Brad Barket | Getty Images for Fast Company
HRH Princess Reema Bint Bandar Al-Saud speaks onstage during Fast Company Innovation Festival 2016 – HRH Princess Reema Bint Bandar Al-Saud at Skirball Center, NYU on November 3, 2016 in New York City.
Saudi Arabia‘s modernizing reforms show human capital is the new currency for the Arab kingdom, a member of the royal family said Thursday.
During a panel at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Reema bint Bandar Al Saud said: “Please just don’t look at us as oil… Human capital is the new currency and I really would encourage you to look at us that way.”
The role of women in Saudi’s economic transformation beyond a predominantly oil-based economy was critical to its success, Al Saud said.
“What is now happening is a woman has the choice to breathe, a woman has the choice to dream and she can (take) action.”
Al Saud said reforms aimed at improving the integration of both men and women in society would also translate into how people spent their money. Ultimately, while the shifting social dynamics would be “necessary” to improve the economy, it was also the “right thing to do.”
