Under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz - may God protect him The Riyadh Economic Forum concluded its seventh session after its sessions were filled with a number of studies and issues that diagnosed important aspects in the development and sustainability of comprehensive solutions to enhance the role of the national economy in advancing the wheel of development, At the end of the forum, Riyadh Chamber Secretary General Dr. Mohammed bin Hamad Al Kathiri announced the final recommendations of the forum, which covered four main studies that were the subject of in-depth discussion from a group of experts, specialists, economists and those interested in the activities addressed by these studies.
<p class="p16Recommendations for the impact of the economy
As a result of the study addressed by the Riyadh Economic Forum, held from December 8 to 10, 2015, on the development of the judicial system, elements of strength, areas of development and stimulation and its impact on the national economy, the forum came up with 6 important recommendations:
Establish a court to adjudicate matters of conflicts of jurisdiction between judicial bodies, linked to the President of the Supreme Judicial Council.
Commit to the judicial code that was ordered by the royal decree in order to stabilize judicial rulings and for beneficiaries to be able to know the applicable law.
Commit to the judicial code.
Study the privatization of human resources, administrative operations management, and service delivery by contracting with specialized companies to manage the justice facility.
Study the privatization of human resources, administrative operations management, and service delivery.
Study the establishment of a specialized company for the construction of justice facilities and infrastructure, and another for the maintenance of these facilities and technical infrastructure.
Establishing the Justice of the Peace, to mandatorily consider disputes before referring them to the court for trial, and forming a Supreme Advisory Committee for Judicial Governance to formulate the governance strategy and structure.
Study the establishment of a specialized company for the construction of judicial facilities, infrastructure, maintenance of these facilities and technical infrastructure.
Adopt a modern regulation for judicial governance using specialists in this field and international expertise, then follow up on its implementation according to specific oversight mechanisms.
Adopt a modern regulation for judicial governance using specialists in this field and international expertise, then follow up on its implementation according to specific oversight mechanisms.
Develop the IT sector
The Riyadh Economic Forum recommended during its discussions of the study of the development of the information technology sector as an engine and catalyst for development and transformation to the knowledge economy on the second day of its seventh session the need to establish an institutional entity for the knowledge economy that is able to activate the performance of the multiple agencies concerned with the development of the knowledge economy, and coordination in building a future vision for a clear road map that can be implemented, and the study that witnessed in-depth discussions by a group of specialists and headed by Advisor at the Royal Court Dr. Mohammed bin Sulaiman Al-Jasser, in the presence of the Minister of Communications and Information Technology Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Suwail, called for developing legislative frameworks and regulatory rules for IT sector activities to enhance the competitiveness of the sector and support the effective presence of SMEs in a favorable climate for investment in this sector.
Correcting the distortions of commercial powers of attorney
In its final recommendations aimed at developing and activating the IT sector as an entry point for the transformation of the Kingdom's economy towards a knowledge economy, in line with the five-year national plans of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the study called for seeking to strengthen the manufacturing component of the IT sector system, allowing the localization of technology in the Kingdom, and correcting the imbalance caused by the predominance of distribution and commercial agency activities, especially with many promising opportunities to establish a national industry in this sector in various fields whose components are available in the Kingdom.
The recommendations called for providing professional cadres specialized in information technology, localizing the IT industry according to the concept of industrial clusters, activating electronic transactions for retail stores, and applying the cloud computing system in the field of university education.
The recommendations also recommended the application of the cloud computing system in the field of university education.
IT contribution to GDP
About the size of the IT sector's contribution to the Kingdom's GDP, the study said that its contribution is modest, estimated at one percent, rising if the oil sector is neutralized to about 2.2%, and if the ICT sector is added, the contribution rises to three percent of GDP, while this contribution reaches 12% in Malaysia, 10% in South Korea, 10% in India, 8% in Finland, 7% in Australia, and 5% in Singapore.
As for the IT sector, the contribution to GDP is modest.
The study showed that the combined contribution of ICT and IT is about 9% to realized economic growth, of which 5.2% is for the telecommunications sector and 3.Most of this contribution comes from hardware activity at 85%, which the study considered a low contribution compared to 16% in the case of Australia and 17% South Korea, noting that the ICT sector employed about 130,000 individuals at one percent of the total number of workers in the Kingdom, compared to 10% with South Korea and 5% - 6% in the case of Finland, Australia and Singapore.
The study showed that the contribution of ICT together amounts to about 9% to the realized economic growth, of which 5.2% is for the telecommunications sector, and 5% is for Finland, Australia, and Singapore.
Alternative and Renewable Energy Economics
A study entitled "The Economics of Alternative and Renewable Energy in the Kingdom - Challenges and Future Prospects" held in the second session chaired by Prince Dr. Turki bin Saud Al Saud, President of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, showed the Kingdom's need to provide alternative and renewable energy to cover its growing needs at high rates estimated at 4.4% per year until 2035, which requires the need for the equivalent of 350 million tons of oil equivalent per year. She said that preparing a national strategy to localize alternative and renewable energy is of utmost importance in order to maintain the Kingdom's energy security in the long term, calling for the need to develop an integrated roadmap to implement the strategy according to priority while creating the opportunity to stimulate the private sector to participate in its realization.
The study estimated the total required to produce 10-17 GW of alternative and renewable energy until 2025 in the Kingdom, ranging between 4 billion to 12 billion dollars, with the need during the initial phase to finance about 1-2.9 billion dollars, to produce 3 GW of alternative and renewable energy by 2020, pointing out that when the use is active, the total funding required between 2020 and 2025 will increase to 4-11.8 billion dollars to ensure 17 GW of production.
The study estimated that the total required funding between 2020 and 2025 will increase to 4-11.8 billion dollars to ensure 17 GW of production.
Alternative energy barriers
The study noted that there are many challenges and market barriers to alternative and renewable energy that undermine private sector participation in alternative and renewable energy, and suggested that to overcome these barriers, it is necessary to formulate robust and well-designed economic frameworks for alternative and renewable energy to efficiently incentivize private sector participation. The ultimate goal of the economic frameworks is the sustainability of the alternative and renewable energy sector in the Kingdom, and regular monitoring of the market and regular adjustment and updating of policies to reflect market realities will help achieve the sustainability of the sector.
<p class="p2The recommendations of the study called for starting the implementation of alternative and renewable energy deployment, clarifying the role of business partners, defining renewable energy targets and mandates, implementing the economic framework for renewable energy, developing policies and deployment model, providing financial support, and establishing alternative and renewable energy parks and integrated service center.
The recommendations of the study called for starting the implementation of alternative and renewable energy deployment.
Supply Chain Development
On the study of supply chain development, the Forum called for formulating localization targets and policies to stimulate the demand side of products and services locally, strengthening quality assurance and standards for locally developed alternative and renewable energy technologies, and setting supply chain standards to improve the performance of new facilities and reduce costs.
<p class="p2" dir="rtlIt also recommended building the alternative and renewable energy value chain and developing human capital, as well as developing technology capital. On building a sustainable energy system, the Riyadh Economic Forum also recommended energy subsidy management and integrated resource planning, and accelerating and expanding advanced manufacturing and services as a key driver to generate more appropriate and sustainable opportunities.
Riyadh Economic Forum also recommended energy subsidy management and integrated resource planning.
