Sameer Hashmi
speaker
100 appearances
2 recordings
2 series
first heard Jan 2026
last heard 5 Jul
Sameer Hashmi’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
Trend
recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 2 in all, peaking in Jul 2026 with 1.
Appearances
For Saudi Arabia, this event is an opportunity to showcase its latest reforms, project confidence and convince international investors that the Vision 2030 transformation is well underway.
But despite gatherings like this, attracting foreign direct investment has remained a challenge over the past decade.
And it's not the only one.
The execution of multi-billion dollar giga projects like NEOM, the flagship project of Vision 2030, hasn't gone according to plan.
Right groups, including Amnesty International, have also raised concerns about the treatment of migrant workers building many of the kingdom's ambitious megaprojects.
Falling oil prices in the years leading up to the US-Israel war with Iran widened the gap between government revenues and spending.
That has forced Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the PIF, which is leading the economic diversification program, to cut back spending on expensive projects and scale down some major developments including NEOM and leisure tourism destinations.
Under a new strategy announced in April, the fund is now focusing on six key economic areas that could generate faster returns on investments.
These range from entertainment and clean energy to advanced manufacturing and logistics.
Karen Young is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.
Beyond domestic challenges, the war with Iran has added another layer of pressure on Saudi Arabia's diversification plans.
Strikes on its critical energy infrastructure disrupted oil and gas production and exports for some time.
The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which Gulf producers ship most of their energy, has had a severe impact.
Saudi Arabia, which is the world's largest exporter of oil, had to rely on its East-West pipeline, which bypasses the Strait for export, but its volumes are lower than what can be shipped.
Higher oil prices may offset some of those losses.
But uncertainty around the security of shipping routes and tension with Iran raises a bigger question.
I asked Dr. Young what impact this war could have on the Saudi economy.
These are sounds of celebration in Riyadh after Saudi Arabia won the bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
It's a significant moment, one that reflects how the kingdom is seeking to raise its profile and reposition itself on the global stage.
Over the past decade, Saudi Arabia has pushed through wide-ranging changes, opening up parts of society, building new industries and spending heavily in an effort to reduce its reliance on oil.
Showing 61–80 of 100 · page 4 of 5
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