ع
The National Competitiveness Center and World Bank Group opened the Riyadh Knowledge Hub in the Saudi capital on February 10, 2026, as the Kingdom neared completion of its 1,000th economic reform. Minister of Commerce Majid Al-Kassabi, who also chairs the center, joined Anna Bjerde, the World Bank’s managing director of operations, for the inauguration, which underscores a partnership spanning five decades. Al-Kassabi attributed the reform momentum to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose oversight has driven improvements in Saudi Arabia’s global competitiveness standings, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Saudi Arabia has coordinated nearly 1,000 economic and development reforms with 65 government entities, the National Competitiveness Center reported. These initiatives have refined the business environment, strengthened compliance and delivered measurable gains in multiple sectors. The hub will now function as an international platform where other nations can examine the operating model that enabled the Kingdom to meet its reform targets.
Priority workstreams at the facility will address business environment reform along with innovation, infrastructure policies, entrepreneurship and productivity growth. Trade facilitation and export diversification also feature prominently among the themes of sustainable economic development. The hub’s program of research, advisory services, capacity building and policy solution development will support these objectives, center officials said.
Bjerde described the Knowledge Hub as a product of the partners’ shared dedication to developmental results that builds on their long-term relationship. She stated that as the Kingdom progresses with its Vision 2030 agenda, the hub provides a space to share expertise in areas like job creation, economic diversification, and competitiveness. The collaboration is designed to extend benefits to countries across the region and beyond that are pursuing parallel economic transformation paths by granting access to global best practices.
Saudi Arabia advanced to 13th place in the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2026, climbing four positions from the prior year, the IMD World Competitiveness Center reported. The assessment highlighted broad gains in performance, efficiency, infrastructure, trade, employment and business regulations, positioning the Kingdom third among G20 economies behind the United States and China. This rise reflects the cumulative impact of regulatory changes pursued since the launch of Vision 2030 in 2016.
A World Bank analysis comparing 2025 labor market outcomes against 2015 benchmarks documented more than a doubling of female labor force participation between 2017 and 2023. The report attributed the increase to legal reforms, active labor market programs and shifts in social norms under the national strategy. Most employers surveyed viewed the Labor Reform Initiative positively, with 65 percent saying the removal of mobility restrictions benefited their operations.
The National Competitiveness Center, created in 2019, has spearheaded hundreds of regulatory adjustments that shortened business start-up periods and streamlined construction permitting. Vision 2030 seeks to expand the private sector’s share of the economy to 65 percent of GDP while increasing foreign direct investment inflows. World Bank figures have tracked steady growth in non-oil revenues amid these diversification measures.
