King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques: “Our country is witnessing comprehensive and sustainable development and is now in the second phase of Vision 2030. This phase targets developing new and promising sectors, supporting local content, improving the business environment, empowering citizens and the private sector, and improving implementation efficiency to meet our dear nation’s expectations and aspirations.”

HRH Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA): “God willing, we will make the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia a great nation we all feel proud of.”

Introduction:

2022 National Transformation Program Annual Report highlights the Program’s progress toward achieving Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goals. Vision 2030 is a comprehensive plan to transform Saudi Arabia into a global leader.

Under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and HRH the Crown Prince, the Kingdom has made significant strides toward economic and social development. Therefore, the government services became more accessible and available at all times, together with a thriving economy, and a youthful population driving technological innovation. As such, the National Transformation Program is at present a reality.

The National Transformation Program has the distinct honor of being the first Vision Realization Program launched within Vision 2030. The National Transformation Program has the important task of delivering on more than 35% of the goals set out in Vision 2030, which aims to build infrastructure, empower the public and private sectors, and support the non-profit sector.

Since its inception, the National Transformation Program has made significant progress in a variety of sectors. This success would not have been possible without the hard work and collaboration of the National Transformation Program team, the Vision Realization Offices, and the initiative owners of participating organizations, as well as the support of the esteemed members of the National Transformation Program Committee.

Looking forward, the National Transformation Program shall continue on its transformation journey to achieve the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, for a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation.

The National Transformation Program’s 2022 annual report sheds light on its key achievements in judicial services, environmental protection, water and food security, social development, non-profit sector development, society empowerment to enter the labor market, digital transformation, private sector empowerment, and economic partnerships. This report showcases the Program’s achievements divided into seven themes and progress towards reaching its Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

The National Transformation Program (NTP) aims to develop the necessary infrastructure and create an environment that enables the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to achieve Saudi Vision 2030.

NTP is responsible for 35% of Vision 2030 Objectives:

• 34 strategic objectives
• 7 leading entities
• 253 initiatives
• 50+ contributing entities

NTP’s Scope covers 7 themes:

1. Achieve government operational excellences
2. Ensure sustainability of vital resources
3. Social empowerment and non-profit sector development
4. Labor market accessibility and attractiveness
5. Digital transformation
6. Private sector empowerment
7. Development of economic partnerships

6 years of transformation:

• April 2016 – launch of the Saudi Vision 2030
• June 2016 – launch of the 1^st phase of the NTP (2016 – 2020)
• 2017 – launch of different initiatives – National Transformation initiatives were launched to cover areas like: laws and regulations, establishment of entities, and digital transformation
• 2018 – start of achievements – the results of National Transformation began to appear in many sectors
• 2019 – boom in achievements – the ambitious journey moved forward by seeing great results and realizing the impact
• 2020 – crisis management – the COVID-19 crisis was successfully managed with collaborative efforts and proactive plans
• 2021 – start of the 2^nd phase of the NTP (2021 – 2025)
• 2022 – the Transformation continues

Leading entities of strategic objectives:

• Ministry of Economy and Planning
• Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture
• Ministry of Justice
• Ministry of Investment
• Ministry of Commerce
• Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
• Human Resources and Social Development

The 7 themes covered by the NTP:

1. Achieve Government Operational Excellence

The National Transformation Program (NTP) works to solve any obstacle hindering the government sector’s development. To meet the needs and expectations of citizens and residents, the Program is improving the quality of government services and making them more accessible. Additionally, the Program is improving infrastructure, operations, and human resources by updating laws and regulations, providing training programs, finding creative solutions, and enhancing the legislative environment based on the best practices.

Strategic objectives:

• Foster values of equity and transparency
• Improves quality of services provided to citizens
• Enhance transparency across government roles
• Ensure responsiveness of government entities to stakeholders’ feedback

2. Ensure Sustainability of Vital Resources

The National Transformation Program is working on developing the kingdom vital resources and ensure sustainable benefits from them by focusing on increasing water security through the use of different water supplies such as ground, surface and salinized water. Also, the program is building an effective system for water distribution to minimize water waste and maximize the use of treated sewage water. The program is also mitigating risks to Saudi Arabia’s natural environment such as desertification, sand drift and invasive insects by establishing land reserves, increasing the vegetation cover and maintaining and rehabilitating the natural areas through partnership with Private Sector. In addition, the program is promoting national capabilities to predict the nature hazards in order to mitigate the losses.

