Saudi Vision 2030 Under the Shadow of Yemeni Attacks

Attacks by Yemeni forces and escalating regional tensions have put Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 under serious strain, threatening Mohammed bin Salman's economic ambitions to turn the kingdom into a regional trade hub.

The attacks of the Yemeni forces and the intensification of regional tensions have seriously challenged Saudi Arabia's 2030 vision and threaten the economic ambitions of Muhammad bin Salman to turn this country into a commercial center in the region.

Ambassador Arjan-International Group: The English newspaper Telegraph has written with this introduction: Saudi Arabia is only two weeks away from hosting the annual meeting of bankers, business managers and finance ministers known as "Davos in the desert". The "Investment of the Future Initiative" is exactly the kind of prestigious international event that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman wants to hold with the vision of turning this kingdom into a world business hub.

But despite the conflict with the Yemeni armed forces, instead of preparing to welcome the participants, the Saudi authorities suspended flights to the King Khalid International Airport on Monday after several days of missile attacks by the Yemeni army.

The recent conflict between the Yemeni army and Saudi Arabia occurred after the Yemeni armed forces, in response to the blockade of Saudi Arabia, closed the traffic from the Red Sea to Saudi ships, which is the vital artery of the Arab country's oil exports. Then, to break this blockade, Saudi Arabia launched aggressive attacks against Yemen, and the fire of new conflicts between the two sides flared up after a few years.

The Telegraph newspaper wrote about the problems faced by Bin Salman to realize his vision despite this conflict: If the "Future Investment Initiative" meeting is canceled, it will be a blow to Bin Salman, who, according to the Wall Street Journal, is now moving between palaces equipped with shelters and under protection due to attacks by the Yemeni army.

But even if the event takes place, it is not clear who will be brave enough to fly to the affected airports as things stand. Reports indicate that top executives of global oil giants such as ExxonMobil, Total Energy, Shell and BP have already pulled out of the Riyadh Energy Congress, which is being held since Sunday.

The Davos meeting represents the ambitious effort of the Saudi crown prince to turn his kingdom into a vital axis in the global economy and a prominent player in the Middle East. But in the meantime, the Yemeni army plays a central role by targeting the airport that Bin Salman aims to turn Riyadh into a hub for tourists, multinational companies and international events.

These attacks especially challenge Bin Salman's 2030 vision for Saudi Arabia. The attacks in Yemen not only raise the question of whether the 2030 vision is still viable in a region with multiple active war fronts, but also the question of why Saudi Arabia is so vulnerable despite its heavy defense spending.

This article has been discussed further: Saudi Arabia has announced that it will investigate how its air defenses failed after repeated attacks on the airport last week. Yemeni army missiles also hit oil, military and transportation facilities.

Saudi officials said early indications were that Yemeni armed forces initially launched drones to pave the way for a combination of cruise and ballistic missiles to hit Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport.

Saudi officials are also said to be facing shortages of expensive Patriot interceptors capable of shooting down incoming ballistic missiles in mid-air.

Despite the huge military budget, which is the eighth largest military budget in the world, as well as having an impressive air force, the Saudi army should appear to be superior to the Yemeni army, however, according to analysts, the Yemeni army is waging a classic asymmetric war despite such significant expenses, and they should only strike occasionally to weaken the Saudi economy.

Hisham Al-Omaysi, an analyst of Yemen issues and senior advisor of the "European Institute for Peace", believes that the Yemeni army "does not need to win the war against the Saudis; All he has to do is make the war more expensive for them."

Heavy costs for expensive and advanced weapon systems have not compensated for weaknesses in defense organization; The armed forces are significantly inward-looking and focus more on protecting the royal family, which makes Saudi Arabia's geographical expanse vulnerable to attacks from Yemen.

Referring to the consequences of closing the Strait of Hormuz as a result of Trump's warmongering in West Asia, this report adds: high global oil prices reduce part of the damage caused by the destabilizing attack of US President Donald Trump on Iran. But the government also has to spend billions of dollars to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, support the economy and equip the army.

Trump does not have a clear strategy for this situation, and it also seems that he is secretly punishing Bin Salman for avoiding the normalization of relations with the Zionist regime at this time.

The United Arab Emirates wants the unity of the Persian Gulf, but at the same time it is also a strategic and economic rival of its bigger neighbor - Arabia.

Saudi Arabia's Neom project, which was introduced as a symbol of the country's future vision, has entered a new stage of implementation by reducing the dimensions of some plans and changing priorities.

The developments of the Iran-US war after the third war entered the 65th day and the Strait of Hormuz is still the main focus of these developments. The postponement of the regional meeting about the Strait of Hormuz added to the complexity of the developments. At the same time, consultations between Oman and Kuwait, Tehran's positions on negotiations and the nuclear case, the sharp increase in oil prices and the meeting of the Saudi crown prince with the commander of Centcom were among the most important developments on Monday, 23 Shahrivar.

Amidst the economic consequences of the regional war and recording a deficit of $9.1 billion in the second quarter, Saudi Arabia has started initial negotiations with banks to receive at least $8 billion in loans; Aramco is also separately considering new financing.