Saudi Industry Ministry boosts non-profit sector with new services

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has enhanced the role of the non-profit sector in its industrial and mining fields by introducing new electronic services and a detailed operational plan for 2024. 

The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources unveiled the new project, highlighting six major objectives to strengthen the non-profit sector’s contribution. 

Among these goals include improving workforce skills, increasing domestic investments, expanding non-oil industrial exports, and providing a range of supportive services, according to an official release. 

The Kingdom is actively pursuing an expansive industrial and economic transformation under its Vision 2030 framework, which aims to diversify the economy away from oil dependency. 

The National Industrial Strategy, launched in 2022, plays a crucial role in this transformation, focusing on enhancing industrial capabilities, increasing domestic production, and fostering sustainable economic growth. 

The new electronic services, detailed on the ministry’s website, include applications for establishing non-profit organizations and requesting the transfer of technical supervision to these entities. 

The ministry currently oversees five key non-profit associations, including the Pharmaceutical Industry Association, the Supply Chain and Procurement Society, and the Industrial Exporters Association. 

It also supervises the Industrial Loss Prevention and Risk Mitigation Association and the Automotive Manufacturers Association. 

These organizations play a critical role in advancing the industrial and mining sectors through activities such as research and studies, capacity building, awareness programs, and strategic coordination. 

The latest initiatives are designed to further empower these associations, driving continued growth and innovation within Saudi Arabia’s industrial sector. 

This Kingdom aims to increase the number of factories to approximately 36,000 by 2035, enhance investment attraction, and achieve economic diversification. 

The strategy seeks to triple manufacturing gross domestic product by 2030, boost industrial exports to SR557 billion ($148.38 billion), and attract SR1.3 trillion in additional sector investments. 

In the first quarter of this year, Saudi Arabia issued over 300 industrial licenses, maintaining the previous year’s pace. 

A ministry statement in May revealed that it issued 324 industrial permits in the first three months of the year, including 54 in March, with investments totaling SR1.047 billion during that month alone.