I am pleased to present to you the vision of the present for the future, which we want to start working on today for tomorrow, so that it expresses all our aspirations and reflects the capabilities of our country.
His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs
Success stories always begin with a vision, and the most successful visions are those built upon strengths. We are confident and know that God Almighty has blessed us with a homeland more precious than oil, for it contains the Two Holy Mosques, the purest places on earth, and the Qibla for more than a billion Muslims. This is our Arab and Islamic identity, and it is our primary source of success.
Our country also possesses huge investment capabilities, and we will strive to make them an engine for our economy and an additional resource for our country. This is our second success factor.
Our country has a strategic geographical location. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the most important gateway to the world as a linking center for the three continents, and it is surrounded by the most important waterways. This is our third success factor.
These three factors are the cornerstones of our vision, whose horizons we anticipate and whose features we outline together.
Our nation possesses an abundance of renewable energy alternatives and generous reserves of gold, phosphate, uranium, and other minerals. But most importantly, we possess our greatest asset, one that surpasses all others: an ambitious people, the majority of whom are young, the pride of our nation and, God willing, the guarantee of its future. We must not forget that it was through the efforts of its sons and daughters that this nation was established under extremely difficult circumstances, when King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud, may God have mercy on him, unified it. And it is through the efforts of its sons and daughters that this nation will once again amaze the world.
We are not worried about the future of the Kingdom, but rather we look forward to a brighter future, which we are able to create – with God’s help – with the human, natural and acquired resources that God has bestowed upon it. We will not look at what we may have lost or may lose yesterday or today, but we must always move forward.
Brothers and sisters, the future of the Kingdom is promising and bright, God willing, and our beloved country deserves even more than what has been achieved. We possess capabilities that we will amplify and increase their contribution to shaping this future, and we will exert our utmost efforts to grant most Muslims around the world the opportunity to visit their Qibla and the object of their deepest affection.
We want to double our capabilities: we want to transform Aramco from an oil production company into a global industrial giant, and the Public Investment Fund into the world's largest sovereign wealth fund. We will incentivize our major Saudi companies to become multinational players and key players in global markets. We will encourage promising companies to grow and become giants. We are committed to maintaining a strong military, and at the same time, we want to manufacture at least half of its military needs domestically, investing our wealth at home to create more job opportunities and economic growth.
These are the directives of my master, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, may God protect him, as he ordered us to plan work that meets all aspirations and fulfills all wishes.
Based on his guidance, may God preserve him, and starting from this day, we will open a wide door towards the future, and from this hour we will start working immediately for tomorrow, for your sake - brothers and sisters - and for the sake of your children and our future generations.
What we aspire to is not just to compensate for the lack of income, or to preserve the gains and achievements, but our ambition is to build a more prosperous homeland in which every citizen finds what he wishes for. The future of our homeland that we are building together, we will not accept anything less than making it at the forefront of the countries of the world, with education and qualification, with opportunities available to all, and advanced services, in employment, health care, housing, entertainment and others.
We pledge to you that we will be among the best countries in the world in effective government performance to serve citizens, and together we will complete the building of our country to be as we all wish it to be: prosperous and strong, built on the strength of its sons and daughters and benefiting from its capabilities, without being dependent on the value of a commodity or the movement of foreign markets.
We have all the factors that enable us to achieve our goals together, and none of us has an excuse to stay where we are, or to retreat, God forbid.
Our vision for the country we want is a strong, prosperous, and inclusive nation, with Islam as its constitution and moderation as its guiding principle, accepting others. We will welcome talent from everywhere, and all who come to contribute to our development and success will be treated with the utmost respect.
Based on the three pillars of our vision—our deep-rooted Arab and Islamic heritage, our investment power, and the importance of our strategic geographic location—we will create a broader space for the private sector to become a partner, facilitating its operations and encouraging its growth into one of the world's largest economies. This will enable it to become a driver of employment for our citizens and a source of prosperity for the nation and well-being for all. This promise is founded on cooperation and shared responsibility.
We have named this vision “Saudi Vision 2030”, but we will not wait until then, rather we will immediately begin to implement everything we have committed ourselves to, and with you and through you, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be a great country that we will all be proud of, God willing.
