As oil prices grow more unstable, Saudi Arabia is facing a future of upheaval and economic collapse.
In October, the International Monetary Fund published a report in October, forecasting the collapse of the Saudi economy by 2020. Last week, Prince Mohammed Bin Salman unveiled the “Vision 2030” plan, a desperate attempt to break what he called the country’s “oil addiction,” according to Reuters.
“The Saudi government is reeling from the plunge in crude oil prices, which left it with a nearly $100 billion shortfall last year. Petroleum accounts for roughly 80 percent of the kingdom’s annual budget,” Maria Gallucci noted in an April 25 analysis of the plan for International Business Times.
The plan calls for the country to sell a stake in Aramco, its publicly-owned oil company, in an international public offering some are predicting could top $2 trillion.
It also outlines other significant changes to the economy, including reforms to employment and immigration law and redirecting the nation’s resources toward new sources of income such as the tourism and the defense industries.
