Saudi Arabia said on Monday it will invest 12 trillion Saudi riyals ($3.2 trillion) by 2030 in an effort to accelerate economic diversification.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Thursday announced the launch of a plan aimed at boosting private sector investment in the kingdom to diversify its economy. Mohammed announced the launch of the program in a video conference attended by Saudi government officials, business representatives and others. Under the plan, Saudi Arabia will push the private sector to inject 5 trillion riyals of investment into the country's economy by 2030.

Mohammed said the plan would create hundreds of thousands of jobs and increase the contribution of the private sector to Saudi Arabia's gross domestic product to 65 percent by 2030. He stressed that the private sector can play a key role in the country's economic development and help Saudi Arabia achieve its "Vision 2030" goals.

Mr Mohammed said total investment into the Saudi national economy would amount to 12 trillion riyals by 2030. In addition to private sector investment, the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, will pump 3tn riyals into the economy by 2030, while the amount invested under the country's National Investment Strategy will reach 4tn riyals, Mr Mohammed said.

The Saudi economy will take a hit in 2020 due to the combined impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and the sharp drop in oil prices. Saudi Arabia's unemployment rate hit a record high of 15.4 per cent in the second quarter of last year and fell to 14.9 per cent in the third quarter. At present, the Saudi economy is still facing problems such as weak economic growth and high youth unemployment.