The Saudi economy is not just about oil. One of the Saudi economic achievements is the record non-oil exports in May, which reached the highest level in seven months, with a monthly growth rate of 23.9%. These activities vary among chemical products, rubber products, metals, transportation equipment, electrical material and equipment, and precious stones, as well as other investments.
Efforts do not stop here. Saudi Arabia is working to increase the non-oil sector’s contribution to the GDP. For example, the Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources issued 99 new industrial licences in May 2023, with a total investment of Saudi Riyal 20.1 billion.
The Saudi economy is more than just oil. Evidence of this lies in the value of non-petroleum export, which reached approximately Saudi Riyal 265.6 billion in 2022, representing 17.2% of the goods and services produced in Saudi Arabia. In addition to this, its non-petroleum exports to Gulf countries increased by Saudi Riyal 1.8 billion within one year. The value of goods exported by Saudi Arabia to foreign countries rose from Saudi Riyal 5.6 billion in mid-2022 to Saudi Riyal 7.4 billion in mid-2023, which is an annual increase of 33.3%.
Among the achievements which bring optimism in Saudi Arabia, is its exports which surpassed Saudi Riyals 1.5 trillion for the first time. This marked an increase of about 102% since 2015. In his speech before the Shura Council on October 15, 2022, King Salman bin Abdulaziz declared that Saudi Arabia has achieved leading positions, notably in non-oil exports.
[by Abdullah Alalami in Annahar Al-Arabi]
Compiled and translated by Faizul Haque