Riyadh, Sha'ban 08, 1439, April 24, 2018, SPA -- Under the chairmanship of HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Crown Prince, Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Defense, who is also Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, the Council approved today the executive plan for the "Privatization Program", a key plan of the Kingdom's vision 2030 that aims to raise efficiency of the national economy performance and ameliorate the services provided to reach as many as possible beneficiaries. The Privatization Program will increase employment opportunities of national workforce, attract the latest technologies and innovations as well as support economic development by involving qualified enterprises in providing these services to increase private sector's contribution in GDP from 40% to 65% by 2030. The privatization program, which targeted various service sectors; such as energy, water, transportation, telecommunications, petrochemicals and financial sector, is based on three basic pillars; laying the legal/regulatory foundations; laying the institutional foundations; and directing the main program initiatives. -- SPA 21:13 LOCAL TIME 18:13 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w676538