SABIC co-hosted the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Riyadh Conference 2025 on November 27 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This marks the second consecutive year that SABIC has partnered with BFA to organize the event.
The conference was held under the theme “Transition Towards Regional Economic Diversification and Sustainable Development.” It brought together senior government officials, business leaders, and experts to discuss cooperation at both regional and global levels.
During the opening session, Zhang Jun, Secretary General of BFA; Ban Ki-moon, Chairman of the BFA Board and former UN Secretary General; and Leung Chun-ying, Vice Chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, praised SABIC’s ongoing strategic partnership with BFA as well as the organization’s efforts in hosting this year’s conference in Riyadh.
Eng. Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh, CEO of SABIC and member of the BFA Board, delivered a welcome address. He stated: “Today’s gathering provides a perfect occasion for all of us to explore wider and deeper avenues of collaboration – across sectors, across regions, and across product value chains. These promote the exchange of goods, the investment of capital, and the sharing of knowledge, which in turn leads to commercial ventures that help diversify economies, smooth the energy transition, and support our shared ambitions for sustainable development.” He added: “These are some of the goals that the transformative Saudi Vision 2030 has called for since its inception in 2016.”
Al-Fageeh also noted progress made by Saudi Arabia since Vision 2030 began. “The Kingdom ranked first globally in the second quarter of this year in GDP growth, with 47% driven by the private sector,” he said.
At a roundtable focused on energy transition and sustainable development, Al-Fageeh emphasized that reliable energy supply combined with innovative technologies is essential for improving efficiency—and sustainability—in chemical industry operations.
He highlighted SABIC’s founding principle: converting gases that would otherwise be flared into useful chemical products. He stated that this approach continues to guide SABIC today as it aims for carbon neutrality in its operations by 2050.
During this conference, SABIC and BFA announced their honorary strategic partnership will continue into its seventh year. Since becoming an honorary strategic partner in 2020, SABIC has regularly participated in annual meetings held by BFA in Boao town within China’s Hainan Province.
The Riyadh conference is part of an international series organized by BFA outside China each year to foster economic cooperation among countries.
