Malik.
Leadership is built with vision. It is built to endure.
The future is firmly established for generations to come.
Good morning. Enhancing the role of the private sector and empowerment to be the key driver and catalyst of economic development, as quoted by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, may Allah protect him. This is the ultimate goal which brings us together here today. A government role focusing on regulatory framework and diversification through a catalyst in the private sector and PIF to unlock this high-quality opportunity to drive economic diversification, strategic plans, opportunities, high-quality opportunities, and effective participation and engagement. Your Royal Highnesses, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the PIF Private Sector Forum 2026. Over recent years, PIF has established its position as a driver of economic development, launching new sectors, shaping the future of the global economy, and advancing economic diversification here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ladies and gentlemen, without any delay, I would like to welcome His Excellency the Governor of PIF, Mr. Yasir Al-Rumayyan.
Your Royal Highnesses, Excellencies, distinguished guests, business leaders and investors, ladies and gentlemen, good morning to you all. It's my pleasure to welcome you to the fourth edition of the PIF Private Sector Forum. We gather today at a pivotal moment in Saudi Arabia's economy, in which the rules of competition are reaching a higher level, sectors and value chains are maturing, and the ceiling of ambition is being raised to a point where opportunities are no longer measured by returns alone but by innovation and determination. And today we are proud that the forum has become the largest platform of its kind for seizing partnership and cooperation with the private sector. Since 2023, participation has reached 25,000 leaders from the public and private sectors as well as investors from Saudi Arabia and around the world. In the previous editions, we succeeded in translating dialogue into tangible opportunities for the private sector through specialized programs and initiatives that support the growth of the business ecosystem, resulting in the signing of more than 140 agreements with a total value exceeding 115 billion Saudi Riyals. This stands as clear evidence of the partnership that unites us in transforming the Saudi economy, positioning it as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. It also reaffirms our commitment at PIF to empowering the private sector to contribute to leading the Kingdom's economic transformation as an enabler for growth and the creator of opportunity. Distinguished guests, at PIF we work alongside the private sector to deepen impact and build an integrated economic ecosystem that drives sustainable growth. This is achieved through an approach aligned with the investment life cycle, beginning with assuming risk to build strategic sectors, establish leading companies, and launch initiatives that strengthen these sectors. In turn, these efforts stimulate spending on local content, the localization of supply chains, and the development of local capabilities and industries and the expansion of infrastructure. And we see this impact clearly reflected in the programs and initiatives launched by the fund to strengthen its partnership with the private sector. The local content development program, Mua'amarah, has contributed to accelerating growth in local content spending by PIF and its portfolio companies, reaching 59 billion Riyals between 2020 and 2024. The contractor financing program has also enabled the delivery of PIF projects valued at more than 10 billion SAR through innovative financing solutions, increasing the participation of local contractors in PIF projects to 67% in 2025. In addition, the PIF private sector platform has made available more than 190 investment opportunities valued at over 40 billion SAR through international partnerships and localization of supply chains. This impact hasn't been limited to financing alone. It has extended to enhancing company readiness, building national talent, creating high-quality job opportunities within an ecosystem governed by the highest standards for efficiency, transparency, and governance. And this momentum is also reflected in the growing appetite for investment in Saudi Arabia. And today we are joined by leaders of 100 companies that have either established or expanded their operations here. And we welcome them as partners in our shared journey for growth and invite them to stand and receive the recognition they deserve.
Partners in success since 2017, PIF has opened new horizons through long-term investment in strategic sectors. And today, in line with the objectives of the third phase of Saudi Vision 2030 and PIF's strategy for the coming five years, we are moving from building sectors to integration of ecosystems and from launching opportunities to accelerating growth through an open invitation to the private sector to invest and partner in shaping a diversified and resilient economy. The fund will continue to enable ecosystems and lay the foundations for growth. At the same time, the next phase requires a higher level of readiness, ambition, and from the private sector alongside the ability to scale and innovate. A phase in which the role of the private sector evolves from execution to contributing to economic building and value creation across entire value chains. The world is undergoing rapid economic transformation driven by the private sector's readiness and its capacity to invest in innovation. Over the next five years, the rules of competitiveness will be reshaped through profound shifts in business models, artificial intelligence, capital markets, and localization of content and supply chains. The opportunity before the private sector in Saudi Arabia today is the greatest opportunity yet to help lead economic growth, shape the future, and generate sustainable returns. These are opportunities for a future that is being built here in Saudi Arabia by those who step forward and partner with us on the journey of national economic transformation and the growth of the global economy. Thank you.
