Most prominent 2020 achievements of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

There were many achievements made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the year 2020, considered among the great achievements that serve the citizens and residents within the Kingdom.

Since the pledge of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Kingdom has witnessed many gigantic achievements in various economic, educational, health and social sectors, transportation, industry, electricity, water, and agriculture, and represent great, comprehensive and complete achievements that help build and develop the country, which made it one of the advanced countries in the world. His Majesty charted the future of the Kingdom, personally supervised the implementation of his ambitious Vision 2030, closed the doors of sedition by resolving the issue of the mandate of the Covenant, and enabled young people to assume higher positions, believing in their cards and Saudi Arabia’s need for new blood.

Here is a look at some of the future features designed by His Majesty King Salman.

Launching the National Transformation Program 2020

It was launched to support transparency in the Kingdom, achieve the Saudi Vision 2030, and create a major positive transformation at the economic and social levels.

Launching the Fiscal Balance Program 2020

It was approved to achieve fiscal balance and create a financial planning mechanism for the sustainability of the Kingdom’s fiscal position for 2020.

Social reforms and empowerment of women

Under King Salman’s leadership, women obtained the right to participate in elections and drive cars after decades of bans, and he also provided work opportunities for women and encouraged them to assume high office positions.

Supporting and empowering youth

Among the most important achievements of the King, Salman era is the empowerment of Saudi youth in work environments following the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program, to allow them to prove themselves in various fields and to involve them in decision-making, designing programs and implementing policies to create a safe and stable employment society.

Regional leadership

During the reign of King Salman, Saudi Arabia had a prominent role that enabled it to wisely manage the region, which spared the Kingdom attempts at penetration and creating chaos. The Kingdom has also sought to help brotherly Arab countries, including supporting the state of Sudan within its crises and trying to return Syria to its Arab identity after it was violated.

Managing the Corona crisis

King Salman made several remarkable achievements during the year 2020, especially during the difficult circumstances the world faced at all levels, the most important of which was the Coronavirus.

The Kingdom has managed this crisis wisely. At the end of March, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques issued an order to treat citizen and resident Corona patients free of charge. Due to a large number of examination cases, Saudi Arabia became one of the first 10 countries to conduct tests.

In April, King Salman issued an order to pay monthly compensation to Saudi workers in the private sector affected by the Corona crisis, at 60% of the wage recorded in Social Insurance for three months. In response to the challenges of Corona, the Kingdom organized the rituals of Hajj with the minimum number of pilgrims, to preserve their safety from the pandemic, and Umrah was also carried out within a tight plan.

Vision 2030

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has taken a high level of interest in Vision 2030. He said that the plan is “a road map for a better future for everyone who lives in this ambitious nation. The vision, during the construction and establishment phase, contributed to achieving a set of achievements on several levels, most notably improving government services, raising the percentage of ownership in the housing sector, and developing the entertainment, sports, and tourism sectors, as well as attracting many foreign investments, in addition to empowering women and activating their role in society and the labor market.

Launching the National Transformation Program 2030

This was represented by the expansion of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the modernization of petrochemicals, the establishment of the Museum of Science and Technology in Islam, the development of King Muhammad bin Abdulaziz Airport, and more.

King Salman made many achievements in the field of education through raising the quality of education, developing Saudi universities, developing scientific research, and several other works.

His Majesty also established the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Action to aid poor countries suffering from disasters.

The Kingdom achieved first place in the world in reforms of the business environment and the macroeconomic stability index, as it began not relying on oil sources only, which led to an increase in economic growth.

The Al Hazm Group and the Islamic Coalition to Combat Terrorism were launched, and the coalition led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to fight terrorism in every demonstration was formed.

Many medical projects were opened, such as the King Abdullah International Medical Research Center and King Abdullah Specialist Children Hospital.

Educational achievements

Education during the reign of King Salman bin Abdulaziz witnessed a qualitative change in the structuring of Saudi educational institutions after the merging of university education and public education in the same ministry. It is a project to develop creativity and excellence for the faculty, support centers of scientific and research excellence within universities, and contribute to supporting scientific societies.

