How India will gain from Saudi’s Vision 2030

The ambitious blueprint for economic development called Vision 2030 unveiled by Saudi Arabia this week, which will lead to huge investments and building of massive manufacturing facilities and infrastructure, offers a range of opportunities for Indians.

NRIs in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries told BusinessLine on the phone that India would be one of the biggest gainers from the change of tack the kingdom is planning in its economy. “The Vision opens a world of opportunities for Indian job seekers as well as business people,” says KV Shamsudheen, Director of the UAE-based Barjeel Geojit Securities LLC, who is also the Chairman of the Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust. “The massive investments planned over the next 15 years in various sectors of the Saudi economy will require a steady influx of skilled workers; it will also open up a window of business possibilities for Indian entrepreneurs.”

George Alexander, a Kottayam-born middle-level engineering executive in a multi-national company in Al Khobar, noted a stream of highly qualified professionals from India would find jobs in the kingdom, though the reform basically wanted to give jobs to Saudi locals.

Green Card Salam Yusuf from Malappuram, who owns a medium enterprise in Jeddah, said the proposed Green Card for foreigners would be a great incentive for Indians to stay on in Saudi Arabia and plough back their profits into their businesses. The offer, to be in place in five years, would be restricted to ‘Arabs and Muslims’.

The announcement of the Vision 2030 by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is the Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, is considered an important landmark in the kingdom’s life. Prince Mohammed, son the monarch King Salman, while unveiling the Vision, claimed it was an “ambitious but achievable blueprint” which expressed the kingdom’s “long-term goals and expectations”.

While the details are yet to be announced, the major plans include: liberating the Saudi economy from the dependence on oil in five years, partial disinvesting in Saudi Aramco, which is the world’s largest energy-production company and which produces about 10 per cent of global oil production, extensive exploration of the country’s natural resources such as minerals, and a countrywide boost to tourism development.

The proceeds from the 5-per cent IPO in Aramco would go into a $2-trillion Public Investment Fund, which would be the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund. It would funnel the investments planned abroad. The sale of 5 per cent of Aramco will likely be the biggest IPO in history.

The Vision includes plans to set up military manufacturing facilities so that by 2030 Saudi Arabia can make at least a half of its military needs. Prince Salam had noted that though the kingdom was the third largest spender on weaponry in the world, its military industry was nascent. This situation would change soon.

A decent share NRIs BusinessLine spoke to pointed out that after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit, the kingdom was planning gigantic investments in India, even surpassing the ones committed by UAE after Modi’s visit there last year.

“India could hope for a decent share of the new $2-trillion sovereign fund proposed,” one Keralite financial-sector professional noted.

Two of the key areas where Indians could find jobs are the large-scale expansion of tourism in the vast country and the exploitation of minerals and other natural resources other than oil. Saudi now exploits hardly 3 per cent of its minerals.

Throwing open the entire country for tourism — especially those visiting for Haj and Umrah — would require creation of extensive tourism infrastructure. This would mean lakhs of new jobs for expatriates, including those from India. Already, the nearly 3 million Indians make up the largest expatriate community in Saudi Arabia.

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