JEDDAH — The Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA) session, held on Monday, reviewed the achievements of Vision 2030 and its updates, as it has established strong foundations for a diversified and growing economy following the implementation of the first and second phases. Building on this, the third and final phase (2026–2030) of the Vision will focus on accelerating delivery and maximizing impact, through sustained implementation, continued government capital spending, and a strengthened role for the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the National Development Fund in mobilizing domestic investment.The private sector will continue to expand its role in driving growth and diversification, alongside efforts to increase local content. Work will also continue to advance infrastructure, improve the quality of essential services, and invest in national capability building to strengthen skills and support long-term development across various fields.The third phase will be driven by the continued rollout of national strategies, both sectoral and regional, as long-term implementation vehicles that build on the foundations of the Vision Realization Programs (VRPs) and ensure the sustainability of impact beyond 2030.The council emphasized that the conclusion of the third phase of Saudi Vision 2030 does not represent a final destination for the Kingdom’s development. Rather, it serves as a robust foundation for the continued growth and evolution that Saudi Arabia will witness in the coming decades.The council underscored that the Kingdom’s journey of leadership is an enduring one, fueled by the resolve of its wise leadership and the ambition of its people. It emphasized that sustainability remains central to Vision 2030, with each phase building on the previous to ensure continuity and lasting impact.The council noted that 93 percent of performance indicators have achieved or are nearing their annual targets, with several already surpassing interim or 2030 goals. Currently, 90 percent of the 1,290 total initiatives are complete or on track following the conclusion of the Vision’s first and second phases. These stages brought over 1,000 structural, economic, fiscal, and legislative reforms, alongside more than 1,200 regulatory and procedural measures delivered over the past decade, strengthening governance, enhancing institutional effectiveness, and expanding opportunities across sectors. In turn, this has supported the growth of new economic activities, empowered the private sector, attracted investment, and improved overall quality of life across the Kingdom. As a result, Saudi Arabia’s global position has strengthened, supported by increased economic competitiveness, sustained progress across international indicators, and its growing role in shaping solutions to pressing global challenges, contributing to greater stability and shared prosperity.The council emphasized that this has been made possible through strategic planning and sound fiscal policies, based on flexibility, proactivity and anticipating future challenges and opportunities.The council reviewed the trajectory of the Vision across its phases, noting that its first phase (2016–2021) focused on building the foundations for transformation through restructuring state institutions and establishing medium-term delivery vehicles, including Vision Realization Programs. This phase also required targeted and rapid interventions to align government spending with development priorities. This included the development of a comprehensive fiscal roadmap covering revenues, expenditures, public debt, and reserves.Measures were also introduced to strengthen transparency and accountability, combat corruption, and enhance the monitoring of government performance. Together, these efforts completed the planning, financing, and measurement cycle, contributing to a higher level of institutional maturity and readiness across government entities.At the same time, Vision 2030 empowered the private sector by removing structural barriers, while restructuring the Public Investment Fund and positioning it as a key driver of diversification. Untapped sectors were advanced, partnerships expanded, and major projects and new companies launched to drive growth and transformation.This has been driven by the strategic investment of assets, the development of local and international partnerships, and the launch of major projects such as NEOM, the Red Sea, Diriyah, and Qiddiya. These initiatives, which extend in phases beyond 2030, reflect the scale of the Kingdom’s ambitions and its ongoing transformation.The council stated that between 2021 and the end of 2025, the Vision operated in its second phase, focusing on accelerating progress through further reforms and expanding the momentum of transformation by building on previous achievements. These years witnessed improved government service quality, accelerated implementation of national plans, an expanded role for the private sector, and the empowerment of citizens alongside the growth of specialized human capabilities and talent. This period was accompanied by an increase in government and PIF projects designed to capitalize on emerging opportunities across various sectors. Additionally, this phase saw the development of national strategies to drive sustainable growth and an expansion of government capital spending across several sectors, aimed at maximizing their economic and social returns.The council then reviewed the qualitative achievements and sustainable gains delivered across the first two phases of Vision 2030, spanning its three pillars: a Vibrant Society, a Thriving Economy, and an Ambitious Nation.Under a Vibrant Society, efforts focused on improving quality of life and promoting healthier lifestyles through numerous nationwide initiatives. Key projects include advancing urban humanization, preparing neighborhoods and parks, increasing sports facilities, and opening a large portion of the Sports Boulevard project, now a major landmark