Ashraf AboArafe
On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF), His Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs, participated today in a panel discussion under the title: “The bright future in the midst of geopolitical challenges.”
At the beginning of his intervention, His Highness the Minister of Foreign Affairs affirmed that energy security is a very essential matter for the Kingdom, and that stability is the absolute key to energy security, praising the successes of OPEC and OPEC + as an example of this, and that they contributed to achieving a relatively stable oil price, which is a predictable price. By both consumers and producers, and that some other energy sources face great challenges, and despite this, the Kingdom and the rest of the members are still committed to achieving stability.
His Highness made it clear that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is committed to the future of clean energy, pointing out that the only way through which it is possible to move to a clean energy future in a way that does not affect the overall global issues and continue the path towards prosperity is if a certain level of stability and predictability can be guaranteed in supply. Traditional energy sources during the stage of investing in renewable energy, pointing out that the Kingdom has invested about $200 billion in spreading renewable energy inside and outside the Kingdom, and that Saudi companies are active in about 21 countries around the world through the deployment of solar energy, wind energy and other renewable energy sources. But this could take decades for the developing world to obtain enough energy to replace conventional energy fuels.
And His Highness indicated that the Kingdom’s economy will be the fastest growing economy this year in the world, through a very ambitious reform program, which is the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which managed to move the economy in a significant way away from dependence on hydrocarbons, in addition to increasing non-oil revenues in the gross domestic product, and this The process is ongoing.
His Highness the Minister of Foreign Affairs stated that the Kingdom is active in all economic fields, and that the level of unemployment has decreased significantly through the participation of the labor force now, especially for women, and this is an indication that even in light of the conditions the world is going through, it can be a successful model.
Speaking about the relationship with Iran, His Highness said: “We have communicated with them and are trying to find a path to dialogue with our neighbors in Iran because we firmly believe that dialogue is the best way to resolve differences, and we also feel strongly that what we are doing in the Kingdom and what others are doing in the region, especially the countries of The Gulf Cooperation Council in facing economic challenges, and investing in their countries by focusing on development, is a strong indication for Iran and others in the region that there is a way to overcome traditional conflicts towards common prosperity.
