Saudi Arabia Concludes Participation in Davos WEF 2022

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s delegation concluded its participation in the activities of the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2022, which was held in Davos, Switzerland, from 22 to 26 May 2022, under the title “History at A Turning Point: Government Policies and Business Strategies”
The Kingdom’s delegation participated in many public and private dialogue sessions headed by Minister of State and Cabinet's Member Dr. Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Assaf
The Saudi delegation consisted of the Minister of Finance, Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan; the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Eng. Abdullah bin Amer Al-Sawaha; the Minister of Economy and Planning, Faisal bin Fadel Al-Ibrahim and Princess Haifa bint Mohammed Al Saud, Assistant to the Minister of Tourism.
This year's edition of the forum was the first to be held in attendance since the beginning of Covid-19 pandemic, by hosting more than 2,500 personalities from country leaders, business leaders, investors and decision makers at the international level, which made the forum a pivotal role in promoting joint international action by the convergence of points of views and reading the global situation.
The challenges of growth imposed themselves on the forum sessions in the post-Covid-19 pandemic with their geopolitical risks and lack of global supply security, as the dialogue sessions dealt with global challenges and possible solutions to confront them.
The forum represented an opportunity to convey the Kingdom's vision to the world in major issues addressed by the forum, and to highlight the Kingdom's efforts in addressing them locally and internationally, as the Kingdom's participation this year came under the title: "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Future View"
The topics presented represented the most important current challenges on the global arena, as they revolved around climate and environment, making more fair economies, technology and innovation, jobs and skills, improving the business environment, health and healthcare, international cooperation, society and justice.
During the forum’s sessions and bilateral meetings, the Kingdom’s delegation conveyed the important developments that the Kingdom is witnessing in terms of developing the business environment, through diversifying the economy and sources of income, enhancing competitiveness and economic cooperation, and efforts made in comprehensive societal and economic empowerment, especially in women’s contribution to the labor market, and accelerating the pace of job creation in new vital sectors.
The forum witnessed an affirmation of the need to maintain confidence in the global system, establish security and peace in the region, and support cooperation and dialogue among all countries of the world to face many challenges, especially food security. The Kingdom's delegation also referred to its positive role in the G20, which contributes to helping developing countries.
The delegation presented the visions and aspirations of the Kingdom towards developing the capabilities of cadres and talents, and supporting the adoption of smart solutions based on technology and solutions of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, in order to accelerate the pace of digital transformation based on investment in advanced technologies, as part of the Kingdom's endeavors to achieve its goals in the field of technology and innovation.
With regard to tourism, the delegation highlighted, during the dialogue sessions, the Kingdom’s achievements in this sector, and the Kingdom’s achievement of a qualitative achievement within the Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) issued by the World Economic Forum (WEF), as the Kingdom jumped at the global level to the 33rd place, It advanced 10 places compared to 2019.
Achieving this progress was a result of the steps taken to invest in the tourism sector, in conjunction with providing facilities for doing business and investment, in cooperation with all government sectors, such as the National Competitiveness Center and the General Authority for Statistics.
In order to consolidate the efforts of international cooperation between the Kingdom and the World Economic Forum, the delegation signed a number of agreements. The first agreement aims to enhance the existing partnership opportunities between the Kingdom and the Forum, explore future opportunities, identify opportunities that deepen the relationship to support the Kingdom’s transformation, and advance the global agenda in line with the main objectives of the Forum. .
The second agreement came in the field of promoting wise health care and activating cooperation frameworks between the public and private sectors and specialists in this field. As a result of this agreement, the Kingdom joined the Global Alliance for Value in Health Care of the Forum.
As for the third agreement, it was in the field of food systems, as it aims to discuss common issues in the field of food security, food waste management, food stability, and climate-smart agriculture.
The World Economic Forum is an international non-profit organization that aims to develop the world by encouraging business, policies and scientific aspects. The Forum was founded by Professor Klaus Schwab in 1971 in Switzerland, and he opened regional offices in a number of major global cities.