The Development of Saudi Arabia in King Fahd’s Era

Abstract

This article explores the development of Saudi Arabia during King Fahd’s era through research which highlights the challenges and reasons behind the decline in achieving five year plans. Saudi Arabia is one of those Middle Eastern countries, based on a traditional Islamic Law system, where the process of innovation is extremely slow. The purpose of the study was to focus on the policy implementations and improvements effected during the era of King Fahd and how they changed the economy of the Kingdom. The study also uncovered some of the achievements and limitations of the initiative to educate women in their chosen fields. The impact of the innovative development plans were explored, with education, industrial development, and trade identified as core focuses during the King Fahd era. The focus on these three aspects essentially resulted in the development of Saudi Arabia’s economic processes, although some failures suggested the need for further improvements through the application of new strategies. Moreover, there was a need for developmental procedures in education, industry and trade areas that ultimately affected the economy of the Kingdom.