Saudi youth to drive next wave of industrial revolution: Al-Falih

The next wave of industrial revolution and technological advancements in Saudi Arabia will be led by the youth, said the Kingdom’s energy minister Khalid Al-Falih.

“Young people in the Kingdom and in the region are highly-educated and they do believe in their capabilities,” Al-Falih said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF), which kicked off on Saturday in Jordan’s Dead Sea region. “We are seeing young enterprises coming up in the Kingdom that are supporting the major government-led reforms and the private sector.”

He also spoke on the recently-launched National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP), which aims to fuel up 12 sectors in the Saudi economy, including energy, petrochemicals, mining, and the automotive industry.

“It’s going to combine a very strong natural resource advantage in minerals and energies. I’m not only talking about conventional energy in oil and gas, but also renewables,” Al-Falih said.

He also stressed on global co-operation, adding that each wave of growth in Saudi Arabia has been underpinned by it.

“The Kingdom is always open for business from the early days. For foreign enterprises doing business in Saudi Arabia, they are going to be treated exactly the same as the wholly-owned Saudi companies and joint ventures,” he said.

“The intent is not only to bring capital but we will finance most of these ventures. The objective is to bring know-how, technology, brands, markets and global connectivity to the Kingdom,” Al-Falih added.