The man behind Saudi Arabia’s economic development strategy has called for international businesses to work with government to provide training and technological know how to young Saudi Arabians in order to support the kingdom’s long term development.

Speaking to project industry leaders at MEED’s Saudi Mega Transport & Infrastructure Conference 2014 in Riyadh on 17 September, Saudi Arabia’s Economy & Planning Minister Muhammad al-Jasser said that the government must work with international companiess to drive technological know how into the kingdom.

“There is a pressing need to facilitate the transfer of technology,” Al-Jasser said. “The government is looking at this. But it must be the transfer of technology in general, not just for a single project in order to develop a knowledge economy in Saudi Arabia.”

“Knowledge is the key to everything,” he said. “It is not just about transferring technology. It is about providing the training and skills to develop and utilise technology.”

“That s why we are investing in people in Saudi Arabia,” he said. “This is why the government is investing huge amounts in peeople, in training and education. Our main aim is to build up human capacity in Saudi Arabia.”

Al-Jasser said that the government was also investing in developing institutions such as higher education facilities and centres of excellence such as King Abdullah University for Science & Technology (Kaust) and in a national petroleum research centre.

Al-Jasser is repsosble for the development of Saudi Arabia’s tenth five-year economic development plan, which will set out the goverenment’s economic strategy from 2015-2020.

The latest draft of the plan, which has not yet been published, was approved by the Council of Ministers (cabinet) on 15 September. According to local English-language newspaper Arab News, the 24-point plan prioritises housing, jobs and an increased standard of living for citizens and includes efforts to preserve Islamic values and teachings, promote national unity and consolidate the Kingdom’s identity.

Quoting Culture & Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja after the cabinet meeting, the newspaper says the plan aims to strengthen the kingdom’s economy and promote its growth, stability and competitiveness.“It also aims to enhance institutional reforms, support civil institutions and raise the efficiency and productivity of state agencies and their employees,” Khoja is reported as saying.