RIYADH — US President Donald Trump said that within a few years 50 percent of Saudi Arabia's income will come from non-oil sources. He made the remarks while commenting on his recent visit to Saudi Arabia and two other Gulf states in a television interview with Fox News. Trump's statement validates the performance results of the annual Vision 2030 report. According to the report, non-oil activities in Saudi Arabia have contributed 51 percent of real GDP in 2024, driven by Vision 2030, marking an all-time high. The report is based on analysis by the Ministry of Economy and Planning of data from the Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT). In the interview, Trump stated that former President Joe Biden has not handled the Middle East well. "The Middle East is a wonderful region and Biden has not handled it well," he said. President Trump on Friday wrapped up a momentous week in the Middle East and is headed home having finished the final leg of his three-nation trip to the UAE. This visit coincided with Saudi Arabia's unveiling of its new AI venture, Humain, part of broader efforts to diversify its economy away from oil. The trip was largely economically focused with massive investment deals secured with Riyadh, Doha and Abu Dhabi. The president also made geopolitical shockwaves by lifting decades-long sanctions on Syria, issuing another warning to Iran, and downplaying hard fought peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. While in Saudi Arabia, Trump signed a Strategic Economic Partnership agreement with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which will see Riyadh invest in U.S. AI data centers and energy infrastructure, and investment in cutting-edge transformative technologies in both countries. These include several agreements on energy, investments, defense and mining. The investments amounted to a total of $600 billion. The agreement also included a commitment by Google, Uber, Salesforce, AMD and Saudi Arabia's DataVolt to invest $80 billion toward the development of revolutionary technologies in both countries. American companies will also take on major projects in Saudi Arabia, including the King Salman International Airport, King Salman Park, The Vault and Qiddiya City, according to the White House. The administration predicts the projects will generate a total of $2 billion in U.S. service exports.
