Economic diplomacy
Where diplomacy meets the balance sheet
- Diplomacy
- Investment
- Trade
- Vision 2030
- Global partnerships
Since 2016 the Kingdom’s foreign relations have been tied to an economic programme: attracting investment, opening markets, building tourism and managing the transition from oil. Every figure on this page carries its date and source; where sources conflict, the conflict is stated rather than resolved by choosing the more flattering number.
The economy in eight figures
Vision 2030 launched
25 Apr 2016
Announced by then Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Official portal: vision2030.gov.sa
Non-oil share of real GDP, 2025
55%
Vision 2030 Annual Report 2025, reported by Arab News
Real GDP growth, 2025
4.5%
Non-oil activities +4.9%. GASTAT, 9 March 2026
Non-oil exports, 2025
SR366bn
SR366.08bn (US$97.04bn) including re-exports, +18.9%. GASTAT, via Arab News
Net FDI inflows, Q4 2025
SAR 48.4bn
+90% year on year. GASTAT, via Argaam, 31 March 2026. Annual totals are subject to revision; see note below
PIF assets under management, end-2025
~US$900bn
About SAR 3.4tn, per the PIF 2025 annual report as reported by Asia Asset; a larger “total assets” figure measures something different
Tourist visits, 2023
106.2m
Reached the original 2030 target of 100m seven years early; target raised to 150m. SPA. About 122m in 2025 (preliminary, Arab News)
Expo 2030 vote
119
Votes for Riyadh at the BIE General Assembly, 28 November 2023 (Busan 29, Rome 17)
01 Trade
Trading partners
China has been Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partner for more than a decade. The tables give the latest figures that could be verified from official statistics; figures for Japan, the Republic of Korea and the European Union for 2024–25 could not be verified and are omitted.
| Origin | Share of imports |
|---|---|
| China | 27.5% |
| United States | 8.2% |
| United Arab Emirates | 5.7% |
| Partner | Period | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| China | 2024 | US$107.53bn total trade |
| India | FY 2024–25 | US$41.88bn total trade |
| United States | 2024 | US exports $13.15bn · imports $12.85bn |
| United States | 2025 | US exports $14.11bn · imports $10.49bn |
02 The minister’s role
Documented economic diplomacy
Economic policy is led by the economic ministries and the Public Investment Fund. The foreign minister’s documented part is the diplomacy around it:
Kyiv
Signed US$400 million in agreements with Ukraine: a $300 million grant of oil products and a $100 million humanitarian programme.
Riyadh
“It’s no secret that we are developing our domestic, civilian nuclear program. We would very much prefer to be able to have the U.S. as one of the bidders for that program” (State Department transcript).
New York
At the General Assembly, presented Riyadh’s bid for Expo 2030 as an opportunity “to promote projects with universal impact” (UN News rendering).
Islamabad
Led a high-level delegation as follow-up to a US$5 billion investment understanding with Pakistan.
Riyadh
Spoke at the opening of the World Economic Forum Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development.
Rio de Janeiro
Signed the memorandum establishing the Saudi–Brazilian Coordination Council.
Riyadh
Co-chaired the Saudi–Turkish Coordination Council, which agreed 21 cooperation initiatives.
Damascus
Led a high-level economic delegation: “the Kingdom will be a leading state among countries that will stand by Syria in its march for reconstruction and economic revival” (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Davos
Led the Saudi delegation to the World Economic Forum annual meeting.
Moscow
Described Saudi–Russian cooperation as vital to the stability of global energy markets (Arab News).
03 Energy
Oil, OPEC+ and a disrupted year
Saudi Arabia is a founding member of OPEC (1960) and has co-led OPEC+ with Russia since 2016. In 2026, disruption to shipping through Hormuz from February and Houthi attacks on Red Sea routes from July reduced exports; the UAE’s departure from OPEC and OPEC+ took effect on 1 May.
6.238m
barrels a day of Saudi crude output reported to OPEC for August 2026 — the lowest since 1990, according to Al-Monitor (10 September 2026). Exports were about 3.2 million barrels a day.
Figures this archive could not confirm. Annual FDI totals for 2024 and 2025 differ between GASTAT’s revised quarterly series (about SAR 80bn and SAR 122bn) and earlier published totals (SAR 119.2bn for 2024); the difference appears to reflect revisions and differing measures. PIF “assets under management” and “total assets” are different metrics. A reported Vision 2030 FDI-stock figure of SR293.3bn and dollar totals attributed to the May 2025 US visit were not verified and are not used.
Sources & Further Reading
- Vision 2030 official portal. vision2030.gov.sa
- Arab News, Vision 2030 Annual Report 2025. arabnews.com
- GASTAT, GDP 2025, 9 March 2026. stats.gov.sa
- Arab News, non-oil exports and import shares 2025. arabnews.com
- Argaam, FDI Q4 2025. argaam.com; GASTAT, FDI Q1 2025. stats.gov.sa
- Asia Asset, PIF assets under management 2025. asiaasset.com
- SPA, tourism 2023. spa.gov.sa; Arab News, tourism 2025. arabnews.com
- BIE, Expo 2030 vote. bie-paris.org
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, China–Saudi relations. fmprc.gov.cn
- Embassy of India, Riyadh. eoiriyadh.gov.in
- US Census Bureau, trade with Saudi Arabia. census.gov
- Al Arabiya, Kyiv agreements. english.alarabiya.net
- US Department of State, press availability, 8 June 2023. state.gov
- UN News, UNGA 78. news.un.org
- SPA, Islamabad delegation, April 2024. spa.gov.sa
- World Economic Forum, Special Meeting, April 2024. weforum.org
- SPA, Saudi–Brazilian Coordination Council. spa.gov.sa
- Türkiye Today, Coordination Council, May 2025. turkiyetoday.com
- Asharq Al-Awsat, Damascus, 31 May 2025. english.aawsat.com
- Arab News, Davos 2026 delegation. arabnews.com
- Arab News, Moscow, 8 September 2026. arabnews.com
- Al-Monitor, Saudi oil production, 10 September 2026. al-monitor.com