Thank you, Your Excellency the Governor. The forum is the place through which the PIF new strategy will be launched, based on the success achieved over recent years. The fourth edition of the PIF Private Sector Forum 2026 continues this momentum. More than 10,000 participants from the private sector and more than 120 portfolio companies and 1,800 booths, featuring 200 panelists, and for the first time, six specialized platforms to accommodate this huge number of participants. So we are going to showcase more details with Mr. Jito, the Director of National Development at the PIF.
Your Royal Highnesses, Your Highnesses, Your Excellencies, public sector leaders, private sector partners, distinguished guests and colleagues, thank you for investing your valuable time to be with us today. Under the leadership of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Crown Prince, and with the guidance of the Board of Directors and His Excellency the Governor, PIF is committed to delivering growth opportunities to the Kingdom's private sector. To our government partners, thank you for your continued collaboration and enablement. To our more than 10,000 guests from the private sector joining us over the next two days, this forum is designed to give you direct access to PIF portfolio companies, clear visibility on upcoming opportunities, and practical pathways to engage, partner, and invest. This forum is designed to focus on two key priorities. First, developing deep local competitive sectors. And second, creating opportunities for private sector operators and investors to benefit. To help you do this, we've organized around six zones this year. Three are in the marketplace: we have tourism, travel and entertainment, industrials and logistics, and urban development and livability. The other three are in the palm grove: we have advanced manufacturing and innovation, clean energy and renewable infrastructure, and NEOM. Across these six zones, we have more than 100 PIF participating companies, 19 government programs and entities that are here to enable you, and programming in one place to maximize serendipitous interactions. Hopefully, you'll find opportunity and partnerships there. Now for investors, this year's edition features sessions and one-on-one meetings with PIF companies sharing opportunities valued at more than 70 billion Riyals. We also have in each zone opportunity points. These are screens where you can get access to information about 120 localization and investment opportunities. And there are people standing by to help you use those to register meetings directly with companies during the next two days. You can have those meetings either in the opportunity points or directly behind you in the matchmaking zone, which is a dedicated area. You can use the app, the Private Sector Forum mobile app, to book meetings with companies in that area. On the back of your badge, you've got a QR code. Please download the app. It's very useful. All the information you need to plan your visits to the different zones are in there. We also have information on seven PIF programs that have been developed to support you. Those are in the PIF Journey Zone, which is near the front entrance. To our guests attending for the first time, here are four ideas for how to get the most value out of the next two days. First, attend the meetings, presentations, workshops in the different zones to get the information you need and to find potential partners. Second, when talking to PIF portfolio companies, ask them about their efforts to develop local suppliers. They may have programs that can help you. Third, visit the opportunity points, review the different opportunities, and schedule meetings. And fourth and importantly, as His Excellency mentioned, we have more than 100 leaders of companies that have already started investing in the Kingdom in rows three through five. Reach out to them to learn more about their journey. On behalf of all of my colleagues at PIF and our portfolio companies, we wish you a productive and profitable Private Sector Forum 2026. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Jerry Toads. As he mentioned, we have other zones. We are talking about six platforms which address different aspects of interest that PIF is delivering this year in this edition, the fourth edition. Ladies and gentlemen, PIF is proud of this kind of support and high-level government engagement that is represented and reflected in the high-level participation of ministries over recent editions. This kind of engagement and participation help to result in outcomes which drive and support and advance the private sector participation in the national economy. And today it's our pleasure and we are pleased to open the sessions of this forum with the key ministerial meeting, which is titled 'When Government Works for Business.' This is of paramount importance and hopefully that you will see the recommendations and insights and outcomes from this session. And this session is moderated by Khaled Matali.
