Decades-Old Oil Dependency May Stymie Saudi Prince’s “Vision”

Bloomberg

25 April 2016

Saudi Arabia’s plan for the post-hydrocarbon era will have to overcome habits developed over decades of relying on crude sales to fuel economic growth, create job and build infrastructure.

Almost eight decades after oil was first found in the country, officials are set to unveil Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s “Vision for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” on Monday, a blueprint seeking to reduce the reliance on revenue from crude exports. The plan will encompass developmental, economic, social and other programs, Prince Mohammed, known as MbS among diplomats and Saudi watchers, told Bloomberg in an interview this month.

… “The foremost challenge Mohammed bin Salman faces over time is the inevitable need to restructure the Al Sauds’ relationship with the Wahhabis,” said James Dorsey, a senior fellow in international studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. “This restructuring is inevitable both to be able to truly reform the economy and because the increasing toll identification with the puritan sect is taking on Saudi Arabia’s international reputation.”

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