The Saudi researcher, Dr. Zahra Al -Bou El -Hamoud, emphasized the growing interest of the Arab Gulf states in the knowledge economy, by promoting scientific research, innovation, and the development of human capital, as the development locomotive of the region in the next stage, with Gulf governments made decisive decisions to diversify income sources and enhance investment in the private sector And making it the focus of economic development, stressing the importance of supporting startups and investing in the local workforce to achieve sustainable development.
This came as part of her participation in a scientific paper in the Equal Opportunities Conference, which was hosted by the National University and was held under the auspices of His Excellency the Speaker of the House In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a distinguished presentation on “digital transformation and the diversification of the economy: a study of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,”
Dr. Zahra dealt with the challenges facing the Saudi economy as a result of the great dependence on the oil sector, and the need to diversify the sources of income through investing in other sectors such as mining, tourism and technology, stressing that the fluctuations in oil prices and changes in global energy demand imposes the necessity of adopting economic strategies New to ensure financial stability and sustainable growth. Dr. Zahra pointed out that the Saudi Vision 2030, which was launched in 2016, represents a major step in this direction, aiming to reduce dependence on oil and enhance investment in the private sector. The various strategies for achieving economic diversification, such as vertical diversification, focused on enhancing added value within the oil sector, and horizontal diversification, which includes developing new industries such as tourism and technology.
Dr. Zahra also touched on the importance of economic linkage projects that enhance integration between different sectors, such as the link between tourism, hospitality sectors, transportation and entertainment, which contributes to creating a large -scale positive economic impact, highlighting the investment in digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence, and its role in supporting the economic transformation And social in the Kingdom.
The conference witnessed the participation of a group of academics and scholars, as well as representatives of ministries and civil society organizations. It also included various axes on equal opportunities in entrepreneurship and equality in scientific studies, with important research papers presented by researchers from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the Arab world and several other countries.
