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Leaders
07-07-2025
- Business
- Leaders
The Destination: Inside Saudi Arabia's Impressive Transformation
The Saudi Ministry of Media's initiative, Konoz, has released a documentary titled 'The Destination' – a showcase of the Kingdom's impressive transformation journey across politics, economics, sports and culture. Under the revolutionary Vision 2030, launched by the Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Salman, in 2016, Saudi Arabia has made major strides towards fostering a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation. The Kingdom has proudly positioned itself as a leader across various fields by investing in its strengths, including its rich human and natural resources, investment capabilities, economic strength, strategic location, and prestigious status on the Arab, Islamic, and international arenas. The Destination On July 6, 2025, Konoz released The Destination, a documentary that delves deep into Saudi Arabia's transformation into a global leader through a series of pivotal reforms and structural changes across the Kingdom's political, economic, medical, sports, culture and media sectors. The film sheds light on the Kingdom's development journey under the transformative Vision 2030. According to the Saudi Media Ministry's press release, the documentary's title, The Destination, captures Saudi Arabia's progress towards achieving Vision 2030 ambitious objectives, by looking into the future while advancing the nation's goals. Owing to Saudi Arabia's groundbreaking mega projects and transformative initiatives that have resonating impact worldwide, the Kingdom has positioned itself as an attractive global destination. A Nation in Transformation The Destination is a vivid showcase of Saudi Arabia's impressive transformation and steady strides towards becoming a global leader, displaying genuine and breathtaking images from across the Kingdom that creates a vibrant portrait of the nation's progress. It is more of a global awareness campaign about one of the most remarkable transformation journeys in recent history. The documentary features firsthand stories from some of Saudi Arabia's most influential leaders, decisionmakers and experts who played crucial roles in advancing transformation across various fields. They include Chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies (KFCRIS), Prince Turki Al-Faisal; Minister of Sports, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Saud; and Advisor to the Secretariat General Council of Ministers; Mazen Al-Sudairi. They also include other officials who spearhead some of the most promising organizations in the Kingdom, such as CEO of Diriyah Gate Development Authority, Jerry Inzerillo; and Head of Cardiac Surgery Department at King Faisal Specialist Hospital (KFSHRC), Dr. Firas Khalil. Empowering National Talent The human dimension is strongly evident in The Destination through authentic stories that celebrate Saudi Arabia's geographical diversity and landmark projects, featuring a visual narrative that creates a bridge between the past, present and future. Moreover, the documentary highlights how Saudi Arabia has successfully empowered national talent and embraced modernity and cultural innovation along with preserving its rich cultural and historical heritage. #TheDestination leads viewers through Saudi Arabia's transformative milestones, highlighting how the Kingdom has redefined itself and shaped the global stage.#konoz — كنوز السعودية (@KonozSA) July 6, 2025 The outstanding project was announced on the sidelines of the Impact Makers Forum (ImpaQ) in December 2024. The initiative also involved other films and documentaries to be produced under Konoz in collaboration with nine national companies, 80 specialized firms and more than 2,600 talented individuals from various fields. It is a further testament to the Saudi Media Ministry's commitment to supporting local production and promoting national content. The Destination is available on several platforms, including Shahid, STC TV, Saudi TV channels, YouTube, and the platforms of the Saudi Ministry of Media and Konoz. Konoz Initiative The Saudi Media Ministry launched the Konoz Initiative in January 2023, as one of the Human Capability Development Program's initiatives under Vision 2030. Konoz aims to track and document Saudi Arabia's cultural richness and civilizational and intellectual contributions. Additionally, it aims to highlight the success stories of Saudi citizens at all levels through the production of documentaries, short films, and animated features in cooperation with local companies. The Konoz Initiative has released several documentaries and films, including the Saudi Atlas series, which showcase the aesthetic elements of Saudi cities through a collection of short films. The series have gained great popularity on various platforms. Furthermore, the Konoz Initiative produced the Horizon documentary, which secured the Platinum Hermes International