stress.
“It is a gap in the knowledge and there’s an assumption that when you release them, they thrive and I think that that assumption needs to be challenged more,” said Bryony Tolhurst, a University of Brighton honorary research fellow and lead author of the study.
For Townsend, fox deaths are offset by the joy of seeing little ones venture into the unknown or an adult darting into a neighborhood it instantly recognizes.
“Sometimes they look back and people like to romanticize that they’re saying ‘thank you,’” she said. “They’re just making sure we’re not chasing after them.”


Pakistan to kickstart post-Hajj flight operations today to bring back pilgrims

Updated 51 min 33 sec ago
Follow

Pakistan to kickstart post-Hajj flight operations today to bring back pilgrims

  • State media says Pakistan International Airlines’ flight carrying 307 pilgrims will leave Jeddah for Islamabad
  • Over 88,000 Pakistani pilgrims under government scheme to return to country via 362 flights, says state media

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will kickstart its post-Hajj flight operations to bring thousands of pilgrims back to the country from today, Tuesday, state-run media reported, adding that they would continue till July 10. 

Pakistan concluded its 33-day pre-Hajj flight operation last month, transporting more than 115,000 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia under both the government and private schemes for the annual Islamic pilgrimage.

This year’s Hajj pilgrimage took place from June 4 to June 9, drawing millions of pilgrims to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. Pakistan was among several countries managing large-scale contingents during the annual religious gathering.

“Post-Hajj flight operation to bring back Pakistani pilgrims is starting from Tuesday,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Monday, quoting Secretary Religious Affairs Dr. Syed Ata ur Rehman. 

Sharing details, Rehman said Pakistan International Airlines’ flight PK-732 carrying 307 pilgrims will leave Jeddah for Islamabad. 

“Similarly, the first post-Hajj flight from Madinah PK-7030 will depart for Lahore on Thursday,” Radio Pakistan said. “The national flag carrier will airlift 307 pilgrims.”

The Pakistani official said the flight operation would continue till July 10 during which a total of over 88,000 pilgrims under the government scheme will be transported to Pakistan via 362 flights.

“Meanwhile, Dr. Syed Ata ur Rehman highlighted that elaborate arrangements have been made for smooth transportation of the pilgrims back to their homeland,” the state broadcaster said. 

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday thanked Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the Kingdom’s “exceptional organization” of Hajj 2025. 

 

 

“Thank you for making this spiritual experience more comfortable and memorable for all those who performed Hajj this year,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X. 


Madrid to host grand prix as Formula One announces 2026 calendar

Updated 55 min 52 sec ago
Follow

Madrid to host grand prix as Formula One announces 2026 calendar

  • Spain will host two Formula One grands prix in 2026, with the new race in Madrid joining Barcelona, after organizers on Tuesday announced the calendar for a season

HONG KONG: Spain will host two Formula One grands prix in 2026, with the new race in Madrid joining Barcelona, after organizers on Tuesday announced the calendar for a season that could bring big changes on the grid.
The 2026 campaign will open for the second successive season in Australia at Melbourne’s Albert Park street circuit on March 6-8.
The race in the Spanish capital Madrid is on September 11-13 and will bring the curtain down on the European segment of the season.
The new Madrid circuit will have both street and non-street sectors.
The 24-weekend campaign will again conclude in Abu Dhabi, on December 4-6.
Montreal in Canada will now follow Miami in May to cut down on traveling for the teams.
The 2026 season promises to look radically different with Cadillac becoming the 11th team on the grid and sweeping new regulations on aerodynamics and power units.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of motorsport’s governing body, the FIA, said: “Next year’s FIA Formula One World Championship marks a significant new chapter for our sport.
“A new race, new teams, and the arrival of new manufacturers, all ushering in a fresh era of innovation and competition.”

Formula One 2026 calendar:
March 6-8: Melbourne, Australia
March 13-15: Shanghai, China
March 27-29: Suzuka, Japan
April 10-12: Sakhir, Bahrain
April 17-19: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
May 1-3: Miami, United States
May 22-24: Montreal, Canada
June 5-7: Monaco
June 12-14: Barcelona, Spain
June 26-28: Spielberg, Austria
July 3-5: Silverstone, Great Britain
July 17-19: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
July 24-26: Budapest, Hungary
August 21-23: Zandvoort, Netherlands
Sept 4-6: Monza, Italy
Sept 11-13: Madrid, Spain
Sept 25-27: Baku, Azerbaijan
Oct 9-11 Singapore
Oct 23-25 Austin, United States
Oct 30-Nov 1: Mexico City, Mexico
Nov 6-8 Sao Paulo, Brazil
Nov 19-21 Las Vegas, United States
Nov 27-29 Lusail, Qatar
Dec 4-6: Abu Dhabi, UAE