JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia has invested SR500 billion ($133.3 billion) in industrial, service and logistics projects and contracts, which will go a long way in cutting dependence on oil, and in diversifying the national economy.The Kingdom is also witnessing a remarkable demand in industrial investment after intensified efforts by the Saudi Industrial Property Authority (MODON) and other government agencies.“MODON’s success in…
Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar was the chief guest at a special celebration of Nepal’s National Day hosted by the Nepalese Embassy. The event, at the Cultural Palace in Riyadh’s diplomatic quarter, began with the national anthems of Nepal and Saudi Arabia. Then Dr. Mahendra Prasad Singh Rajput, ambassador of Nepal to Saudi Arabia, welcomed the guests — including…
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s National Day, celebrated every year on Sept. 23, has come a long way in broadening the concept of unification over the years.Though the National Day meant unifying disparate sheikhdoms under the nation’s founder, the late King Abdul Aziz, its implications across the political, socioeconomic and cultural spectrum have not been lost on successive rulers.It was King Salman…
RIYADH: Saudi rail chiefs plan to turn the Kingdom into a global logistics hub with an expanded network of commercial and industrial freight services. The Saudi Railway Company (SAR) already moved 9 million tons of freight last year, delegates to a forum in Riyadh were told. Compared with other means of transport, trains have a lower carbon footprint, cost less,…
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia celebrated International Literacy Day on Saturday with a pledge to raise its literacy rate from 94.4 percent to 100 percent in the near future. With illiteracy rates cut to below 5.6 percent, the Kingdom leads many Arab and Asian countries in achieving literacy targets. The current 94.4 percent literacy rate was achieved while boosting enrolment in thousands…
RIYADH: A major exhibition featuring the cultural history and heritage of China will be inaugurated jointly by Prince Sultan bin Salman, chief of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), and Li Huaxin, Chinese ambassador, in Riyadh on Sept. 12. The exhibition, titled “Treasures of China,” marks the first major cultural relic show that Beijing has organized in…
RIYADH: Enhancing Saudi-South Korean cultural ties will add “an important facet” to the “very wide-ranging” bilateral relationship, South Korean Ambassador Jo Byung-Wook told Arab News on Saturday. The Korea-Arab Friendship Caravan will be held in the Saudi capital on Oct. 14. More than 20 Korean artists will perform at the cultural event in the Riyadh-based King Fahd Cultural Center (KFCC),…
RIYADH: Localization of Saudi Arabia’s fast-growing, multibillion-dollar pharmaceutical industry will top the agenda at a high-profile food and drug conference in Riyadh next month. Regulation of pharmacy stores, strategic procurement of medicines, and food contaminants in Arab countries will be discussed at the three-day conference, organized by the Saudi Food & Drug Authority (SFDA), beginning on Sept. 25. “The SFDA…
RIYADH: Three major Japanese banks will become operational in Saudi Arabia by October this year, said newly Japanese Ambassador Tsukasa Uemura. In an exclusive interview to Arab News on Sunday, the top diplomat said Japan has trained more than 10,000 Saudi engineers and technical personnel and will lend further support for an ambitious training program as part of the commitment…
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will need an extra 5,000 hospital beds by 2020 and 20,000 more by 2035 to meet the requirements of its growing population. The requirement to expand the health care facilities of the Kingdom is already listed as one of the key sectors under the Saudi Vision 2030 plan.“In fact, Saudi Arabia’s growing population, coupled with good health…