Creative Award. The Horizon highlights aspects of Saudi Arabia's wildlife and biodiversity, as well as the efforts of the Kingdom represented by the National Center of Wildlife Development and its partners in this field. Progress under Vision 2030 Launched in 2016, the ambitious Vision 2030 centers around three pillars: a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation. It is a transformative national plan that aims to reform the public sector, the economy, and society to transform Saudi Arabia into a global destination where people can live, work and travel. It has achieved remarkable progress in realizing its objectives through the Vision Realization Programs (VRPs) and integrated national strategies, which effectively coordinate efforts across government, private, and nonprofit sectors. The revolutionary plan charts a path that strengthen the integration between culture and innovation, to keep pace with the accelerating global changes and unlock wider opportunities for citizens, residents and visitors. To this end, Vision 2030 is a three-phase plan, each phase spanning five years and builds on the successes of the previous one. The first phase laid the groundwork for transformation through structural economic, financial and social reforms. The second phase focused on accelerating progress and maximizing the benefit from key sectors. Meanwhile, the third phase, set to kick off in 2026, will focus on enhancing the sustainability of this transformation and capitalizing on new growth opportunities. As the Kingdom celebrated the 9th anniversary of Vision 2030 in April 2025, the Saudi government's annual report for 2024 showed that 85% of the 1,502 active initiatives had been completed or are on track; 93% of VRPs and national strategy indicators had been achieved or are on track; and eight Vision 2030 goals had been achieved 6 years ahead of schedule. Short link : Post Views: 11
New Straits Times
30-05-2025
- New Straits Times
Saudi reforms streamline haj experience for Malaysian pilgrims
JEDDAH: Haj management is becoming more advanced as the Saudi Arabian government rolls out reforms to ensure pilgrims have a smooth and meaningful experience in fulfilling Islam's fifth pillar. Eight Malaysian media personnel, invited by the Saudi Media Ministry, experienced the streamlined haj process from their departure at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to arrival at King Abdulaziz International Airport. Saudi Media Ministry facilitator Datuk Izelan Basar said the media team observed improvements made by both the Malaysian and Saudi governments. "We can see how smooth and easy the haj journey has become... There is no confusion, everything is organised neatly. This is all thanks to the facilities provided by the Saudi government, which employs advanced technology... who knows, maybe soon facial recognition and other modern technologies will be used here," he said during a briefing for Malaysian media representatives. The Saudi government has introduced the Saudi Visa Bio app for haj visa applications, requiring four steps: email registration, passport information scan, facial scan and a 10-finger biometric fingerprint scan. The app aims to simplify visa processing and reduce entry delays for pilgrims arriving in Jeddah and Madinah. Malaysia is one of eight countries chosen for the pilot, along with Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Kuwait, the United Kingdom, Tunisia and Morocco. Malaysia is once again part of the Makkah Route programme, having been the first country to implement it via a 2017 pilot. The programme allows Malaysian pilgrims to complete Saudi immigration and customs at KLIA, eliminating long waits after their eight-hour flight. Izelan warned Malaysian Muslims to avoid falling for scams involving fake haj visas this season. "I want to remind everyone to be careful and not take lightly the promises made by certain parties because haj visas are strictly regulated. The Saudi government has learned from past seasons, during which there were many deaths among pilgrims, so they are now very strict. Don't be fooled... be cautious when buying (Haj) packages to come here," he said. He also noted Saudi Arabia's advanced media facilities, where global media teams gather in centralised, high-tech studios. "Malaysian media representatives visiting here should consider making some changes upon returning. Here, we not only worship but also learn and build networks. Maybe one day Malaysia will have facilities as advanced as Saudi Arabia's. They are far ahead, especially in terms of AI (artificial intelligence) used during the haj season. I believe in the near future the Saudi government will be able to accurately predict the exact number of resources needed—how many buses, what infrastructure to build and provide—for the comfort of future Hajj pilgrims," he said. The eight Malaysian media representatives, including two from Media Prima Berhad's News and Current Affairs (NCA) unit, will be in Makkah until June 12.
