GENERAL BACKGROUND

Over the past decades, the Arab oil and gas exporting countries relied excessively on these two commodities, as they constituted the main source of financial flows, government revenues, bank deposits, and market liquidity. Despite several efforts, some Arab oil-producing countries has not succeeded, until recently, in achieving signif¬icant economic diversification, which made them vulnerable to global economic and financial cycles, with chal¬lenges imposed on growth and financial stability. In parallel, the oil-importing Arab countries relied, and still relying to a large extent, on one economic sector, specifically the services sector, which made their economies vulnerable to political and security shocks. In light of this, some Arab countries succeeded over the past decades in achieving solid and sustainable economic growth, which was translated into high per capital income and high development levels, while other Arab countries lagged behind in development, income levels, and living standards.

Most Arab countries – oil exporters and importers –are currently implementing deep and comprehensive economic reform, development and transformation policies, and adopting sectoral diversification meas¬ures to mitigate economic unilateralism and increase the ability of national economies to withstand shocks and enhance their resilience. At the forefront of these economic transformations is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia “2030 Vision”, which aims to diversify the Saudi economy, based on expanding the production base, industrialization, increasing the economic role of the financial sector and financial technology, and the shift to digitization in various economic sectors.

The economic transformation and reform measures adopted by the Arab countries come in light of the im¬portant changes the globe is witnessing, on top of them the international geopolitical complexities and the exacerbation of climate change and global warming risks, which lead to negative repercussions on both growth and financial stability of international markets and banks, and the possibility of leakage into the Arab financial markets. On the other hand, the fourth industrial revolution and the unprecedented acceleration in digitization and the transition to the digital economy and the rapid changes in international financial legislation pave the way for the emergence of unprecedented opportunities for economic diversification and flexibility and represent opportunities for achieving a flexible, diversified, green and digital Arab economy that leads to enhancing the well-being of the Arab citizens.