Saudi Gazette RIYADH — Euromoney Conference Saudi Arabia this year has witnessed huge difference than the previous 12 years since it was launched. All keynote panel discussions were focused on Kingdom's Vision 2030 and the fundamental profound changes envisioned for Saudi economy. Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan attended the conference and highlighted major points with Christopher Garnett, senior external adviser at Euromoney. Garnett told the Saudi Gazette that over the past 12 years of his regular visit to the Kingdom, he is impressed about the acceleration of the reform, the willingness and commitment to achieve the goal. "I wholeheartedly believe that the will is absolutely there. Lot of financial market activities we talk about here aimed at raising capital, whether for the government to finance its programs, private industry, or for financial institutions. Of course raising capital is the desired effect of this activity, but it seems to me that there is much more profound mechanism of work here. The acceptance of externally-based objective set of criteria, benchmarks, legal requirements are drawing the roadmap to non-oil dependent country," he said. He stressed that investors are always attracted by openness, transparency, good governance, and predictability in transaction engagement. "If the economic structure of the Kingdom across the board comes more like that, then it will positively affect every aspect of economic life and that seems to me is the clear intention of the government in engaging in this process," he remarked. "For example, if the Kingdom issues global bonds in the global bond market dominated in a foreign currency, it is entering into legally binding international contracts with tens of thousands of bond holders all over the world. By the very nature of entering into those contracts, they are using financial mechanism to help with increasing transparency, better governance. He emphasized that the oil in Saudi Arabia will not run dry. "Saudi Arabia has massive oil reserves. However, its Vision aims at diversifying income. However, we have to acknowledge that there are risks and challenges... there are risks in every form of human activity. But determination and good execution of initiatives are there. They can definitely cope with them," he said.
