RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will use the meeting of the World Economic Forum next week to “make dialogue count,” the minister of economy and planning, Faisal Alibrahim, said as he outlined the ways in which the Kingdom intends to deepen its partnerships and address global economic headwinds in this year that marks the 10th anniversary of Vision 2030.

As business leaders, policymakers and heads of state prepare for the forum in Davos, Switzerland, the minister sat down for an exclusive interview with Arab News ahead of the annual event, which has become a fixture on the Kingdom’s calendar.

He said the core mission of the Saudi delegation remains unchanged: “We’re going to be continuing to work with our international partners from all sectors, all disciplines, all geographies, to make sure we address collectively the ‘progress deficit’ and work together towards creating more momentum towards transformative growth.”

He noted that many major economies, particularly in the West, have in recent years faced a mix of stagnation, inflation, trade barriers, weak productivity, and volatility that has been difficult to manage, let alone plan around. This has left global output performing at “less than what it could,” which directly affects the Kingdom as a member of the G20.

“That, over time, accumulates and creates headwind towards progress gains,” Alibrahim warned.

Saudi Arabia embarked in 2016 on an ambitious Vision 2030 plan to transform its oil-dependent economic model, opening up and integrating more deeply with global markets.

“The Kingdom’s economy is more integrated with the global economy than ever before. Our lessons learned, our progress, our success are valuable inputs and data for our partners and vice versa,” the minister said, adding that discussions in Davos will focus on both investment in the Kingdom and how others can “borrow from the Saudi model”.

The Kingdom’s engagement at the World Economic Forum revolves around two core questions, he said: “How can we deepen our bilateral ties and how can we work with our partners towards addressing global challenges?”

Alibrahim was appointed minister of economy and planning in 2021 as the country emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic. He had joined the ministry as an adviser in 2016 and served as vice minister from 2018 to 2021.

Prior to this, he held senior roles at Saudi Aramco, including vice president of Aramco Development, head of mergers and acquisitions at New Business Development, commercial director of the Ras Al-Khair Maritime Yard Project, and project director of the Vela-Bahri transaction. These experiences gave him first-hand insights into areas in which the Kingdom’s economy holds a competitive edge, he said.

During his decade in government, he said, the perception of Saudi Arabia has shifted from that of a government-led spending partner, to an enabling, pragmatic player with a burgeoning private sector that does business on equal terms.

“(Conversations have) shifted from talking about opportunities of already-incumbent players, to talking about opportunities for (the) Kingdom’s investment and capital deployment, to how these companies can make money through the Saudi story; from taking money to making money, if you will,” the minister said.

Thanks to the “seriousness” Riyadh has demonstrated, he added, people are “interested (in being) part of this transformation.”

This “has led people not only to take note, but to understand that there are opportunities there for them,” Alibrahim said. “The interest is higher, the work has been shifting towards more momentum, and the discussion is continuing.”

According to recent figures from the Ministry of Economy and Planning, Saudi Arabia’s direct and indirect dependence on oil has fallen from more than 90 percent in the pre-reforms era to 68 percent in 2025.

Non-oil activities now account for 56 percent of real gross domestic product, and in October the Ministry of Finance raised its 2026 growth forecast from 3.5 percent to 4.6 percent, largely on the back of non-oil expansion.

Despite these reforms and signs of a dynamic, diversifying economy, the Kingdom still relies heavily on oil revenues, not least because prices have dropped sharply from a peak of about $114 per barrel in May 2022.

“We are decoupling from a single commodity,” Alibrahim said. “That doesn’t mean we won’t count on it and its flows for our economic activity. But we don’t want to rely on it as much as before.”

Vision 2030 was designed with “certain outcomes” in mind, the minister explained, and has required deep structural reforms to make the Kingdom more attractive to international investors, including recent moves to relax real estate rules and open up the stock market.

Beginning this month, in phased stages, foreign individuals and entities will be permitted to own real estate — not just hold long-term leases — in designated zones. In a similarly historic step, the Capital Market Authority has opened the Saudi capital market to all categories of foreign investors, allowing direct investment from Feb. 1.

“Vision 2030 was planned robustly, but while keeping in mind the importance of managing with prudence,” the minister said. “These two pieces of news are an example of doubling down on structural reform.

“This is not capital or investment or funds deployed by the government to achieve outcomes. This is a change in policy, a change in the regulatory environment that’s long term, that’s here to stay, that comes with, and unlocks, a lot of economic impact and outcome.”

The Kingdom, he added, has been working to “remove frictions” and attract foreign capital across mature and emerging sectors, particularly technology, in which Saudi Arabia aims to leverage its geographic position and accumulated know-how to become a market leader.

“You can’t truly diversify an economy and unlock its potential without getting the most out of every area you have an edge in,” Alibrahim said. “Saudi Arabia has a few sectors with a lot of deep knowledge accumulated over decades — and in some cases, almost a century.”

Offering Aramco as an example, he said the company has been able to consolidate decades of operational data into its “metabrain” platform, using this to reduce carbon intensity and improve performance.