Good morning, Your Highnesses, Excellencies, distinguished guests. I'm really pleased and honored in a fresh morning at PIF and at the fourth edition of this forum. Today we're going to explore three points: how the partnership can be transformed into genuine growth and intelligent investment. We're going to address the role of the private sector in creating growth and the importance of investment in technology and enhancing investment dimensions. I would like to welcome His Excellency the Minister of Tourism, Mr. Ahmed Al-Khateeb, and His Excellency Engineer Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Investment, and His Excellency the Minister of Municipalities and Housing, Engineer Majid Al-Hogail, and His Excellency the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar Al-Khorayef, and His Excellency the Minister of Transport and Logistic Services, Saleh Al-Jasser. You are highly welcome.
Thank you, Your Excellencies. I'm really pleased and honored to be with you. In the previous edition, we discussed files related to the private sector investment and the relation between the government and other institutions. I will start with you, Your Excellency the Minister of Tourism, Ahmed Al-Khateeb. Tourism is the north star that we celebrate because we see huge shifts and paradigm shifts and unprecedented growth in 2025. You have achieved high records in number of visitors and expenditure. So could you give us a glimpse on such kind of growth and the role of the private sector in driving this growth?
Thank you, Mr. Khaled, and thank you for inviting us to cover the tourism sector. We refer back to Vision 2030. Since its launch in 2016, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, led by the Crown Prince, sought to diversify the economy away from oil and gas, and we made outstanding success. Then we moved to petrochemicals and the financial sector, which has become one of the best-performing sectors. This highlights that we have successful sectors and we started to explore what are the competitive advantages and other resources that can be untapped and leveraged to achieve the Vision 2030 vision, which is the diversification of economy and sustainability of economy. And the tourism sector has been one of the key sectors. We started to develop this sector since 2019, which represented 3.5% of GDP. Right now, 5%. Last year we reached up, and the number of jobs created, 570,000. And right now we hit more than 1 billion visitors. And we started to develop other sectors such as transport. As you know, tourism represents 10% of global GDP. As I mentioned, it was only 3.5% and we are on the way to reach 10%. As you know, this sector is one of the job creation sectors, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a lot of potential which can create a highly competitive tourism industry, starting from religious tourism, the two holy mosques, and other tourism which is business tourism such as FII forum and other similar forums, and tourism for different purposes. So we started to build this sector in partnership with PIF as a key partner and the private sector as well. Tourism sector is run entirely by private sector around the globe. The investor, the operator, and building the commercial markets, airports, crafts, and the private sector builds and runs and operates the hospitality sector. So the leader in transformation, the leader of transformation of this sector is the private sector. So our engagement in this forum is an opportunity to scale up investment in this sector. Thanks to God, from 2020 to 2030, the investment committed is about 450 billion, which is 50/50 between PIF investment and investment of the private sector. And this is a good and positive indicator. And I think PIF through the last years has been committed to develop destinations which were challenging for the private sector, such as Red Sea destination and AMAALA, which require huge capital, massive capital, and infrastructure from scratch. Today the infrastructure is already there. So I invite the private sector to seize the opportunity, the first sector which is state-of-the-art, to start to leverage the infrastructure for shopping malls, hotels, which can serve the domestic and international tourism. And we have a very successful experience. The private sector signed to operate and to run one and only H in Jeddah downtown project, and Atlantis The Royal started to operate in King Abdullah Economic City. And we have a set of projects delivered by the private sector in travel and tourism, and this has driven us to achieve the results that we have proudly achieved by 2025, including the most robust growth among G20 after the pandemic.
Your Excellency, with 2026 and building on the goals of Vision 2030, how can we describe the reality of investment and what is the role of the private sector and PIF in driving this sector?
