Saudi Embassy In Canberra Celebrates 91st National Day

The Saudi Embassy in Canberra celebrated the Kingdom’s of Saudi Arabia 91st National Day,  On this special day, Saudi Ambassador to Australia, Mesaad bin Ibrahim Al-Sulaim, outline some of the kingdom’s long-term goals.

Vision 2030

Introduced in 2016, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has stated this initiative’s targets merely form the initial phase of transformation necessary to enable Saudi over the coming decades “to grow and to prosper and to compete at the world level,” he said.

Furthermore, he is already looking towards 2040, when the focus of the transformation shifts from enabling to achieving global competitiveness.

Meanwhile, in October Saudi Arabia will host the inaugural Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) and The Middle East Green Initiative (MGI) in Riyadh. Both are aimed at reversing environmental degradation and climate change. Intended to reshape its economy, they “provide an ambitious roadmap for the kingdom and region to confront the generational challenge and meet worldwide emissions targets,” the ambassador said.

The goals include raising vegetation cover, reducing carbon emissions, combating pollution and land degradation, and preserving marine life.

COVID-19 response

“The Kingdom pledged $500 million to support global efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic and urged other countries and organisations to help bridge an $8 billion financing gap,” ambassador Al-Suleim said.

They also allocated “$150 million to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovation, $150 million to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations, and $200 million to other health organisations and programmes.”

Recently the kingdom also pledged $5.3 million to provide coronavirus vaccines for 22 developing countries to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tourism

As soon as travel back into Australia is normalised the ambassador invites you to visit Saudi Arabia.

“Saudi Arabia offers geographical and historical diversity, highlighting natural resources, archaeological treasures and historical places that meet the aspirations of tourists,” he said.

The authority has prepared programs to attract tourism, and has been activating tourism investment and the role of the private sector.

Saudi-Australia relations

The ambassador said that Australia and Saudi Arabia’s friendly relationship is underpinned by commercial ties and shared membership in the G20. This is complemented by Australia’s engagement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which are both headquartered in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is an important trading partner in the Middle East region for Australia, but the ambassador also said there is significant potential for economic ties to grow, given our areas of mutual interest such as in agriculture, mining services, education and construction.

Vision 2030 also provides opportunities for Australian business in priority sectors. “Saudi Arabia’s needs are well suited to Australian capabilities,” he said.

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