Saudi Arbia has launched the Global Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (GSCRI) aiming to make the kingdom a location of choice for leading global industrial companies looking to drive competitive advantage and improve business resilience.
The initiative was launched by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs.
The initiative will support growth of key sectors and aim to attract SR40 billion of investment in its first two years. A SR10 billion incentives budget has been earmarked to support several initiatives, including financial and non-financial support for global investors interested in incorporating Saudi Arabia into their supply chains.
The initiative will provide a great opportunity to achieve common successes. Working along with other development initiatives that have been launched in recent years, it will help to enable investors, from all sectors, to benefit from the kingdom's resources and capabilities and support and develop these value chains, HRH Prince Mohammed said.
It will also build successful investments, which will give greater flexibility to economies, businesses and consumers around the world. It will ensure the provision and sustainability of supply chain access to all parts of the world effectively and with highly competitive advantages.
Finally, the GSCRI will bring the Kingdom closer to achieving its Vision 2030 aspirations to be a top 15 global economy by 2030 and leave a prosperous legacy for future generations.
The GSCRI is one of the initiatives of Saudi Arabia’s National Investment Strategy, launched in October 2021 to accelerate efforts to make the kingdom a global investment powerhouse. The initiative aims to enable global investors to make optimal use of the kingdom’s natural resources and untapped potential and form strong relationships with regional and global markets.
The GSCRI aims to make the kingdom an optimal investment environment for all investors in supply chains, through several steps. These steps include, identifying and developing investment opportunities and presenting them to investors, establishing a number of special economic zones in the near future, through which an attractive environment can be created for investors, in addition to attracting the regional headquarters of international companies to the kingdom.
The kingdom is also working to implement regulatory and procedural reforms in various aspects, which, in turn, will contribute to further improving the investment environment and increasing its attractiveness and competitiveness. As well as make the investment plays an essential role to achieve economic growth and diversity in light of Saudi Vision 2030 objectives.
The pandemic, trade disputes and the geopolitical landscape have broken or weakened global supply chains, driving up commodity prices and disrupting production and distribution. This initiative aims to strengthen the position of Saudi Arabia in the global economy, and to mitigate the impact of global disruptions.
The Global Supply Chain Resilience Initiative will leverage the kingdom’s resources, infrastructure and location to bring greater resilience to economies and companies across Europe, the Americas and Asia, while further enhancing Saudi Arabia’s position in the global economy.
Saudi Arabia offers a strong value proposition to investors across several key dimensions. It provides a resilient economy which is the largest in the Middle East and the fastest growing in the G20, a strategic location at the heart of three continents and a source of key raw materials for manufacturing. Saudi Arabia also offers access to oil, gas, electricity, renewable energy and human resources at competitive costs.
The Kingdom offers a robust logistics infrastructure across industrial cities, airports and ports, with ambitious expansion plans underway as part of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy. The country’s digital infrastructure has witnessed significant progress, with widespread high-speed internet coverage and 5G now available to nearly 80% of the population.
Saudi’s workforce is young, educated and ambitious, with Saudis under the age of 30 accounting for about 60% of the population, said the statement.
