In the midst of its quest to boost non-oil revenues, and break into new economic fields within Vision 2030, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is seeking to strengthen its presence in the global space economy market.
The Kingdom reviewed the available investment opportunities for British companies working in the fields of innovation, technology and space, the competitive advantages that the Kingdom enjoys as a digital and logistical platform, and its capabilities in the field of research and development and the space economy, according to Al Arabiya.
In this context, the Saudi Space Authority launched the first Saudi program for foreign scholarships for employment in the field of space. The program provides Saudi students with educational opportunities in space sciences.
Observers said that the Kingdom seeks to strengthen its economy by breaking into the space economy within its vision 2030, in order to diversify its economy and reduce dependence on the oil economy.
space economy
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Space Authority, Eng. Abdullah Amer Al-Sawaha, held a meeting with the British Minister of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Kwasi Quarting, to enhance cooperation between the two countries in the field of space economy, according to the Saudi “SPA” agency.
According to the official agency, the visit comes within the framework of the efforts of the Saudi Space Authority to build international partnerships to enhance its role in the space sector, which represents a national priority, to contribute to the Kingdom’s transformation of the space economy, stimulate investment, and create new markets that complement the diversification of the economy to create new opportunities and jobs.
Within the vision of 2030, the Kingdom seeks that the space sector contribute to the prosperity of the Kingdom through the development and organization of the sector and the achievement of pioneering achievements that are reflected in the local economy and create new sectors and markets.
Huge investment
The Saudi financial, banking and economic advisor, Majid bin Ahmed Al-Sweigh, confirmed that the Kingdom has been seeking to break into the space economy and discuss investment opportunities for a while, and this comes as a result of strategic planning and studies, as the Saudi Space Authority and the Kingdom’s Secretariat of the Group of Twenty held their first meeting in 2020, under the The name of the leaders of the space economy.
According to his speech to “Sputnik”, there are more than 20 countries around the world that seek to support the advancement of economic, investment and scientific research for the space sector, raise its competitiveness and support the sustainability of its activities, and the entry of the Kingdom will support its political, economic and scientific role, and enhance its commitment to international development and peace.
Al-Swaigh believes that the meetings of the heads of space agencies in 2020, was the first of the new economic challenge for the Kingdom, and the search for new horizons in order to enhance the domestic product, support the Kingdom’s economy with non-oil activities and raise the efficiency of income in order to enhance spending.
He explained that the size of the space economy in the world amounted in 2019 to nearly 400 billion dollars, and is expected to reach 3 trillion dollars by 2050, as this sector enjoys an enormous amount of investments, estimated in 2020 at about 9 billion dollars, noting that Investing in space constitutes new horizons for the global economy.
Regarding the benefits that accrue to the Kingdom from entering this field, Al-Sweigh stressed that the space field provides new scientific fields and jobs for Saudis, supports the economic movement and stimulates the growth of many auxiliary sectors, indicating that the Kingdom is working to adopt a strategic plan for space for the next 10 years.
Read for the future
In turn, Dr. Fawaz Kasib Al-Enezi, a Saudi analyst, stressed that the Kingdom has made among its priorities and main objectives in Vision 2030 the subject of diversifying revenues and investment tributaries because of its positive repercussions on the Kingdom’s economy and new investment opportunities.
According to his speech to “Sputnik”, the Kingdom is interested in everything that is positive about its economy, competition and partnership with developed countries, and the space economy is considered one of the future economies and the Kingdom has taken care of this field, as it created the Space Authority and made a strategy for this authority through its activation, and activating scholarship programs for its affiliates and students Undergraduates to train cadres with advanced countries in this field, such as Britain and the United States of America.
Al-Enezi believes that the space economy has several aspects and areas that can be used in navigation and military aspects of missile guidance and air defense systems, as well as the Internet and information technology via satellite, exploration and mining in space, and renewable energy sources.
He stressed that the world economy is expected to reach a trillion dollars by 2030, and the Kingdom is trying to read the future, so it showed its interest in the issue of space industries and its repercussions on its investments, in addition to the main revenues from the traditional economy, the tourism economy and petroleum.
Al-Enezi explained that the Kingdom considered the space economy among its priorities, as it plays a major role in shaping new horizons for the global economy, and highlights unique opportunities that everyone can seize.
He pointed out that the Kingdom has placed the space economy among its priorities, according to studies conducted by the Kingdom’s Presidency Program for the Group of Twenty, which showed 11 out of 22 priorities that could contribute to strengthening the economy, including the space economy, and the so-called future economy.
Through these moves, the Kingdom aims to achieve its strategy that seeks to benefit from its digital and human capabilities in the field of digital and technical transformation, innovation and space, and invest it in an optimal way in the growth of its future projects, according to the Middle East.