Senior Saudi government officials revealed serious trends towards activating development, innovation and research within the framework of the country’s transformation plan, disclosing the imminent completion of a strategy dedicated to research and development.

The Ministry of Education launched on Wednesday in Riyadh, the first dialogue conference, entitled “Integration and Sustainable Partnerships, which underlined the possibility of developing the research and innovation system in Saudi universities to contribute to the Kingdom’s investments and economy.

The speakers, including ministers and officials, called for the importance of integration between various sectors, by linking the research and innovation system in universities with the private sector to help achieve the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

In this context, Saudi Minister of Investment Eng. Khalid Al-Falih disclosed the imminent completion of an integrated strategy for research and development in the Kingdom.

He added that public spending on universities in research and development must be commensurate with the capabilities of universities, which gives them a great responsibility to gain government’s confidence.

Al-Falih underlined the need to transform research minds in Saudi universities into an investment value, pointing to the importance of investing in research, development and innovation, to further boost the overall economy.

For his part, Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Al-Khorayef stated that the innovation strategy would support the domestic product and increase the Kingdom’s exports.

A budget will be allocated for research and development in all government agencies, he revealed, pointing to important elements that encourage the Kingdom to have ambitions goals.

Al-Khorayef noted that restructuring the research, development and innovation system and achieving harmony between all sectors contributed to enhancing opportunities and strengthening economic returns. In this regard, he stressed the importance of linking research and innovation with industry, energy, military and technical industries.

Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Al-Ibrahim stated that the ministry was keen to achieve the sustainable development goals, and was in charge of coordinating efforts in the public and private sectors, to achieve the goals of Vision 2030.

Minister of Education Youssef Al-Bunyan affirmed that Saudi Arabia has valuable opportunities to compete in the global market.

“We have promising opportunities for training and employing young people, to create an innovative generation,” he told the conference.