Just as important, he argued, is access to a “dynamic regulatory ecosystem” that can offer countries the kind of legal and data-sovereignty assurances they seek when the Kingdom hosts data centers and digital infrastructure, an initiative that has taken the name “data embassy.”

Alibrahim said Saudi Arabia had developed a “unique ability” to balance its relationships because of its openness and its stated goal to “unlock the full potential of our country, economy and society.”

He added: “We’ve demonstrated, with a lot of track record, our commitment to peace, dialogue and, ultimately, continuing stability to help create prosperity. The world knows that we are very serious about this.

“The Kingdom has been a capital of pragmatism, and when acknowledged by our partners, they understand that that is something that makes dealing with the Kingdom very straightforward.”

On the topic of recent speculation that Saudi Arabia had reprioritized its objectives and diverted part of its budget from domestic projects to investments in the US, where Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has announced plans valued at up to $1 trillion, the minister said these opportunities “happened to be” in that oversees market but “go hand-in-hand with already approved” investment and strategic plans “that amount to that number.”

He added: “At the same time, why wouldn’t we spend wiser if we could? The first wave of Vision 2030 required us to deliver at any cost, but we’ve moved from that delivery at any cost,” he said.

The early phase of the plan was about “catching up and signaling new sectors,” Alibrahim explained, and the Kingdom initially invested heavily “in the right places” to signal the birth of new industries, close returns gaps, and attract investors.

“But after a while, (once) you reach that and achieve that signaling and that momentum, it’s about time to say, ‘How can we continue doing the same (but) with wiser spending at the right level of cost?’” he said.

“And that’s what we’re focusing on at the moment; wiser (spending) is not at all mutually exclusive or conflicting with where we spend our capital.”

As Vision 2030 this year marks its 10th anniversary — about two-thirds of the way through its timeline — some indicators still lag. But many targets once dismissed as overambitious have seen tangible progress, which the minister attributed to the built-in flexibility of the plan.

“I think there are a lot of lessons learned,” he said. “The most important highlight, I think, is knowing that you will learn and adjust and adapt; you have the ability, the agility and the prudence to continue delivering your plans. I think plans are important, but agility is what makes plans progress.”

How, then, does the government decide which projects to prioritize, trim or expand? Such decisions are made through a “circular” process that constantly reassesses trade-offs, Alibrahim said.

“In the past, we spent a lot of time designing the policy of intervention, the law, and not enough time assessing its impact,” he explained.

“Now we have a more rigorous process where you have an assessment of the detailed law or intervention, a preassessment of the regulatory impact, and then you monitor how it’s delivered and the (real-world) outcomes that follow.”

The government has created a “continuous feedback loop,” he said, paired with structured discussions and governance that “year-in, year-out” revisit priorities and inform both short and long-term strategies and the ways in which capital is allocated to achieve objectives.

Asked how the World Economic Forum fits into Saudi Arabia’s broader economic diplomacy and strategy, the minister said that as the Kingdom becomes “more integrated with the global economy” its voice “is more consequential on global, multilateral platforms and on many global issues.”

Davos, he added, brings together “a great deal of global leaders, thinkers and specialists,” and Saudi participation is “a continuation of our day-in, day-out work” that allows the Kingdom to advance several topics and objectives at once.

Alibrahim noted that while the forum remains the most prominent platform for this kind of engagement, Riyadh will continue to participate “whenever there is a global convening that matters to the Kingdom, that the Kingdom can contribute to and benefit from.”

Detailing plans to host World Economic Forum meetings in Saudi Arabia on a biennial basis, following the success of the 2024 WEF Special Meeting in Riyadh, Alibrahim said the Kingdom has become “a home for global dialogue — and not just any global dialogue (but) global dialogue of pragmatic and practical results” with an emphasis on impact, transparency and “potent dialogue that leads to progress.”

Looking ahead, he said, the goal is to become “even more integrated,” with the real success of Vision 2030 measurable over the long term.

It is the younger generation that will ultimately reap the benefits of the strategy, he stressed, but only if economies globally stop “operating below their potential,” because otherwise this gap “accumulates and becomes a cost” that will be felt most acutely by future generations.

Vision 2030 is already engaging with Saudi youth, Alibrahim argued, noting that in many public and private organizations the “chances are you’re going to be sitting with a young professional.”

He added: “Youth is not a subgroup that you represent, or make sure you listen to, (or) take input from; you need to embed young professionals in the process. Age is not something that limits people from being a bigger part of this transformation.”

On the issue of how the world views the Saudi experience, he said Riyadh was working to “build trust and a collaborative spirit” with its partners, and stressed that the Kingdom was “genuine about sharing our lessons learned, but also learning from others — and there is no limit to where we can learn.”

While acknowledging that the path toward a diversified, sustainable, non-oil-dependent economy is a long one, Alibrahim said: “We’re heading in that direction.”

He added: “If we see, of course, more non-oil exports grow materially the way we’ve seen the momentum pick up — if we see that number, the 90 to 68 (percent) go down even further — you’ll be in a better position to call the growth story more sustainable, more resilient, which is the ultimate objective.”

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting will take place in Davos from Jan. 19 to 23.