Following his meeting with Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Otte said on Wednesday, the Kingdom was playing a very “positive role” for achieving the goal of a negotiated settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli problem. “The rarest commodity at the moment on both sides is trust,” the EU special envoy said in a wide-ranging interview where he provided an overview of the recent developments in the Middle East.
RIYADH: In a renewed move to cut dependence on foreign workers, Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states are planning to reduce the number of work visas issued every year, train their own nationals more intensively for jobs in different sectors and reward private companies hiring local workers.
Riyadh: Ministers of interior from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) pledged on Wednesday to work togeather to tackle terrorism, money laundering and organized crime.
“The CDSI has urged the public to provide full support during the two-week process of population counting that will end on May 12,” said Abdullateef Al-Khamees, a spokesperson for the Central Department of Statistics and Information (CDSI), on Monday. Al-Khamees said that all census enumerators would carry official badges and ID cards. He added that the results of the census would help government agencies map out future plans and policies.
In a daring robbery committed Friday night, burglars entered the restaurant, and made away with cash, crockery, gas cylinders and other items. The police have intensified their hunt for the criminals. This is the second restaurant theft in less than a week. It is widely believed that the same gang may be involved in other robberies of restaurants and businesses in recent weeks,” a spokesman said. In another instance, a popular restaurant in Haiul Wazarat, “Coco Palm Restaurant,” was robbed of thousands of riyals in cash, gas cylinders, and other items, said Amjad Raja, the restaurant’s owner.
The ceremony will include a series of events over two days. “The academy, which will rely on state-of-the-art aircraft, training facilities and equipment, aims to produce a cadre of highly skilled pilots who are disciplined and who practice superior aeronautical decision-making skills,” said William Roe, SAFA managing director. A joint venture between the SAC and the private sector, SAFA has placed a purchase order for the new generation of DA42 and DA40 aircraft to equip the flight school.
The Saudi food sector, which is largely dependent on imports, has, however, taken a giant leap in terms of food processing and vegetable, dairy and poultry production. In fact, many of the Kingdom’s food and drink giants have set up huge food processing units. Of late, they have started expanding their facilities, modernizing existing units and more importantly looking to expand their presence overseas.
Triet said that Hanoi, together with other ASEAN and GCC member nations, would also work to give a strong push to “establish a free trade area,” which will boost trade and investment to a very high level. Triet, who addressed the Shoura Council on Sunday, said that ASEAN was currently preparing for the second ASEAN-GCC foreign ministers meeting to be held in Singapore later this year after its first successful meeting last year. The first meeting, in fact, has already put a road map to promote GCC-ASEAN ties.
“King Abdullah and Triet will also witness the signing of two major agreements, which will go a long way in boosting links between Riyadh and Hanoi,” said Dao Thanh Chung, Vietnamese ambassador, here yesterday. “These two proposed agreements will be signed by the two governments during the presidential visit.”
Riyadh: The Kingdon’s census will enter a key phase next week with the nationwide listing of buildings and commercial entities, including abandoned homes, tents and mud houses built in far-flung desert areas.