Saudi development program targets $450 billion investment, 1.6 million new jobs

Arab News

January 29, 2019

Riyadh, Jan 29: Almost half a trillion dollars of investment and 1.6 million jobs are in the pipeline for Saudi Arabia under an ambitious industrial program launched on Monday in the presence of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

A slew of deals was announced across four key economic sectors — mining, industry, logistics and energy — at an event held at Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton hotel.

The National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP) is the largest initiative launched under the Saudi Vision 2030 reform plan, which aims to diversify a national economy that was hit hard by the 2014 slump in oil prices.

The program aims to transform Saudi Arabia into an “industrial powerhouse,” reduce the reliance on imports, and boost the economy.

By 2030, the program aims to stimulate investments worth more than $453 billion, increase the value of non-oil exports to $260 billion, and add 1.6 million jobs to the labor market.

During the launch event, 37 agreements were signed and 29 others were announced worth a total of $54 billion.

The program includes more than 300 initiatives, which 34 government agencies are working to implement, according to a statement released at the event.

“The National Industrial Development and Logistics Program is one of the most important programs for achieving Vision 2030, as it moves the Kingdom into a new era of sustainable development, prosperity and economic diversification,” said Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Energy and chairman of the NIDLP Committee.

“The mining sector will become a third pillar of the Saudi economy alongside oil and petrochemicals, while we continue to develop renewable energy and explore the diverse opportunities presented by the fourth industrial revolution through research and innovation.”

Agreements signed at the event included deals with Thales of France and CMI of Belgium, in the field of military industries, and one between the Saudi Export Development Authority and the Saudi Industrial Development Fund to launch an initiative to boost export financing.

Saudi Transport Minister Nabil bin Mohammed Al-Amoudi, speaking to Arab News at the launch of the program, said he believed that foreign investors would want to be involved because it made sound business sense.

“I think the driver of foreign capital is going to be good business opportunities, and the key to that is a healthy, vibrant and sustainable economy, which we have. The reforms were about ensuring that that was sustainable over the long term,” he said.

“But the real driver is ultimately going to be the business cases, or businesses that make sense for the foreign investor — actual investment opportunities, not just sentiment-driven investments.”

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UN condemns Israeli regime’s ‘organized torture’ against Palestinians

News Network

November 30,2025

The United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) has condemned the Israeli regime for enforcing a policy of “organized torture” against Palestinians.

In a report published on Friday, CAT stated that the occupying regime enforces a deliberate policy of “organized and widespread torture and ill-treatment” against Palestinian abductees, particularly since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza.

The committee expressed “deep concern over repeated severe beatings, dog attacks, electrocution, water-boarding, use of prolonged stress positions [and] sexual violence” inflicted on Palestinians.

Palestinian prisoners were degraded by “being made to act like animals or being urinated on,” systematically denied medical care, and subjected to excessive restraints, “in some cases resulting in amputation,” the report added.

CAT also condemned the routine application of “unlawful combatants law” to justify the prolonged detention without trial of thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children.

More than 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children, are currently held in Israeli prisons, according to Palestinian and international human rights groups, with 3,474 Palestinians in “administrative detention,” meaning they are imprisoned without trial for indefinite periods.

The report highlighted the “high proportion of children who are currently detained without charge or on remand,” noting that while Israel sets the age of criminal responsibility at 12, even younger children have been abducted.

Children designated as security prisoners face severe restrictions on family contact, may be subjected to solitary confinement, and are denied access to education, in clear violation of international law.

The committee further suggested that Israel’s policies across the Occupied Territories constitute collective torture against the Palestinian population.

“A range of policies adopted by Israel in the course of its continued unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading living conditions for the Palestinian population,” the report said.

On Thursday, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned the systematic killing and torture of Palestinian abductees in Israeli prisons, urging international action to halt these abuses.

Citing human rights data, Hamas stated that 94 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli prisons since the start of Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on Gaza.

“This reflects an organized criminal approach that has turned these prisons into direct killing grounds to eliminate our people,” the resistance movement said.

Hamas called on the international community, the UN, and human rights organizations to immediately pressure Israel to end crimes against prisoners and uphold their rights as guaranteed by all international conventions and norms.

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