Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Vision 2030;  an Arabian Peninsula Comparison 

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a renowned economic power house, mainly due to its large oil reserves. In 2016 the Crowned Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud announced plans for a more diverse economy that caters for greater foreign investment opportunities. The plan was named Vision 2030. This research paper looks to identify whether the Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 will be successful in diversifying its economy and attracting Foreign Direct Investment inflow into the country. To achieve this, the state of oildependence within the Saudi economy is explored by comparing GDP and government revenue fluctuations against that of Arab Light Price – Saudi Arabia’s primary oil export. Following this, a comparison across neighbouring Gulf Corporation Council countries with similar Visions is conducted to identify similarities and differences in efforts to diversify and attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The relationship between each country’s transformation programs and changes throughout the mentioned indicators were critically analysed against one another to present a benchmark for Saudi Arabia’s prospects for their own Vision. The results indicate that the Vision 2030 will have no profound effect upon the enhancement of foreign direct investment levels into the economy, demonstrated by the trends experienced throughout a given period, fluctuations in FDI occur irrespective to Vision implementation across all countries. However, while there is evidence to suggest that the Saudi Arabian economy is diversifying this again proved to be irrespective of the Vision implementation.