Saudi Cabinet reaffirms support for international efforts to resolve Ukraine crisis

Saudi Cabinet reaffirms support for international efforts to resolve Ukraine crisis
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman chairs the weekly Cabinet session at the Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Tuesday. (SPA)
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Updated 03 January 2023

Saudi Cabinet reaffirms support for international efforts to resolve Ukraine crisis

Saudi Cabinet reaffirms support for international efforts to resolve Ukraine crisis
  • Cabinet approved transit agreement among Arab countries and MoU in intellectual property

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia in a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday reaffirmed its support for international efforts aimed at reaching a political solution to the Russian-Ukrainian crisis in a way that preserves regional and international stability.

King Salman presided over the Cabinet meeting held at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh.

During the meeting, the Cabinet reviewed talks that took place between the Kingdom and friendly countries over the past few days to consolidate and advance cooperation.

Dr. Issam bin Saad bin Saeed, state minister and Cabinet member for the Shoura Council affairs, said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency that the council discussed several regional and international matters.

The Cabinet issued a number of decisions, including authorizing the minister of sports, or a deputy, to hold talks with the Maldives regarding a draft memorandum of understanding between the Saudi Ministry of Sports and the Maldivian Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment for cooperation.

The Cabinet also authorized the minister of culture and chairman of the board of trustees of the Royal Institute of Traditional Arts, or a deputy, to hold talks with Italy regarding a draft MoU between the institute and the Polytechnic University of Milan in the field of traditional arts. It also authorized the minister of communications and information technology, or a deputy, to hold talks with the UN Development Program regarding a draft MoU for cooperation in digital transformation.

It also authorized the minister of human resources and social development and chairman of the Institute of Public Administration, or a deputy, to hold talks with the Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council regarding a draft MoU in the field of training and administrative development.

The Cabinet also approved a transit agreement among Arab countries and a memorandum of cooperation in intellectual property between the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore.

It took a decision to amend the number of members of the board of directors of the National Water Co. to 10 members, who shall be chaired by the minister of environment, water and agriculture, and include representatives from several government agencies and the private sector. It also accredited the final account of the Saudi Red Crescent Authority for a previous fiscal year.


Saudi Arabia to host 10th session of Arab-Chinese Business Conference 

Saudi Arabia to host 10th session of Arab-Chinese Business Conference 
Updated 12 sec ago

Saudi Arabia to host 10th session of Arab-Chinese Business Conference 

Saudi Arabia to host 10th session of Arab-Chinese Business Conference 
  • Expected to be the largest Arab-Chinese gathering for business and investment, with over 2,000 participants

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will host the 10th session of the Arab-Chinese Business Conference and the eighth Investment Symposium from June 11-12 in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency has reported.

“Collaborating for Prosperity” aims to boost cooperation in the areas of the economy, trade, and investment to achieve solutions of mutual interest to Arab nations and China through strategic collaboration.

It is organized by the Kingdom’s Ministry of Investment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in partnership with the Arab League’s secretary-general, the Chinese Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and a number of government agencies.

The conference is expected to be the largest Arab-Chinese gathering for business and investment, with more than 2,000 participants, including high-level government representatives, senior officials, CEOs, investors, and entrepreneurs.

Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih said that trade and cultural ties between Arab countries and China extended over 2,000 years, and that the conference reflected that historic relationship.

He added that Saudi-Chinese relations had developed, especially following King Salman’s visit to China in 2017 and the two historic visits by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Beijing in 2016 and 2019.

Trade in 2022 between the Arab countries and China reached SR1.6 trillion ($430 billion), a 31 percent increase on the previous year.

Saudi Arabia led the way in that, with trade between the countries around SR400 billion ($106 billion), a 30 percent increase over 2021.

The conference’s agenda will include many dialogue sessions and bilateral meetings on the development of Arab-Chinese relations; prospects for investment and financing China’s Belt and Road Initiative; review investment opportunities in a variety of economic sectors; and mobilizing efforts to achieve sustainable development in various Arab countries and China.

The conference will also focus on promising economic sectors, most notably manufacturing industries; the digital economy and artificial intelligence; renewable energy; agriculture and food security; construction and real estate activities; mining; tourism and entertainment; infrastructure; logistics; and entrepreneurship and innovation.
 


