Saudi Arabia rolls out events investment fund; details here

Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia has rolled out an Events Investment Fund (EIF) for supporting infrastructure related to tourism, sports, and more. This new fund is going to develop a sustainable infrastructure” for the tourism, culture, entertainment, and sports sectors across Saudi Arabia. This development comes months after US credit rating agency Fitch predicted in October that Saudi Arabia is going to fall short of its tourism objectives. The focus on tourism is part of Mohammed bin Salman’s, attempt to diversify the Saudi economy. His Vision 2030 aims to reduce the country’s dependence on oil revenues. The fund aims to finance and develop more than 35 venues by 2030. According to the Saudi Press Agency, the Events Investment Fund is planning to complete its first project this year. The infrastructure that is going to be developed includes art galleries, indoor arenas, theatres, conference centres, horse-tracking tracks, and auto-racing tracks. The country has heavily made investments in tourism, sports, and related fields recently. Last week, the Saudi Public Investment Fund announced a tourism project in Diriyah that is going to focus on Saudi history. The sovereign wealth fund revealed a similar project in the mountainous Aseer region last month. Saudi Arabia is also heavily paying attention towards sporting events. The kingdom is bidding to co-host the FIFA World Cup in 2030 with Egypt and Greece. It has signed Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, who is also part of the Saudi team Al-Nassr, as an ambassador for the bid. The LIV Golf league, backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, also continues to grow and hosted a tournament in Jeddah last October. The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix also began in 2021. The art scene of Saudi Arabia is also expanding, especially in the capital city, Riyadh, and the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah. The development of more than 35 venues by 2030 is a big target, and some of the country’s projects have been criticised for being overly ambitious. In a recent development, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chief Kristalina Georgieva lauded Saudi Arabia’s economy amid global crises. She said during a World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that Saudi Arabia is becoming a “bright spot” for the world economy. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.