in Riyadh. These efforts increased the percentage of adults practicing sports to 59.1 percent, exceeding both annual and future targets through 2027. The council commended efforts to solidify prevention principles and promote a healthy lifespan, expanding health services to cover 97.5 percent of population centers. Consequently, average life expectancy in the Kingdom has risen to over 79.7 years, nearing the 2030 target of 80 years.The council praised the transformation in diverse housing support solutions implemented under Vision 2030, including mortgage financing, the diversification of real estate supply, and facilitated access via electronic platforms. These efforts, supported by new market regulations and bylaws, have increased Saudi homeownership to 66.24 percent, up from levels that did not exceed 47 percent for many years. The council emphasized that this investment in national talent and expertise is the most significant since the Vision’s launch. By empowering young men and women through educational, vocational, and technical training, the Kingdom has made its citizens globally competitive. This was achieved through expanded job opportunities, modernized curricula, and new scholarship specializations. Consequently, the number of Saudi students in the world’s top 200 universities has more than doubled to 28,493. Additionally, 22 Saudi universities were included in the 2025 QS World University Rankings, with three institutions entering the global top 200 according to the World University Rankings.The council highlighted the role of institutional integration and effective governance in enhancing service efficiency for pilgrims and increasing capacity within the hospitality, transportation, and infrastructure sectors. As a result, the number of Umrah pilgrims from outside the Kingdom reached an all-time high by the end of 2025, exceeding 18 million. These pilgrims were able to perform Umrah and visit the Grand Mosque in ease and comfort.The council also highlighted the Kingdom's rich cultural heritage and deep-rooted civilization, which distinguish it both regionally and globally. This has driven the Kingdom to leverage its cultural assets and human resources, establishing more than 13 government entities dedicated to cultural affairs since the launch of Vision 2030. Furthermore, the Kingdom has added over 80 cultural professions to the Saudi Standard Classification of Occupations, enabling a robust and sustainable cultural industry. These efforts have contributed to Vision 2030's goals, including the inclusion of eight sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List, thereby strengthening Saudi Arabia's cultural presence on the global stage.The council addressed the progress achieved under the "thriving economy" pillar, highlighting the resilience, flexibility, and competitiveness that have enabled the Saudi economy to withstand global fluctuations and maintain stable inflation. Real GDP continued its upward trajectory, exceeding the SR4 trillion mark to reach SR4.9 trillion by the end of 2025. This growth was driven by the consistent expansion of non-oil activities, which now contribute 55 percent to the GDP, constituting more than half of the national economy. Furthermore, the Kingdom jumped more than 20 places in the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking, reaching 17th globally. The national economy also ranked third among G20 countries in terms of growth projections for 2026 and 2027, according to the International Monetary Fund, despite the regional and global turmoil affecting most economies worldwide.The council commended the unique approach of Saudi Vision 2030 in developing economic sectors, which integrates maximizing traditional sectors with advancing emerging ones as new pillars of the national economy. Leveraging its natural resources to optimize the energy sector's impact, the Kingdom has established a diversified and integrated energy system. This led to a significant increase in renewable energy generation capacity, which rose from zero in 2016 to 64 gigawatts by the end of 2025. Furthermore, the Kingdom has invested in its latent mining potential, increasing the estimated value of mineral wealth by 90 percent to reach SR9.4 trillion, up from SR4.9 trillion.The Kingdom has revitalized its tourism, entertainment, culture, and sports sectors by leveraging its unique and largely unexplored natural and geographical diversity. This includes archaeological sites, pristine coastlines and islands, mountains, deserts, and a varied climate, alongside a rich cultural heritage that has created a multifaceted tourism map rarely found elsewhere in the world. Today, tourism contributes approximately 5 percent to the GDP.At the same time, Vision 2030 has focused on investing in foundational sectors such as industry, transportation, and logistics, considering them cornerstones for driving sustainable growth. The number of factories in the Kingdom has risen to 12,900, with investments totaling approximately SR1.2 trillion. Non-oil merchandise exports have grown from SR242 billion to over SR623 billion. The development of transportation infrastructure, including ports, airports, and railways, has played a pivotal role in establishing the Kingdom as a vital logistics hub, with the number of operational logistics centers increasing to 24.During its implementation, the Vision, driven by an opportunity-seeking mindset, invested in emerging sectors that shape future economies, such as artificial intelligence. Leveraging its digital infrastructure, strategic location, vast land area, and human capital, the Kingdom achieved first place globally in the government strategy for artificial intelligence criterion within the Global AI Index. This progress was further solidified by advancements in the sports and esports sectors, culminating in hosting the first Esports World Cup and winning the title twice consecutively.The council commended the PIF's role over the past 10 years in supporting the development of 10 promising