The sons of the Kingdom celebrated on the third of Rabi` al-Akhir, 1438 AH, the second anniversary of the blessed pledge of allegiance to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. This celebration is considered one of the images of loyalty to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, which stems from his keenness to promote the economic development process in the Kingdom. It is difficult to limit the achievements of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques - may God preserve him - in a hurry. Therefore I will touch on a few of them, as he took a set of decisions and measures aimed at restructuring and organizing the economy in a way that enhances its level of efficiency and competitiveness and supports the optimal operation of production factors in it, in addition to providing a regulatory framework And a sophisticated administration.
Among the most important modern economic decisions is the approval by the Council of Ministers in the second year of the pledge of allegiance to the Kingdom's Vision 2030 project, which charts the way for a promising economic future for the Kingdom through implementable and measurable goals. The Kingdom relies after God on its prestigious religious status, competitive investment power, strategic geographic location, and availability of natural resources. The vision is based on three main axes, which are summarized in building a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation shared by country and the citizen. In order to achieve the hopes and aspirations of the Kingdom's vision, the actual implementation of a number of programs that will pave the way for this new developmental trend has begun.
Among the important objectives of the vision is what is enhancing the contribution of small and medium enterprises in the economy. To that end, the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises was established in 2015, in order to raise its productivity and increase its contribution to the gross domestic product, leading to the provision of more jobs and opportunities for the national workforce and the localization of technology
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority is working to be an important tributary to achieving this vision by enhancing financial and monetary stability and integration between the main axes of successful financial institutions, advanced financial payment systems, and a sound credit and financial information system that helps in making the right financing decisions. SAMA is also keen to enhance the facilities provided to the small and medium enterprises sector, which exceeded 30 billion riyals in the first half of 2016. In accordance with the three pillars on which the vision is based, including that, the Kingdom be the anchor of Islamic depth, SAMA works to promote and develop Islamic banking activity, which helps to offer more of its products that meet the needs and aspirations of the local market.
SAMA participates in the National Savings Committee, which is concerned with promoting national savings by developing the savings of individuals, including those with low incomes. Among the recent developments of SAMA's work is the launch of the sixth issue of the national currency, the riyal, on Tuesday 14 Rabi` al-Awwal 1438 AH corresponding to December 13, 2016 AD, which was designed according to the latest technologies, standards and international standards.
We ask Allah to restore this precious national occasion to the people of the Kingdom for many years and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, his Crown Prince and Crown Prince of the Kingdom with complete health and wellness.