CROWN PRINCE Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, rounded off his first trip abroad as heir-apparent — a five-country visit with stops in Cairo, London, New York, Paris and Madrid — on Friday with a diligent push for the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, a plan for a Saudi economy less reliant on oil and eager to attract foreign investors in a potential diversification drive.

The historic tour reinforced his credentials as a perceptive reformer, who seeks to bring modernity to the Kingdom while holding on to its tradition. This he made evident when, during an interview on tour, he stated: “The social reforms in Saudi Arabia are compatible with true Islam ... Islam is a tolerant religion that allows us to open wide dialogues with all ideologies and schools of thought in Saudi Arabia.”

His tour of Egypt, the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Spain, the energetic Crown Prince met with all relevant figures for furthering his Vision 2030 agenda. They included royals, presidents, prime ministers, ministers, and a long list of religious, political, military and academic leaders, in addition to his meetings with bankers, CEOs of energy, space and entertainment firms in all these countries, which is sure to prove important in the drive for change.

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 offers new prospects for global firms, particularly in economic cities and industrial zones, resource management, health and training, energy and tourism sectors and in investment. The Crown Prince in his efforts to forge new deals always set the three criteria sought under the Vision 2030 plan: technology transfers, ‘Saudization’, jobs and training as the key elements in entering into new agreements. With this he placed the focus on Saudi youth.

The Crown Prince has stressed that youth are the immense wealth of Saudi Arabia, and he has been investing in this national capital with reforms that have opened up new boundaries. This was evident on the historic tour, when the Crown Prince focused on building a new tech-driven era whereby Saudi youth will gain new skill sets with knowledge transfer and educational synergies. He got major global companies on board, especially in the United States, to build not only a shared future but also to be instrumental in building an army of youth ready to face the challenges in this changing world.

The Crown Prince has established cooperation with leading tech companies during his tour, enabling a digital revolution that is sure to bring about a transformation in technology localization and digital environment development in addition to an establishment of research, development and training centers for Saudi youth. Not only has the Crown Prince enabled the Kingdom to keep pace with digitization modernization by bringing about a generational shift to achieve the objective of going above the cloud (not only computing) but also encompassing space — with the launch of two satellites this year.

While furthering bilateral ties with the countries he toured, the Crown Prince, in line with the Saudi Vision 2030, has stressed the need for soft diplomacy that aims to build bridges without borders, between cultures and generations to promote education, tolerance and to inspire imagination in a globalized world in the belief that good relations between people allow for ease in doing business — thus improving ties and improving business.

With the opening up of new sectors for new investments the goal of diversification is being achieved. This shared and soft approach of the Kingdom with the major nations of the world has already seen closer cooperation and mega deals in driving investments in the Kingdom to sustain long-term growth and it has also ensured the creation of a generation that will be ready and capable to do business with the best. While shaping the future of the youth, the Crown Prince is definitely shaping the Kingdom’s future.