HE Mr. Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Minister of Finance, participated in the G20 Investor Forum, which is organized by the World Bank Group – in collaboration with the G20 Argentine Presidency – in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on November 29, 2018. The Forum was organized on the sideline of the G20 Summit which was held on November 30 – December 1, 2018. 70 participants attended the Forum, including a number of G20 leaders, G20 Finance Ministers, top global institutional investors and leaders of Development Finance Institutions.
The objective of the Forum was to facilitate discussion and seek tangible outcomes that stimulate long-term sustainable investing in G20 markets and around the world. The Forum discussed the role that incentives, public-private partnerships and financial innovation can play in promoting long-term sustainable investing, including by discussing the challenges facing such investments, while exploring ways to address them.
Addressing the Forum, the Minister of Finance highlighted that this forum provides a unique opportunity for policymakers, regulators, investors and international financial institutions to engage in frank discussion on long-term sustainable investing. He shared his views on some of the major challenges facing sustainable long-term investing, noting that G-20 members can work - both individually and collectively - to improve incentives for long-term sustainable investing including by ensuring that incentives are cost-effective and targeted on priority projects where private investment is shy, within the overall context of sustainable development.
Al-Jadaan also stated that digital technologies can potentially play a role in in promoting long-term sustainable investing. He mentioned that digital technologies can help overcome some the constraints that are facing long-terms sustainable investing, including be improving the quality and timeliness of relevant information and reducing the cost of accessing this information; thus, contributing to enhancing the practice of measuring, tracking and validating the application of sustainability criteria.
In conclusion, His Excellency highlighted the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to implement the wide-ranging reforms under “Vision 2030”, stating that implementation of these reforms is progressing well, and their aim is to diversify the economy, achieve fiscal and economic sustainability and give a larger role to the private sector. As for the Kingdom's efforts to promote long-term sustainable investing, he stated that the Public Investment Fund (PIF) is actively contributing towards domestic economic development, while expanding its international assets by investing in strategic sectors and markets, as the Kingdom is currently working to be a center of scientific excellence and advanced technologies and innovation.
