by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih meets S. Korean Minister of Trade, Industry & Energy Paik Un-gyu, 12 March 2018.
Seoul : South Korea and Saudi Arabia have discussed ways to step up cooperation in the atomic energy sector as Seoul seeks to tender a bid for the kingdom’s nuclear power project, South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Tuesday.
South Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Paik Un-gyu started on Monday a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia, where he met with Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih for nuclear cooperation talks, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Un-gyu also met with senior economic officials to boost South Korean firms participating in Saudi Arabia’s projects to build public transportation, railways and new cities, his office said.
The visit is aimed at promoting Korean nuclear program as the kingdom plans to build its first nuclear reactors as part of a new energy roadmap. The lucrative deal is a second chance for South Korea to tap into the Middle East market following a $20 billion contract with the United Arab Emirates in 2009.
Saudi Arabia is expected to shortlist two to three preferred bidders by April and plans to select the winner by the end of this year, according to local reports.
The two countries have signed cooperation agreements in the development and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes as Riyadh seeks to reduce its reliance on oil and develop alternative energy sector.
In 2015, South Korea and Saudi Arabia inked a memorandum of understanding to jointly promote the System-integrated Modular Advanced Reactor (SMART) in the global market. Two-way trade volume reached $21.3 billion in 2016 with South Korea exporting $5.6 billion worth of cars, electronic goods, steel and textiles to Saudi Arabia and importing $15.7 billion worth of crude oil and petrochemical products.
—AB/UNA-OIC
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
London : The Prince Muhammad bin Salman Foundation (MiSK), a nonprofit organization founded by Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman in 2011 to empower Saudi young people, on Friday announced a partnership with global education pioneer General Assembly (GA) to offer technology skills training programs that will prepare men and women in Saudi Arabia for the most in-demand careers of the digital age.
This is the first program of its kind in the region, and GA joins a rapidly growing number of leading education institutions, technology firms, and international and philanthropic organizations partnering with MiSK to advance its mission of discovering, developing, and empowering Saudi young people to become active participants in the knowledge economy. Details of the partnership were unveiled on the third day of the high-profile visit to Britain of Crown Prince Muhammad, deputy premier and minister of defense. During the visit, the Crown Prince met with Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister Theresa May, Prince Charles, Prince Harry and other high ranking British leaders and officials.
On Thursday, the Crown Prince met British Chancellor of the Exchequer Philippe Hammond and a number of CEOs of major British companies. They discussed aspects of cooperation between the two countries in economic and development fields. He also met with a number of British MPs representing different parties. In their meetings they discussed means of further enhancing Saudi-British relations in various fields.
Also on Thursday, Saudi firms and businesses signed agreements worth more than SR8.9 billion ($2.13 billion) with British bodies and companies. Agreements signed included the sectors of health, investment, innovation and energy. Among the deals signed during is the investment of SR1 billion on health care centers in Saudi Arabia. In a related context, the Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority granted 10 licenses for direct investment of UK companies in Saudi Arabia. Also, British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca obtained a license to invest in the Kingdom.
According to the partnership agreement, by 2021, MiSK and GA will offer the latter’s award-winning technology training to more than 4,000 men and women in the region, preparing them for careers in web development, data science, design, digital marketing, and product management, among other disciplines. Starting in April, these courses will be taught on the ground in Riyadh by world-class industry practitioners from GA’s global instructor network, and build on GA’s award-winning curriculum, designed and tested with a network of cutting-edge startups and Fortune 500 companies. Enrollments into the first courses will begin in the coming weeks.
Interested potential students can visit ga.co/riyadh to learn more and sign up. “Young people are coming of age in a world that is changing more than at any time in human history,” said Mohammed Abuazzah, chief marketing officer of the MiSK. “Knowledge, skills, creativity and adaptability are the crucial currency of the future. That’s why MiSK is committed to working with partner organizations such as GA to equip Saudi youth with the skills they need to meet the challenge of change. This partnership is part of our ambitious plan to develop a hub of IT excellence within the Kingdom, and create a pipeline of skilled talent to power our transformation.”
To date, over 40,000 students have participated in GA’s digital skills transformation programs, and close to 300 companies, including one-third of the Fortune 100, have worked with GA to deliver radical reskilling initiatives and develop customized talent pipelines. In GA’s three-month, 500-hour immersive trainings, students learn by doing, and are taught by leading practitioners in dynamic fields like machine learning, front-end web development, cyber-security, and product management. Students are prepared for jobs of the future through an innovative teaching model that blends instruction, collaborative projects, and career readiness training. Students complete their GA experience with highly relevant digital skills, a robust project portfolio, and a “lifelong learning” mindset that prepares them to respond and adapt to future changes in technology.
