Domestic policy Saud has overseen the introduction of free zones and industrial parks, efficient business licensing procedures and offshore corporate registration. Under his guidance, RAK Government adopts an institutional approach to business procedures, to reduce red tape and improve the ease of doing business. He has expanded and diversified Ras Al Khaimah's economic base and improved the quality of its social services. His policies have resulted in sustained growth for Ras Al Khaimah and a consistently high credit rating with both Fitch and S&P since 2008.
Economic policy In the years up to 2010, Ras Al Khaimah's economic policy was marked by expansion, notably in the industry through companies such as
RAK Ceramics, RAK Ports and Stevin Rock, real estate through Al Hamra and RAK Properties, and business services through
Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone. The
Great Recession belatedly reached the
UAE. Following
Dubai's de facto default in November 2009, Ras Al Khaimah was heavily hit. In 2010, Saud's new economic adviser Jim Stewart, the CEO of RAK Investment and Development Office, altered Ras Al Khaimah's economic strategy from debt-fueled growth to austerity. The aim was to bring the 5 billion AED (or US$1.37 billion) debts of Ras Al Khaimah under control. Saud instructed the CEO of
RAKIA and
RAK Ceramics, Khater Massaad, to sell all global assets, notably in
Georgia, where the emirate held shares in three main companies - RAKIA Georgia LLC, Rakeen Development LLC, and RAKIA Georgia Free Industrial Zone. Real estate there and in particular the
Port of Poti were labeled "not a strategic asset" in the October 2010 cover story about Khater Massaad, "The Man Who Sold The World". Similar debt reduction policies started to be applied to other enterprises in which Saud personally or Ras Al Khaimah had shares in, the most important being
RAK Ceramics. By the end of 2022, RAK Ceramics achieved an all-time high net profit of 340.1 million AED, with total annual revenues of 3.52 billion AED. Overall in Ras Al Khaimah since the
Great Recession, debt has been reduced and sustained growth has been witnessed. By the end of 2022, government debt (including that of state-owned enterprises) had fallen to a low 10.4% and it is expected to reduce further to 9.1% in 2024. The emirate has also maintained its A/A-1 rating with a stable outlook by both Fitch and S&P.
Developmental policy Saud has overseen an era of cross-sector developmental progress in Ras Al Khaimah, particularly in the areas of tourism, real estate, manufacturing, and logistics. In 2011, he set up Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, with a record 1.35 million visitors recorded in 2025. In 2022, Ras Al Khaimah added hotel brands such as InterContinental, Mövenpick, and Radisson. Interest in the Emirates' real estate market is also gaining traction. The Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone is now home to more than 40,000 companies and manufacturing contributing the largest proportion to the emirate's GDP, at 30%. RAK Ports is also expanding its logistical opportunities to companies globally, with recent infrastructure investment of US$250 million. RAK Ports’ Saqr Port and Freezone is the largest bulk port in the Middle East It is also strategically positioned close to the
Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Etihad Rail, the UAE's national rail project, will also extend into Ras Al Khaimah, facilitating the transfer of an estimated 3.5 million tonnes of construction material from the emirate's Stevin Rock, one of the largest quarrying companies in the world, annually.
Accession dispute After Saqr replaced Khalid as a crown prince with Saud in June 2003, from exile, Khalid began an unsubstantiated smear campaign against his younger half-brother involving the payment of millions of dollars to US lobbyists and an English solicitor to "undermine the current regime's standing" as a means for Khalid to regain power in Ras Al Khaimah. The campaign culminated in October 2010 upon the death of Saqr. Khalid returned from exile in London in an attempt to initiate a bloodless coup but the UAE government supported Saud's right to rule the emirate, and so he prevailed. Khalid had claimed that Saud and Ras Al Khaimah had connections to Iran. However, these accusations stem either directly from the former crown prince of RAK or indirectly from research he funded with a vested interest in embarrassing or undermining the regime in the hope of returning to power. Khalid's US communications team, which consisted of US public relations consultants, Washington lobbyists, former US-special forces strategists, and the famous lobbying firm BSKH, insisted these claims were "well sourced", but they were rejected by the UAE embassies in London and the US. The UAE also denied the claim that RAK had links to
Iran's nuclear program and that a port in RAK had, in effect, become an Iranian base, allowing Tehran to avoid international sanctions. Instead, the Embassy described the claims as attacks that were "baseless and without foundation." "These appear to be old, scurrilous rumors which Khalid has made on numerous occasions," a spokesman for the UAE said in a statement. "His claims are baseless and without foundation and should be seen in the context of his long-standing dispute with his family. We are surprised that these old allegations are now being rehashed once again." One of its leaders was the human rights activist and lawyer Muhammad Al-Mansuri (Mohammed Al-Mansoori). He was a legal adviser to Saud but was dismissed in December 2009. Later, he was among the so-called UAE 94, a group of reformists tried in the UAE. Al-Mansoori was among 69 people sentenced on 2 July 2013 by the Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi (25 were acquitted) and received a jail term of ten years for "belonging to an illegal, secret organization ... that aims to counter the foundations of this state in order to seize power and of contacting foreign entities and groups to implement this plan." == Personal life ==