JEDDAH — At a time of celebrating the fifth anniversary of the pledge of allegiance to Prince Mohammed Bin Salman as the Crown Prince, Saudi Arabia is witnessing unprecedented achievements and qualitative leap in all spheres of life. On the 26th of Ramadan 1438 AH, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman chose Prince Mohammed Bin Salman as the Crown Prince to lead the Kingdom's modernization and development campaign. King Salman's decision was based on the mandate accorded by an overwhelming majority of 31 out of 34 members of the Allegiance Council, scripting a new history for the nation's march toward monumental growth and prosperity. Saudi Arabia's growing leadership role at the regional and international arenas is mainly attributed to the wise and sagacious vision of the dynamic and visionary Crown Prince, who became the talk of the world in a short span of time. The Vision of the Crown Prince was and still is the mainstay of Saudi transformations over the past years and in the years to come. The Crown Prince is spearheading a major drive in building a modern and strong state capable of confronting challenges at a time when the world is witnessing conflicts and changes. The Kingdom's Vision 2030, which was announced by the Crown Prince, includes a whole slew of set plans and programs that provided Saudi Arabia a giant leap in all fields. The Crown Prince was in the leading role in the Kingdom's ruthless battle against coronavirus pandemic so as to enable the Kingdom to emerge as one of the most resilient countries in the world, with an economy least affected by the fallout of the pandemic. The provision of free treatment and vaccine against coronavirus for both citizens and expatriates as well as financial assistance to poor countries to combat the pandemic was the major hallmark of the government policy that based on giving top priority to protecting human lives. Economic boom Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the architect of the Vision 2030, has always dreamed of a better future for this country that does not depend only on oil, but goes beyond it to diverse sources of income, such as tourism, entertainment, investment, and other vital sectors. Among the most prominent fruits of these plans are a jump in non-oil revenues to record levels in 2021, registering SR372 billion; rise in the assets of the Public Investment Fund to $480 billion and the solution to the housing problem as the percentage of Saudis' home ownership increased to more than 60 percent, and the unemployment rate reduced from 14 percent to 11 percent while foreign investments soared more than three times. It also contributed to the recovery of the Saudi stock market, which crossed 11,000 points, and the digitization of government services and transactions, which strengthened the infrastructure for investors and facilitated the implementation of services for citizens and residents. Giant projects and initiatives The Crown Prince launched many giga projects that he planned and drew, and they covered many economic, social and tourism fields, most notably the NEOM, The LINE, Oxagon, Qiddiya, The Red Sea Project, and Diriyah Gate. In addition to this, other strategic projects in the fields of renewable energy, genetic medicine, and the manufacture of aircraft structures, as well as housing projects, such as the Jeddah Central Project including the launch of the innovative environment projects such as Green Saudi Arabia initiative and the Green Middle East Initiative. Vibrancy is the hallmark Vibrancy is the hallmark of the dynamic young prince. He is in the forefront of leading the country with meticulously planned projects and programs to consolidate the Kingdom's position as the regional heavyweight and tapping the huge potential of its human and natural resources. The young Crown Prince is keen on fulfilling the aspirations of the Kingdom's vibrant young generation, who constitute 70 percent of the population, and hence they find a prime place in the Vision programs. He also gives top priority for women empowerment. During the past five years, he spearheaded several key reforms in this respect, and these included the landmark decision to allow women to drive, permission to travel without the company of a blood relative, the introduction of a public decorum system, and Anti-Harassment Law. Cinemas were opened and entertainment events and shows were held in various regions of the Kingdom, especially the 2019 and 2021 Riyadh Season festivals, the Jeddah Season and the Eastern Province Season, and several other entertainment events across the country. The Kingdom started organizing concerts with the performance of international celebrity singers and musicians. The Ministry of Sports has organized many major sporting events, such as freestyle wrestling, Formula 1 and Formula E, Dakar Rally, Spanish Super Cup and Italian Super Cup. All of these events and festivals have made the community lively and active, as well as giving the economy a great impetus, and contributing to creating tens of thousands of job opportunities for the country's young men and women. This was also instrumental in attracting foreign capital, as well as creating large number of jobs for Saudi jobseekers in the vital tourism and entertainment industries. Promise of a bright future Saudi Arabia embarked on an integrated system of work led by the young Crown Prince who is assisted by dynamic officials, most of whom are young Saudis who work day and night to create the appropriate environment to fulfill the aspirations of the youth, for whom the Crown Prince represents hope for a bright and renewed future. In a forward-looking view of the future filled with challenges, the Crown Prince promises to realize the goals of Vision 2030 before the deadline. According to the government data and estimates, most of the goals of the Vision have already been realized. High global, regional standing Ever since his selection as the Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman has worked hard to strengthen the Kingdom's regional and international standing. He toured major countries of the world, from China in the East to the United States in the West, as well as Russia, France, Germany and Britain, and met with the most important world leaders, including former US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. He pushed Saudi-American relations to huge leaps, especially after Trump chose the Kingdom as his first foreign destination. This historic visit witnessed the signing of many agreements and the expansion of the partnership between the two countries in the political, security and economic fields. The Crown Prince's close relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin have contributed to the two countries reaching the OPEC + formula that succeeded in maintaining the stability of global energy markets during the past years, despite the repercussions of the coronavirus crisis and the Russian-Ukrainian war. On the Arab and Islamic fronts, the leadership of the Crown Prince has strengthened the Kingdom's role as a leader of the Arab and Islamic world as his visits last year to the Gulf Cooperation Council States has contributed to strengthening their positions on regional issues, especially the Iranian nuclear dossier. Over the past five years, the Kingdom's relations with Arab and Islamic powers such as Egypt, Jordan and Pakistan have also strengthened to a great extent.
