Saudi Arabia’s attempts at reinvention are in full view at the World Economic Forum in Davos, writes TheRealLSL
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends a session of the Shura Council in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, November 20, 2019. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo - RC2EAU9FEZOJDAVOS, Switzerland, May 25 - Saudi Arabia’s attempts at reinvention are in full view at the World Economic Forum in, Switzerland. It has branded multiple cafés on the main drag, including one bearing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s name.
The kingdom’s economy is projected to expand 8% this year, according to the International Monetary Fund, far outpacing the Western world, some of which is bracing for recession. A big reason is the 20%-plus growth in the energy sector in the first quarter, per FocusEconomics. The chief executive of state oil giant Saudi Aramco
, Amin Nasser, said that he has plans to spend as much as $50 billion on projects that promote long-term demand for energy. Saudi is teeing up a situation where its current oil power will only grow. At the same time, U.S. producers are somewhat hamstrung by a presidential administration resistant to making life easier for drillers. Speaking at the same forum on Tuesday, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry acknowledged the need for oil and gas but cautioned against ramping up investments.
At his regular Davos dinner, philanthropist George Soros noted that so-called “closed societies”, or ones where citizens serve rulers, are in assent while “open societies” – those where the state protects the individual – are receding. Soros said China and Russia present the greatest threat to open society, and just a few years ago he might have put Saudi in that group too. The pressure to take sides is rising as the world becomes more divided.