The 10th edition of the Riyadh Economic Forum has issued 24 recommendations and initiatives that call for the selection of 10 key sectors and the nine impactful technologies to accelerate the transformation towards a digital economy, boost the skills of national human capital, and strengthen the research and development system.
Held under the auspices of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, the three-day event that concluded on Wednesday witnessed in-depth discussions between government officials, economic experts, academics, and businessmen, who issued their recommendations and initiatives based on four research studies.
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Forum Dr. Khaled Al-Rajhi said the final recommendations included building a system for imposing fees and taxes to ensure accountability and efficiency, as well as selecting 10 main sectors that are most qualified for Saudi Arabia’s transformation into a knowledge-based digital economy.
According to Al-Rajhi, the recommendations also emphasized the need to rehabilitate historical railways for tourism purposes, in addition to developing legislation, regulations and laws for the local labor market, in line with new forms of work, and protecting workers’ rights.
He noted that the forum, since the launch of its first session in 2003, has prepared 53 studies that came out with 332 recommendations and initiatives.
Meanwhile, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef chaired on Wednesday a dialogue session that discussed the importance of achieving integration and harmonization in issuing fees, taxes, and zakat and the standardization of the relevant legislation.
The session was held as part of the activities of the 10th edition of the Riyadh Economic Forum.
Participants have based their recommendations on the outcome of a comprehensive survey of all fees, taxes, zakat, and customs, as well as about authorities concerned with their collection.
