Dr. Muhammad bin Sulaiman Al-Jasser, Minister of Economy and Planning, explained that the Shura Council’s approval of the general objectives of the Tenth Development Plan for the period (1436–1437 AH / 1440–1441 AH), the day before yesterday, was the culmination of continuous and joint efforts and a manifestation of the cooperation and coordination between the Council and the Ministry in shaping the future of development.
He expressed his thanks and appreciation for the cooperation, engagement, and understanding the Ministry received from the Shura Council during its deliberations on the general objectives of the Tenth Development Plan for the period (1436–1437 AH / 1440–1441 AH), and for its approval of those objectives at its session held the day before yesterday, while also valuing the valuable observations and proposals put forward by Council members.
He said, «The Council’s contributions to the process of construction, development, and progress through constructive initiatives and opinions have made it an important partner in the Kingdom’s development process and in decision-making based on comprehensive studies supported by scientific expertise and experience,» emphasizing that the shared focus of the Shura Council and various ministries is always on the interests of citizens and the fulfillment of their aspirations and hopes. He commended the Council’s efforts in providing advice across all fields to support the nation’s progress and development, and to fulfill the aspirations of our wise leadership.
Regarding the features of the Tenth Development Plan, the Minister of Economy and Planning explained that it constitutes a general framework for comprehensive and balanced development across various sectors, thereby achieving citizens« well-being, including the creation of more job opportunities, resolving the housing problem, and improving the quality of health and social care services. He noted that the Tenth Development Plan represents the third phase of the long-term strategic vision for the Saudi economy, which encompasses four development plans.
Dr. Mohammed Al-Jasser explained that the general objectives of the Tenth Development Plan included a number of key pillars, namely deepening economic diversification in its various dimensions, transitioning toward a knowledge-based economy, building a knowledge-based society, expanding the capacity of the national economy, enhancing its growth and competitiveness, and raising its level of productivity.
The Minister of Economy and Planning highlighted the plan’s strong emphasis on the social dimension, explaining that the ministry had prepared, in this regard, the National Youth Strategy under the guidance of His Majesty the King, with the aim of establishing a comprehensive vision for this segment of society through which young people can be integrated into the development process and ensured to engage with the requirements of the transition to a knowledge-based economy and society.
He emphasized that the Tenth Development Plan continues to prioritize the development of national human resources, strengthen their capabilities, harness their potential, boost their productivity, and work to provide employment opportunities, health services, and social welfare, as well as continuing to expand, maintain, and operate infrastructure facilities in a manner that enhances the competitiveness of the national economy and achieves balanced and sustainable development.
He stressed the need to continue efforts to develop regulatory aspects and institutional frameworks, and to strengthen accountability and transparency in order to maximize the benefits of development outcomes. The Tenth Development Plan set a goal of advancing institutional reform across a number of policies, foremost among which is structural reform through the development of operational mechanisms for the state’s supervisory and regulatory bodies to drive development, developing organizational structures and adopting quality systems in government agencies, and increasing the effectiveness of civil society institutions in various development areas.
The policies under Goal 18 call for developing the civil service system to ensure efficient recruitment, employee performance evaluation, and motivation; this is intended to increase productivity, as well as reviewing and developing legislation, regulations, and implementing rules that support institutional reform, in addition to expanding the use of electronic transactions in public sector institutions.
The policies regarding the performance of government agencies emphasized improving the efficiency and productivity of government employees by developing performance indicators, enhancing planning and monitoring capabilities within government agencies, and activating the role of the Performance Measurement Center to improve the quality of their services.
»Women« in the Tenth Development Plan were assigned a specific goal stipulating the empowerment of women and increasing their contribution to various areas of development; this is to be achieved by increasing the contribution of civil society organizations to efforts to enhance women’s participation in development, encouraging the establishment of women’s cooperative associations, as well as increasing their participation in specialized local and international committees, bodies, and councils.
Objective 13 seeks to develop the support services and facilities necessary to enable women to fulfill their economic and social roles, expand their participation in economic activity, and increase employment opportunities for them in various fields to absorb the large supply of female labor, and to provide them with a decent standard of living, in addition to expanding the available and appropriate options for women in scientific, technical, and professional fields.
With regard to »women” in administrative development, the policies of the Tenth Development Plan emphasize the development of appropriate systems to nurture the talents and abilities of Saudi girls, paying attention to international conventions and conferences concerned with women’s issues, and reviewing and improving all regulations and rules pertaining to working mothers, as well as providing greater care aimed at improving women’s health, and working to provide services that help women fulfill their professional obligations and responsibilities.
In Objective 20 of the plan, the policies aim to achieve balanced development across regions through economic development by reviewing, improving, and evaluating the effectiveness of the developmental role of growth centers and development hubs in various regions of the Kingdom, as well as improving the efficiency of project distribution among and within regions based on specific development criteria and planning priorities, increasing investment incentives and facilities to attract investment in less-developed regions and in small and medium-sized cities, and mapping out investment opportunities with comparative advantages in each region, and promoting successful partnership models between public and private sector institutions in the regions; and conducting a survey of the current status of licenses, industrial and agricultural loans, savings and credit, and human resources to identify where they are concentrated.
Regarding the organizational and administrative component of the goal of achieving balanced development, the plan identified four policies, including: increasing the effectiveness of the developmental role of regional, municipal, and local councils; granting broader powers to ministry branches; and strengthening their capacities.
In addition, the Shura Council’s Economic Committee established 23 general objectives for the Tenth Development Plan, to be implemented through 270 policies and mechanisms classified under the objective of preserving Islamic values and education, strengthening national unity, and promoting the identity of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic world in three areas(economic, social, and regulatory).
The plan’s objectives in the area of social development included eight goals, foremost among which were optimal investment in human resources, raising the standard of living, and improving the quality of life for all segments of society, The objectives called for providing adequate and suitable employment opportunities for the national workforce and reducing unemployment through policies related to workforce development and economic, structural, and organizational development.
The objectives also called for facilitating citizens’ access to adequate housing through diverse programs and options that meet demand, strengthening social safety nets and family and child care, as well as providing comprehensive, integrated, and high-quality health care for the entire population and facilitating access to it.
Among the social development goals, the plan emphasized human resources—their development, increased productivity, and expanded opportunities to acquire knowledge, skills, and experience through policies related to general and higher education and training.
In the area of organizational and administrative development, the plan included six objectives: advancing institutional reform, supporting civil society organizations, and improving the efficiency and productivity of government agencies and their employees, as well as improving the quality of implementation of development programs and projects, developing mechanisms for their implementation and monitoring their maintenance, enhancing the efficiency of public services and facilities provided to the population and increasing their adequacy across various regions, and to entrench the principles of accountability, transparency, and the protection of integrity, as well as to combat corruption through various policies related to this area.
With regard to the objectives of the Tenth Development Plan concerning economic development, the plan’s report lists eight objectives, foremost among which are deepening economic diversification in its various dimensions and transitioning toward a knowledge-based economy and a knowledge society, as well as expanding the capacity of the national economy and strengthening its growth, stability, and competitiveness.