Opinion

Charisma, passion and transparency of the Vision’s godfather

April 28, 2021
Charisma, passion and transparency of the Vision’s godfather

Jameel Altheyabi



Everyone, who watched, followed, and observed Tuesday’s interview of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, can extract dozens of important titles out of it.

But there is no doubt that there are other basic points that catch the attention of many before they delve deep into the important topics that the Crown Prince discussed during the interview with Abdullah Al-Mudaifer.

In the forefront of these characteristics that the observer notices is the charisma of the Crown Prince, his preparedness to answer any questions raised to him, and his ever-vigilant memory of figures and proportions.

The Crown Prince’s answers also reflect the higher administrative philosophy by which he runs his executive mechanism, and that is in perfect harmony with the necessities of thinking, imagining, dreaming, planning, and assessing pros and cons, achievements and failures.

Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman’s speech also reveals his passion for the work he carries out, despite the complexity of his tasks, various experiences required by his supervision of the state apparatus, and the evaluation of dealings with people from different parts of the country.

The Crown Prince indicated that the passion for work is among the most important ingredients that he takes into account, along with competence and ability when it comes to choosing someone to assign any task.

Anybody can dig deep into the personality of the Crown Prince when examining his answers to the questions directed to him, and that also point to the encyclopedia of his knowledge, especially when he talks about issues of moderation and extremism, the fundamentals of governance, and the concept of implementing the Islamic Shariah.

This is also evident from his firm convictions that the door to ijtihad (independent reasoning) is open forever, and that we will not commit ourselves to any school of thought or a person with regard to the rulings of religion, as well as with its details related to the issues of Hadith or the Sunnah of the Prophet, the evidence from the Qur’anic text, as well as his talk that there is no room for concern about the Saudi identity pertaining to projects of openness and development.

The far-sightedness of Crown Prince Muhammad was evident when he spoke about the fact that after 2030 there will be 2040, which is the phase of global competition. He was also bold enough in answering questions related to Saudi foreign policy, especially the differences with the American ally, the nature of the desired relations with the neighboring country of Iran, the hope for a response from Houthis for what necessitates its Yemeni Arab affiliation.

His boldness was also manifested when he articulated that Saudi Arabia’s eagerness to expand its strategic partnerships without harming any other country, and its commitment to the need for the world to adhere to the most important principles of the United Nations Charter, which is non-interference in the affairs of other countries.

I don’t want to repeat what the Crown Prince had said; but his eagerness and passion in emphasizing the figures led me to an important observation that he is keen to follow up on the details in the most accurate way. We, in Okaz, had indicated repeatedly, after announcing the details of Vision 2030 in April 2016, that every major step being taken for the benefit of the people requires sacrifice and patience while meeting challenges.

Now, here are the remarkable achievements for all to see within the last five years since the launch of the Vision. These achievements are not limited to the giant projects that are included in the Vision, but emerged particularly in the most important areas that are close to the lives of Saudis, such as unemployment, the employment market, quality of life, improving the environment, women empowerment, and the outputs of public and higher education, value-added tax, and housing.

Apart from the establishment of Public Investment Fund (PIF), the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, which is on its way to becoming the state’s largest entity for capital expenditure, the Vision also include plans that are yet to be announced, as was evident from the speech of the Crown Prince.

These include the sale of one percent of the ownership of the oil giant Saudi Aramco company, and the completion of establishing the State Policy Bureau, the Health Transformation Project, and strengthening the position of the capital Riyadh as a leading city economy so as to create millions of jobs.

The calm thinking of the Crown Prince confirms his ability to meet big issues, especially the hot topics and crises, and that the real influence that the Kingdom strives to realize is what guarantees its interests, and also see to that it is not antagonizing any party nor inflicting aggression on any party.

It’s amazing to see Crown Prince Muhammad’s patience and fortitude while tackling lies and fabrications and overcoming difficulties and challenges, until he was able to see the achievements realized one by one within five years since the launch of the Kingdom’s ambitious Vision 2030, and to the point that some of the Vision goals were achieved before their scheduled time.

There is no doubt that the explanation of the Crown Prince pertaining to the issue of ROSHN, the Kingdom’s national community developer powered by PIF, eliminated the unfounded controversy regarding the state’s alleged attempt to swallow up contractors and real estate developers. This institution was established in order to improve their performances and to encourage them to provide better services for the citizens.

There is no doubt that the messages that the Crown Prince had delivered to the world are crystal clear as broad daylight, and they will have a positive echo and will receive widespread attention, especially his absolute rejection of extremism in all its forms and manifestations. The Crown Prince stressed the need to eradicate any extremist schemes that are designed to serve religious and worldly interests. He also reiterated that anyone who adopts an extremist position is a criminal and will be held accountable.

The Crown Prince emphasized that the margin of disagreement with the United States may be less or more, but it remains an important strategic partner, and that Saudi Arabia seeks to strengthen its partnerships with the countries of the world, by creating new partnerships in a way that it does not harm any other country.

Saudis know that it is not the habit of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman to make more appearances through media interviews, because he prefers to distribute his time among the many bodies that he must follow up on so as to enable them to record accomplishments by serving the citizens and making them satisfied.

There is no doubt that this interview gives insights into the traits of the great personality of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, while speaking on his own discretion and calm demeanor, and also with high transparency because he realizes that he is right, and that he knows everything that the nature of his work requires him to supervise. His high transparency was manifested in front of Saudis when he revealed that 80 percent of the ministers in 2015 were not competent and they did not deserve to be appointed even in the smallest of firms.

What is certain is that the interview of Al-Mudaifer with the Crown Prince is historic and puts points on the letters for local, regional and global issues. There is no doubt that the sons and daughters of Saudi Arabia are reassured after his speech that the Vision 2030 has become a tangible reality, a living thing, and that the pace of distances of achievements are not long. This vindicates what Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman wished for... “from prosperity to prosperity”... and sky is the limit for Saudi Arabia’s ambitions.


April 28, 2021
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