RIYADH — Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih stated that Saudi Arabia has several competitive advantages to be a global center for supply chains. Among the advantages, Al-Falih said that the Kingdom's economy is the largest in the Middle East, as well as one of the 20 largest and fastest growing economies in the world. It also owns the largest industrial base in the region, great human and natural resources, as well as its strategic location in the middle of 3 continents. Al-Falih said that the Global Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (GSCRI) launched by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Salman would increase Saudi Arabia's regional and international contribution to facilitating global trade, as well as enhance the ability of economies to recover during global crises. The Kingdom has sought during the past years to develop the investment environment, and facilitate the practice of business in the country by offering an integrating working system in accordance with the international best practices, which includes all the legislative, regulatory and procedural aspects, he noted Al-Falih stated that the GSCRI is targeting to attract the supply chain in several investment sectors such as advanced industries; military industries; marine industries; aerospace industries: automobiles and many more. He added that GSCRI is based on 4 principles, which are achieving sustainability and combating climate change; diversifying the supply chains sources; empowering the future industries; adopting advanced manufacturing methods. The GSCRI has high goals, such as attracting investments reaches about SR40 billion during the two years of its launch, Al-Falih pointed out, adding that a budget has been allocated for financial and non-financial incentives amounting to about SR10 billion for the same period.
