With the participation of 24 government entities and under the follow-up of the Trade and Investment System represented by the General Investment Authority, the Ministry of 44 recommendations have been completed to enhance the competitiveness of the business environment, address private sector challenges and raise the Kingdom's rating in the Global Competitiveness Index, while another 69 recommendations are being worked on as part of the “National Program for Enhancing Competitiveness” initiative of the National Transformation Program 2020.”

National Transformation Program 2020

increase investments and foreign investment

<According to a statement issued by the ministry, the goal of this initiative is to increase investments, including increasing the ratio of foreign direct investments to GDP from 3.8% to 5.7% as one of the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, moving the Kingdom to the 20th place in the Doing Business report, in addition to contributing to reducing the unemployment rate from 11.6% to 7%, which enhances the realization of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 goal to raise the total contribution of the private sector to GDP from 40% to 65%, in addition to working to raise the Kingdom's assessment in the Global Competitiveness Report from 25th to 10th in 2030, and increasing the percentage of local investments from 15.6% to 19% in 2030, through developing and attracting investments and improving the investment environment, in addition to providing incentives and upgrading services with capable competencies and effective partnerships.

Highlights of the recommendations and work done

According to the statement, the most prominent recommendations and works that have been accomplished in partnership with the concerned government agencies include issuing trade visit visas within no more than 48 hours, completing the preparation of the new Companies Law, forming bankruptcy reconciliation committees, launching the Commercial Arbitration Center, issuing the electronic certificate of origin including the adoption of an electronic signature, reducing import and export requirements, working on providing port services around the clock and clearing commercial containers within 24 hours.

According to the statement, the most prominent recommendations and works that have been accomplished in partnership with the concerned government agencies include the issuance of trade visit visas within a period not exceeding 48 hours.

113 recommendations of the initiative

Government agencies are also working together to implement 69 other recommendations within this initiative, most notably amending the government tenders and procurement system, amending the commercial mortgage system, setting a mandatory percentage for small and medium enterprises from government contracts, and increasing e-services. The 113 recommendations of the initiative are distributed across 8 tracks, including ease of starting a business, cross-border trade, market access, strengthening the foundations of the trade system, enhancing the transparency and stability of regulations, labor market efficiency, basic rules for the future of competitiveness, strengthening the foundations of government competitions.

Recommendations