sectors through its companies and investments. Its assets under management have increased from SR720 billion in 2015 to over SR3.4 trillion, with total spending over the past five years reaching SR750 billion on domestic investments, representing 60 percent of its total investments.The PIF’s high-quality projects have witnessed significant progress in recent years. This includes the opening of the first parks within the Qiddiya project by the end of 2025 and the inauguration of The Red Sea destination, featuring five marine resorts situated on one of the world's largest coral reefs. These represent the initial stages of opening both destinations to their full operational capacity. The council reviewed the progress of the logistics link between NEOM Port and key international ports in Europe and Asia, which halved the arrival time for shipments to the Kingdom. Commending the phased progress of these projects, the council emphasized their strategic role in leveraging the Kingdom’s natural resources while ensuring the ecological preservation and long-term sustainability of the environment.The council commended AlUla's unique position on the regional and global tourism scene, noting its designation as the first destination in the Middle East by the World Travel Market. Additionally, it won the Middle East's leading cultural tourism project award for three consecutive years (2023–2025) at the World Travel Awards Middle East.The council also praised the progress in developing and preparing the historic Diriyah area, home to the Al-Turaif District, one of Saudi Arabia’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites. This development resulted in over 3.6 million tourist visits by the end of 2025. Furthermore, the council commended the direct impact of Vision projects on the tourism sector’s performance, which surpassed the initial 2030 target of 100 million tourists and reached 123 million by the end of 2025. This success has generated over SR300 billion in total tourism spending, prompting the Vision’s target to be raised to 150 million tourists by 2030.The council affirmed that the Vision’s efforts over the previous two phases, along with the resulting acceleration in economic activity and the creation of an attractive business environment, have successfully stimulated and empowered the private sector. Since 2016, the number of small and medium-sized enterprises has tripled, exceeding 1.7 million. The private sector’s contribution to real GDP has reached 51 percent, while foreign direct investment inflows have increased fivefold, rising from SR28 billion in 2017 to SR133 billion in 2025. Additionally, more than 700 international companies have established regional headquarters in the Kingdom. These factors have driven a significant decrease in Saudi unemployment, which reached a low of 7.2 percent by the end of 2025, down from 12.3 percent in 2016. Furthermore, women’s labor market participation has risen to 35 percent, up from 22.8 percent in 2016, fueled by the continuous generation of job opportunities and the high readiness of young men and women to enter the workforce.The council also reviewed the achievements within the "ambitious nation" pillar, specifically highlighting the Kingdom’s remarkable progress across various international indicators. It commended the advanced digital infrastructure that propelled the Kingdom up 25 places in the UN E-Government Development Index, where it achieved sixth place globally. Furthermore, the council noted the Kingdom's continued advancement in the Global Cybersecurity Index, where it made a significant leap from 46th to first place globally.Beyond establishing the Kingdom as a global destination for premier events, spanning sports, the arts, and multi-sectoral conferences, Saudi Arabia has become a central hub for diverse international interests over the past decade. This is evidenced by its successful hosting of the Dakar Rally for seven years and its upcoming role as host of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup and Expo 2030. This trajectory is set to culminate in the hosting of the 2034 FIFA World Cup, marking a historic milestone in the Kingdom's journey as a world-class event destination.The council also praised the efforts to regulate and empower the non-profit sector, improving its operational mechanisms and funding opportunities to participate alongside the public and private sectors in the Kingdom's development journey. As a result, the non-profit sector's contribution to the GDP has increased from 0.2 percent to 1.4percent. Furthermore, the number of volunteers in the Kingdom has more than doubled, exceeding the original 2030 target and surpassing 1.7 million volunteers.The council concluded its session by reviewing the distinguished role played by the Vision Realization Programs, most of which were launched in their first phase as medium-term entities that served as key drivers for the transformation process and the acceleration of achievement. It praised the enabling structure established by these programs, which supports the continuity of implementation and a robust institutional and knowledge legacy. This foundation ensures the sustainability of growth and the integration of efforts toward achieving the objectives of Vision 2030.The council noted that last year witnessed the completion of the Fiscal Sustainability Program and Privatization Program after they successfully achieved their established goals and finalized their implementation plans. The work initiated by these programs will now be completed by the relevant government entities, including ministries, authorities, centers, and other programs, all of which will build upon these successes to enhance growth sustainability. The council further indicated that other programs will conclude their work successively over the coming years as they fulfill their objectives, while some will be redirected to achieve specific strategic goals extending until 2030.
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