Riyadh Relies on Developing Human Capital to Increase Competitiveness

An international report showed that the wave of reforms in Saudi Arabia has led to a significant improvement in many indicators such as public finances, improvement in basic infrastructure and an increase in the number of international investments and international trade throughout the year.

This is due to the wave of reforms carried out by the Kingdom. Similarly, the societal framework, and overall attitudes and values indicators saw an improvement as well.

According to the 30th edition of the World Competitiveness Yearbook, which was published by the International Institute for Management Development(IMD) on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia is ranked 39th and the third among the most competitive economies in the world.

“Saudi Arabia is undergoing an important phase of reforms, which is a cause of the increased uncertainty about its future, and might be the reason behind the slight decrease in its rank, said Director of the IMD’s World Competitiveness Center Professor Arturo Bris.

“Also, the country is currently pursuing a strategy to diversify its economy in order to reduce the dependence on oil revenues. These changes as well as a slowdown in GDP growth and gross fixed capital formation led to a decline by three positions in the 2018 ranking compared to 2017.”

In spite of improved performance in a number of indicators, Saudi’s quest to rank among the world’s top competitive countries will still take a long time, the report indicated.

The Kingdom still ranks low in finance and domestic economy as it is facing a challenge in balancing the budget deficit due to fluctuations in oil prices.

Notably, if Saudi Arabia implements the pillars of its Vision 2030, its competitiveness will certainly increase, and it will catch up with its neighboring country, the UAE, in securing top rankings in the coming years

The development of Saudi human capital, especially youth and women, and what comes in line with vision 2030 to lead a sustainable economy in the Kingdom, will play a key role in stimulating the Kingdom’s national economy and increasing its competitiveness.