RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is a “great believer” in becoming a central player in the global supply chain across multiple sectors, according to a top official. In an interview with Arab News during the Multilateral Industrial Policy Forum in Riyadh, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef emphasized the Kingdom’s vast resources, competitive energy landscape, strategic location, financial and political stability, and advanced infrastructure. “We are a great believer that Saudi Arabia is a great place to solve for so many challenges, especially with the supply chain. The combination of the resources that we have allows us to be a great place and hub for different capabilities,” Alkhorayef stated. He added: “International players are engaged with us to understand how we can complement their offering and where we see their contribution in our industrial strategy journey.” The minister also highlighted that the Kingdom has identified 800 key projects across sectors such as automotive, pharmaceuticals, and renewable energy, as part of its broader industrial strategy aimed at attracting significant foreign investment. This vision underscores Saudi Arabia’s commitment to becoming a global industrial hub, leveraging its energy resources, strategic location, and financial strength to foster both national and international partnerships. “There’s so much opportunities we have, but in a nutshell, we have identified 800 projects in Saudi that are essential for our industrial strategy. Those range from automotive to pharmaceuticals to renewable to downstream chemicals and so on,” Alkhorayef noted. He further explained that 12 specific subsectors have been defined, with the projects and investment technologies being developed indicating that Saudi Arabia will play an active role in the supply chain of each division. Alkhorayef also elaborated on the Kingdom’s efforts to implement various policies and programs designed to support small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurs as part of the country’s industrial transformation and green energy initiatives. “We have a program called 1000 Mile. It takes an entrepreneur from an idea to an actual project. We also have the industrial hackathon, which incentivizes entrepreneurs to collaborate with large corporations to develop proofs of concept and solve problems,” the minister stated. He added: “We also have a program to support small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs entering the sector through the Industrial Support Program, which offers loans and grants to newcomers, especially those targeting specific areas of interest.” Similarly, Omar Al-Suwaidi, undersecretary at the UAE’s Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, highlighted a comprehensive initiative that has assessed over 500 firms. “We’ve had a comprehensive program, the program, in the last couple of years, assessed over 500 companies. These 500 companies, what they get out of it is a roadmap on how to do their transformation,” Al-Suwaidi told Arab News. He continued: “They get incentives with a number of other partner banks for a reduced financing for their projects. These plans have resulted in these companies allocating almost 600 million dirhams in investment plans, which are going to be coupled now with the financing banks.” Al-Suwaidi further elaborated on the growing significance of international partnerships, particularly in balancing national security and enhancing global supply chain resilience amidst geopolitical challenges. “We have the initiative that we’ve started more than two years ago. It’s called the Industrial Alliance for Sustainable Economic Development, which we worked on with UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain and Morocco,” he said. He concluded: “In the last two years, we’ve had 15 joint projects, joint agreements that are worth more than $3 billion.”