The program of your job and your scholarship came to guarantee scholarships to prestigious universities in developed countries within specific controls by contracting with several government institutions to ensure that the scholarship student gets a job opportunity after his return. The ministry has also sought to strengthen the scientific research service by developing scientific research centers, scientific parks, and technical gardens and their incubators. The Kingdom also sought to expand the construction and maintenance of educational buildings, in addition to developing education in private universities, embodying the ministry’s policies and enhancing the contribution of private education in achieving development.

Health achievements

During his rule, King Salman has provided unlimited support to the health sector to improve health services provided to Saudi citizens, and the Ministry of Health also worked to increase the number of hospital beds, launch mobile clinics, and increase the number of heart centers. The Kingdom is now one of the 24 best countries in specialized care, and it is also the leader in the Arab world.

The ministry has been concerned with facilitating electronic services for citizens through several applications, including applying for appointment services to reduce overcrowding in emergencies and raise the efficiency of using operating rooms, in addition to implementing the Health Performance program by following up on more than 40 performance indicators within seven treatment axes in hospitals. The program aims to raise productivity levels and quality of performance in hospital health services. The ministry also seeks to provide insurance for all citizens within 4-5 years, in line with Vision 2030, and these steps are in line with the efforts undertaken by the Ministry of Health to achieve one of its goals in the National Transformation Program 2020, which is improving health care in major hospitals.

Expansion of the Two Holy Mosques

King Salman’s efforts to expand the Two Holy Mosques began from the great expansion that began at the hands of former King Abdullah and was completed by King Salman, who also added five new projects, from the third expansion of the Grand Mosque, to accommodate two million worshipers. The expansion included developments at the end of the roads, bridges, squares, and Tawaf terraces, which increases capacity from 19,000 people per hour to 30,000, while the number of those who can make Tawaf on the various floors reaches 107,000. Also, he created electronic glass doors with beautiful patterns of pure gold and provided the mosque with advanced sound, fire alarm, surveillance, and hygiene systems.

Work has also been made to develop transportation stations and bridges leading to the Haram, including the development of the ring road surrounding the Grand Mosque and the renewal of its infrastructure. At the level of the Prophet’s Mosque, the Kingdom is working on implementing a project to expand the mosque and its squares to increase its capacity to give comfort to visitors. The holy sites of Mina, Arafa, and Muzdalifah have also witnessed development projects to facilitate pilgrims, and included projects to develop camps, preparing places for pilgrims to disembark in Muzdalifah, establishing an underground service tunnel from Arafat passing through Muzdalifah to the Jamarat facility, and another linking the Jamarat to the Grand Mosque of Mecca, in addition to shading the corridors.

Efforts in the service of Islam

King Salman’s efforts in serving Islam are exemplified in his great efforts in many areas, such as his endeavor to preserve and publish the Qur’an, and his continuous contributions to the opening of several vital projects, collecting donations, building Islamic centers and religious institutes such as the King Salman Center in Sarajevo, and the inauguration of the King Fahd bin Abdulaziz Mosque in Gibraltar, as well as the initiative represented by the establishment of the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Action and his generous support for it to help the Arab and Islamic peoples in need.

Also, Palestine and Jerusalem are always present in the heart of King Salman, and his efforts in this path stem from his conviction that makes the issue of Palestine one of his priorities. Thus, he donated to support the people of Palestine and strive to end the restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation in Al-Aqsa Mosque, and his efforts culminated in the reopening of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the abolition of restrictions imposed against worshipers. The Kingdom also affirms in international forums the importance of the Palestinian issue, and that Al-Aqsa Mosque is the first of the two qiblahs and the third holiest site after the Two Holy Mosques. King Salman also supports every move in the interest of the Palestinian issue, and he chairs popular committees concerned with it in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and does not stop any occasion related to the issue in referring to the rights usurped by the Zionists, as the Palestinian issue is the first Arab issue.