GA will operate alongside other leading training providers, including Harvard University, Khan Academy, and LinkedIn, to provide education to thousands of Saudis, adding to the ranks of leading education and talent innovators working to build a new Saudi Arabia. “At General Assembly, we believe that education is the key to transforming lives and creating opportunity,” said Jake Schwartz, CEO and Co-Founder of General Assembly. “We have worked with companies and individuals around the world to empower tens of thousands of adults to pursue the work they love. We look forward to bringing our transformational education programs to a new region of the world, and are excited to stand alongside Misk’s other partners, including Google, The Boston Consulting Group, and Harvard University to drive economic opportunity in the Middle East and create career pathways for the next generation of tech talent in the region.”
—HA/UNA-OIC
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Saudi women go on a walking parade on March 8, 2018 in the coastal city of Jeddah on the occasion of the International Women’s Day.
Riyadh : Over 2,500 Saudi women went on a walking parade on Thursday in the coastal city of Jeddah on the occasion of the International Women’s Day, the first massive public appearance of Saudi women in the conservative Islamic society.
The parade, organised by Jeddah government, aims to promote the ideas of healthy lifestyle and environmental protection, Xinhua news agency reported.
In a bid to return his country to a “moderate Islam,” Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has taken measures to improve women’s rights of all aspects in the society.
The country announced its plan to allow women to drive from June this year and ride-hailing apps are getting prepared to hire female drivers.
“I’m excited about being able to drive in a few months. Women can take the wheel just like men,” said college student Aimena, who is taking driving lessons in Princess Nura University.
Furthermore, Saudi women were given permission in January to attend football matches and to start their own businesses without the consents of their male relatives.
Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor’s office said this month it would also begin recruiting women investigators for the first time.
The kingdom has also opened 140 positions for women at airports and border crossings, a historic move that the government said drew 107,000 female applicants.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Algiers : Secretary-General of the Council for Arab Interior Ministers Mohammed Ali Kouman on Wednesday warned against foreign interference that is fuelling sectarianism and ethnicity in the Arab region.
In his opening notes at the 35th Arab Interior Ministers Council opened on Wednesday in Algiers, Kouman said “the Arab region is still facing delicate security circumstances characterized by the intensification of external interference in the internal affairs of Arab countries,” Xinhua reported.
He said that these interventions are compounded by the challenges associated with organised crime, such drug trafficking, human beings trafficking and illegal migration, as well as laundering money resulting from these crimes, which make the region more vulnerable to serious consequences.
He also warned that electronic crime, or cyber-crime, and the risks posed by the return of fighters from conflict areas and the hotbeds of tension and the movement of terrorist organisations into new areas.
He said these risks impose on the Arab security agencies additional responsibilities and require updated confrontation plans and mechanisms.
He concluded by urging for strengthening Arab security cooperation and to coordinate with neighbouring countries and regional and international organisations in which Arab countries share the same security challenges.
The 35th session of the Council of Arab Ministers of the Interior kicked off in Algiers on Wednesday, as participants are due to focus in a two-day meeting on reinforcing security cooperation to face security challenges threatening the region, including terrorism, trans-border criminality, violent extremism, illegal migration, as well as cyber-crime and cyber-terrorism.
The meeting witnesses the participation of 20 Arab countries represented by ministers of interior.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Corporate, Corporate Governance, Emerging Businesses, Muslim World
Washington : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Saudi Arabia has given Air India approval to use its airspace for flights between Israel and India.
Netanyahu made the announcement during a briefing in Washington on Monday after meeting US President Donald Trump, the Times of Israel reported.
“Air India signed an agreement to fly to Israel over Saudi Arabia,” he said, emphasizing that the flights to and from Mumbai would consume the same time as flights between London and Tel Aviv — about five-and-a-half hours.
There was no immediate confirmation of the agreement from Saudi Arabia or Air India.
Currently, El Al Israel Airlines offers direct flights from Israel to India, with a Tel Aviv-Mumbai route.
In order to avoid Saudi Arabia, which has hitherto forbidden flights to and from Israel over its airspace, the plane must detour over the Red Sea and around the Arabian peninsula, adding over two hours to the journey.
The Indian airline’s ability to fly over Saudi Arabia would substantially reduce the flight time. Netanyahu stressed the planes would not be able to fly over Iran, Iraq and Pakistan — other countries with which Israel has no diplomatic ties, the Times of Israel reported.
The “agreement” marked a significant achievement as Jerusalem attempts to upgrade its relationship with Riyadh, the report said.
While no formal ties exist between Israel and Saudi Arabia, it was revealed by Israeli officials over the last several months that there had been covert contacts between the two countries, according to a Jerusalem Post report.
Netanyahu, who visited India in January, acknowledged the agreement could hurt El Al. During the India trip, Netanyahu had said that an “efficient and direct route” between the countries was an important goal.
—IANS
