Al-Falih chairs the Saudi-Swiss Investment Forum

Riyadh, Rabi I 20, 1443-Oct 26, 2021, SPA-- The activities of the Saudi-Swiss Investment Forum were held yesterday in Riyadh under the co-chairmanship of Saudi Minister of Investment Eng. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih and Head of the Bilateral Economic Relations Division at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs Ambassador Erwin Bollinger. CEO of Swiss Global Enterprise Simone Fedele, Swiss Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Dr. Andreas Schaller and representatives of the private sector in the two countries also participated in the forum.

In his speech during the forum, Eng. Al-Falih expressed the desire to strengthen bilateral relations to the highest levels. He hoped that Swiss companies will take advantage of investment opportunities in the Kingdom and play an active role through participating in the growth and expansion opportunities in the Kingdom, which will not only yield big returns, but will also help make Saudi Arabia a more important and valuable export destination for Swiss companies.

The minister said that the launch of the National Investment Strategy boosts economic growth across priority sectors. The strategy is the roadmap for achieving investment goals; where the local and foreign investments play a major role in achieving economic diversification in accordance with the objectives of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, he added.

HE stated that the National Investment Strategy aims to achieve 3 main objectives by 2030, namely: doubling the investment volume to reach SAR 2 trillion or the equivalent to 30% of the gross domestic product (GDP), doubling the total of local investment to reach an annual growth rate of 9%, and increasing the foreign direct investment (FDI) 20 times approximately to reach 5.6% of the GDP by 2030. His Excellency also clarified that the total volume of the private sectors opportunities at the Kingdom will reach SAR 12 trillion until 2030.

Al Falih has reviewed the structural, economic, and social reforms that help improve the investment and competitive environment of the Kingdom both regionally and globally to enable qualitative investments, build new partnerships, and facilitate financing for the priority investment sectors. “The participation of the main government agencies and the relevant private-sector agencies in a number of leading initiatives to expedite the partnership programs between public and private sectors and the privatization programs, which further attract investors in the key sectors, namely: water, health, education, and transportation,” he added.

Al Falih also praised the outcomes of the Saudi-Swiss Committee on its 12th session, which discussed the economic relations between the two countries, including the free trade agreements, intellectual properties, and some of the challenges encountering the private sector.

Minister of Investment concluded his speech by assuring that the launch of the special economic zones, including its incentives, attracts the companies investing in the region and the Middle East. In this regard, the Kingdom has launched the Regional Headquarters Program (RHQ), aiming to transform the Kingdom into a leading regional hub for multinational companies through providing special incentives. He also declared that, so far, more than 40 companies have signed MoUs with the Ministry of Investment, and a lot of other companies are working to do the same.