Strategic objectives:

• Reduce all types of pollution
• Safeguard the environment from natural threats
• Ensure development and food security
• Protect and rehabilitate natural landscapes
• Ensure sustainable use of water resources

3. Social Empowerment and Non-Profit Sector Development

The non-profit sector is a vital contributor to Saudi society and the Kingdom’s economy. The National Transformation Program aims to support the sector by expanding the range of services provided by the NGO organizations to cover more beneficiaries, and increasing the sector’s economic and social impact. The Program aims to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of welfare services by encouraging businesses to contribute in social responsibility. Lastly, the Program further encourages volunteering in the Kingdom by regulating and diversifying volunteering opportunities.

Strategic objectives:

• Empower citizens through the welfare system
• Improve effectiveness and efficiency of welfare system
• Encourage volunteering
• Enhance businesses’ focus on their social responsibilities
• Support growth of the non-profit sector
• Empower non-profit organizations to create a deeper impact

4. Labor Market Accessibility and Attractiveness

The National Transformation Program aims to diversify the Saudi labor market and provide opportunities to citizens. Through increased participation of women, people with disabilities, and productive families in the labor market, Saudi Arabia’s unemployment rate has dropped to a ten-year low as a result of updates to local labor laws and regulations, educational and professional opportunities, and improved working conditions. By improving compliance with Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) laws, these efforts also resulted in a decrease in the rates of work-related accidents and injuries.

Strategic objectives:

• Improve working conditions for expats
• Increase women participation in the labor market
• Enable integration of people with disabilities in the labor market
• Improve productivity of government employees
• Grow productive family’s contribution to the economy
• Source relevant foreign talent effectively

5. Digital Transformation

Vision 2030 has identified the digital economy as a sector with high growth potential. As a result, the National Transformation Program (NTP) is accelerating Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation by expanding and improving the Kingdom’s digital infrastructure and enabling the adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies. The NTP is also developing e-government services across all sectors, empowering digital entrepreneurs, increasing digital awareness, and developing digital talent and skills.

Strategic objective:

• Develop the digital economy
• Develop the e-government

6. Private Sector Empowerment

Attracting high-quality investments is key to a thriving, diverse and sustainable economy. The National Transformation Program supports this by developing economic opportunities for entrepreneurs and investing in SMEs. These measures are empowering the Kingdom’s private sector, helping Saudi Arabia become one of the top 15 global economies.

Strategic objectives:

• Attract foreign and local investments
• Enhance businesses’ focus on the sustainability of the economy
• Strengthen communication channels with citizens and business community
• Grow SME contribution to the economy
• Enhance ease of doing business
• Enable the development of the retail sector

7. Development of Economic Partnerships

The National Transformation Program aims to create a strong and diverse economy by building economic partnerships at the regional and international levels across various sectors.

Strategic objectives:

• Support national companies to consolidate their leadership globally
• Develop promising local companies into regional and global leaders
• Push forward the GCC integration agenda
• Develop economic ties with the region beyond GCC
• Develop economic ties with global partners

Conclusion:

The Kingdom’s 2030 Vision drew an ambitious roadmap for Saudi Arabia’s bright future. Since the Vision set sail, the National Transformation Program’s efforts have led to significant development in legislative reforms, the establishment of specialized entities, and the enablement of digital transformation in order to develop and empower the necessary infrastructure to allow the public, private, and non-profit sectors to achieve Saudi Vision 2030.

As a result, the Program succeeded in achieving many of its objectives in addition to surpassing some of them.

This was made possible by working hand-in-hand with the leading and participating entities, which led to a Vision that is becoming a reality for everyone living in the Kingdom. With this, the National Transformation Program continues to march forward on its journey to achieve Saudi Vision 2030.