Bloomberg agency affirmed that the appointment of Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman as Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, while retaining his position as Minister of Energy, reflects the expansion of his responsibilities in the Saudi government and highlights the Kingdom's direction towards enhancing integration between the energy and industrial sectors to achieve the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.

The agency pointed out that Prince Abdulaziz has become 'the new face of the Kingdom's industrial ambitions,' succeeding Bandar Al-Khorayef, who had held the industry portfolio since 2019. It added that Al-Khorayef will continue his membership in the Cabinet as a Minister of State, alongside his appointment as Governor of the General Authority for Military Industries.

Strengthening coordination between energy and industry

Bloomberg explained that Prince Abdulaziz is known as a 'pragmatic and results-oriented official,' and that expanding his responsibilities will allow closer alignment between the Ministries of Energy and Industry, especially in light of recent regional developments that have shown the close interconnection between energy, manufacturing, mineral resources, and trade chains.

In the same context, the agency noted that this trend has gained additional importance after the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz during the latest war, which led to a reassessment of trade routes and highlighted the need for greater integration between industrial and energy policies.

Tasks and challenges in the upcoming phase

Bloomberg added that Prince Abdulaziz is viewed as a 'seasoned decision-maker' who successfully managed a turbulent period in global oil markets during his leadership of the OPEC+ alliance. It affirmed that in his new position, he will face the task of implementing the Kingdom's targets to raise the value of non-oil exports to more than 550 billion riyals by 2030.

The agency pointed out that the National Industrial Strategy aims to transform the Kingdom into a global industrial power, increasing the manufacturing sector's contribution to the GDP to 895 billion riyals by 2030. It considered that uniting the Energy and Industry portfolios under the leadership of Prince Abdulaziz reflects a trend towards greater coordination between the two sectors to support these goals.