Saudi Arabia reduces its oil production to 9 million barrels per day to support the market

In light of the Saudi trend to diversify the economy and localize new industries, green energy technology, ammonia, hydrogen, climate and artificial intelligence, specialists have stressed the need for business councils that fall under the mantle of the Federation of Saudi Chambers to take the lead in keeping pace with new changes in the modern qualitative economic and industrial approach.

The specialists stressed the need for business councils to adopt a work road map that would enable them to bring in the best and largest qualitative investments and partnerships that achieve the required goals, manufacture the best products of globally competitive quality, and work to transfer the best innovative global experiences in various fields, especially in the field of space and technology.

Developing business relationships

Fadel bin Saad Al-Buainain, a member of the Shura Council, said: “Business councils have an important and major role in developing economic and trade relations, and the flow of investments between Saudi Arabia and the countries of the world. They also enhance joint cooperation and contribute to translating trade and investment opportunities into tangible and qualitative partnerships.”

Al-Buainain added: “The more the business councils receive the care and guidance of the leadership, the more effective their role in development becomes in general. A bridge for development and investment flows according to a comprehensive vision.

He added, in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, that within the private sector come the large companies in which the government controls the largest percentage of its ownership, and thus the economic decision mixes with the sovereign development decision, in a way that achieves the public interest.

He continued, “Accordingly, I believe that there is a great disparity between the performance of business councils; Some of them are highly efficient and have succeeded in investing in opportunities and transforming them into qualitative partnerships that enhance the private sector, joint development, and the volume of investments and trade exchange.

At the same time, Al-Buainain acknowledged that many business councils were unable to achieve the goals for which they were established, and turned into protocol councils that are far from building bridges of economic and commercial partnerships on which many rely, which requires structuring them in a manner consistent with the variables of the stage and the economic orientation. Saudi.

green energy

Regarding the new directions that the business councils are supposed to focus on, Al-Buainain stressed the need to work on exploring opportunities for developing the green economy, as one of the main goals of the country, indicating that there is a package of initiatives, including financial investments worth more than 700 billion riyals ($186.6 billion).

In Al-Buainain’s opinion, this means expanding investments in two main aspects; The first is in promoting energy sources in a way that ensures the sustainability of supplies and market stability, and the second is the development of a green economy that promotes environmental protection and human health, and efforts aimed at achieving carbon neutrality in the long term.

He added: «For example, but not limited to, the future of energy and water is one of the nine targeted sectors in the city of NEOM, and it is natural that clean and renewable energy of all kinds are at the forefront of the indispensable requirements of the future, and it is expected to be a strong competitor to fossil energy, especially since the planned hydrogen Its production in (NEOM) constitutes one of the types of fuel affecting the future of the global transportation sector.

A member of the Saudi Shura Council pointed out that the completion of the “green hydrogen plant” project, which is the largest green hydrogen project in the world, at a cost of $5 billion, will enable the Kingdom to export clean fuel within the next few years, indicating that diversifying the sources of the economy is the goal. The first is for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, stressing that hydrogen production is a major part of his strategy.

Diversifying the economy, for his part, Dr. Muhammad Al-Ajlan, head of the Saudi-Chinese Business Council, told Asharq Al-Awsat: “At the outset, it is important to point out that Saudi Arabia, in light of (Vision 2030), is heading to diversify the economy and create greater opportunities for investment, in addition to The Kingdom is taking serious steps towards stimulating tools to attract global investments, and raising the contribution of the non-oil sector to the GDP.

Al-Ajlan pointed out that all targets are being achieved today on the ground, giving an example that many international companies have started moving their regional headquarters to the Saudi capital (Riyadh). Saudi investors, many of which have launched new projects in the Kingdom; How can this not be, and the Saudi economy is the fastest growing among the group of “twenty” countries in 2022.

With regard to the most important projects of the Saudi-Chinese Business Council, Al-Ajlan said: “I can assure you that we are working energetically to achieve the aspirations of the two friendly countries. China is the largest trading partner for Saudi Arabia, and we in the Kingdom always view China as a strong, vital and reliable partner, and during the last period many agreements were signed between the two countries, and we seek to achieve the objectives of these agreements and contribute to their implementation.

Al-Ajlan explained that the volume of trade exchange between Saudi Arabia and China reached, in 2022, about 400 billion riyals ($106.6 billion), achieving a jump of about 30 percent compared to 2021, indicating that the Kingdom’s oil exports to China have a role in that, stressing It should not be overlooked that an important part of this figure is for the non-oil sector, explaining that Chinese imports to the Saudi market are diverse, such as the automobile sector, which witnessed growth in these imports over the past year.

Al-Ajlan stressed that the joint investments between the two countries are concentrated in the petrochemical industries, the military industries, the medical supplies industry, the marine industries, the mining industries, the renewable energy industries, and various other investments in many fields, indicating that the distinguished relations between the two friendly countries have also yielded many achievements. Vital projects and investments, which enhance the volume of trade exchange from year to year.

competitiveness of the national product

For his part, Dr. Abd al-Rahman Baeshen, head of the Al-Shorouk Center for Economic Studies, in Jazan, Saudi Arabia, stressed that economic diversification, digital orientation, competitiveness of the national product, and the Saudi tendency to localize green energy business technologies, hydrogen, ammonia, climate, technological industries, and artificial intelligence, put business councils in the Kingdom before a test. A major and national role par excellence.

Baeshen believes that the Saudi tendencies to attract qualitative investment, qualitative partnerships, new and promising projects, and the legalization of new industries and robots, have put business councils to a test to measure their ability to respond to the dues of Saudi variables, to work according to a road map that contributes to achieving “Vision 2030”, according to directives and initiatives. declared.

He believes that a number of business councils were able to work according to these directives, and succeeded in achieving some of them, while some of them are medium in activity that needs more motivation, recognizing at the same time that the capabilities of business councils are measured by the level of bilateral relations between the Kingdom and the countries concerned and their economic, industrial and technological size, so that they can Concluding qualitative deals and attracting the required investments.

The head of Al-Shorouk Center for Economic Studies believes that it is important to pay attention to the choices of partnerships that yield not only the localization of products and industries, but also the need to raise the level of quality of the Saudi product to support its competitiveness in global markets, and thus increase the trade balance in favor of Saudi Arabia, and establish the qualitative commercial and industrial reputation of the Saudi market.

Transfer of global experiences

In the same context, the Saudi businessman Abdullah bin Zaid Al-Malehi, who headed several business councils in previous sessions, stressed the importance of activating business councils that are linked to countries that have distinguished industrial, technical, scientific and research production, especially some of the “G20” countries, so that they can By bringing innovative global expertise and experience in areas that represent important pillars of the Saudi approach, according to “Vision 2030”.

Al-Malehi believes that the Saudi-American, Saudi-Chinese, and Saudi-European business councils are included in the list of councils concerned with contributing to the realization of the Saudi Vision 2030, along with the official public Saudi policies, especially the orientation for new qualitative investments, such as investment in the field of space, environment, climate, and economy. Green, green hydrogen and ammonia.

However, Al-Malehi acknowledged some challenges facing some business councils, with the importance of providing databases that contribute to the completion of the specific vision of any project of agreements or partnerships and the extent of their need, because in the end, according to Al-Melehi, they contribute to other aspects, such as increasing intra-trade. And exporting Saudi products to new markets, to become a support for the policies of economic diversification, digital orientation, and the competitiveness of the national product.