French flair meets Saudi style at Riyadh event

French flair meets Saudi style at Riyadh event
Updated 29 May 2023

French flair meets Saudi style at Riyadh event

French flair meets Saudi style at Riyadh event
  • Two-day event at L’Art Pur in Riyadh opened doors for conversations and cultural exchange in the world of fashion

RIYADH: The Saudi Fashion Commission teamed up with the French Embassy and Alliance Francaise for an event in L’Art Pur in Riyadh.

The two-day France & Fashion event on Saturday and Sunday gathered fashion fans for exhibitions, panel discussions, and training workshops with leading French fashion experts.

Ambassador of France Ludovic Pouille and CEO of the Fashion Commission Burak Cakmak attended the official opening.;

“This is why the French Embassy wanted to bring to Saudi Arabia, French talents from embroidery, fashion history, creation, and training,” said Pouille.

“This is a unique moment to gather French and Saudi experts, at a very special time, when Saudi designers are now growing, and we can see their popularity inside and outside of Saudi Arabia.”

The event included workshops for aspiring fashion designers. (AN photo)

The Fashion Commission, established two years ago, has provided increased support for local designers with opportunities and initiatives to reach a global audience.

Cakmak said: “We are happy to see that our efforts in training and education are now going beyond and countries like France are very interested in supporting talent within Saudi Arabia.”

FASTFACTS

• The two-day France & Fashion event gathered fashion fans for exhibitions, panel discussions, and training workshops with leading French fashion experts.

• Saudi Arabia’s Fashion Commission, established two years ago, has provided increased support for local designers with opportunities and initiatives to reach a global audience.

The event began with a presentation by Barbara Jeauffroy, the associate curator of the Christian Dior Museum on the early years of one of French fashion’s biggest icons.

“Dior, a museum, a story” revisited the designer’s childhood and explored his parents’ grand villa and the influence it had on his designs.

The event included workshops for aspiring fashion designers. (AN photo)

Panel discussions were led by Saudi fashion designers including Mona Alshebil, Arwa Alammari, Haifa AlHumaid and Bander Hawsawi, and leading French fashion experts including professors and directors from the Institut Francais de la Mode, and Nadia Albertini, the French embroiderer and historian.

Panelists considered the Kingdom’s place in the global fashion industry, its cultural influence on local designs, female participation and the future of fashion. Challenges and opportunities for designers, technology and social media were also topics.

“I believe this is the perfect place, the perfect timing for anybody, especially women to be in Saudi Arabia,” said Alshebil. “Everybody is rooting for us, everybody is helping us, the government, the Fashion Commission, the population.”

This is a unique moment to gather French and Saudi experts ... when Saudi designers are now growing, and we can see their popularity inside and outside of Saudi Arabia.

Ludovic Pouille, Ambassador of France

Alammari said: “For a fashion industry to succeed, there should be an ecosystem, and this has started two years ago, with fashion schools, and the updated curriculum of fashion majors in universities, like in PNU.

“We need more know-how. We have the minds, we have the vision, but we need to learn more about the know-how and the new technology in the industry.”

We are happy to see that our efforts are now going beyond and countries like France are interested in supporting talent within Saudi Arabia, says
Burak Cakmak CEO of the Fashion Commission

Speaking on the international perception of the Saudi fashion industry, IFM associate professor Jean-Marc Chauve said: “We can see now in magazine articles the Saudi fashion designers and their collections and brands, which didn’t exist five years ago … we didn’t hear about Saudi fashion designers then.”

The event offered training for designers, including how to structure a fashion collection, creating a brand and embroidery.

As part of its ongoing efforts to support the local designers and the Saudi fashion industry, the Fashion Commission will be exhibiting 100 Saudi brands to Paris on June 20.

“We will have a big moment that is going to spread for two weeks, with pop-ups, fashion shows, and other experiences highlighting the best out of Saudi Arabia in the heart of the fashion capital in Paris to a global audience,” said Cakmak.

Nodah, a visitor, said that the event was well organized and the talk on the Dior museum “full of useful information.”

 


Saudi deputy foreign minister meets Mexican counterpart

Waleed Elkhereiji meets with Carmen Moreno Toscano in Riyadh. (Supplied)
Waleed Elkhereiji meets with Carmen Moreno Toscano in Riyadh. (Supplied)
Updated 29 May 2023

Saudi deputy foreign minister meets Mexican counterpart

Waleed Elkhereiji meets with Carmen Moreno Toscano in Riyadh. (Supplied)
  • The meeting was also attended by Faisal Al-Mandil, the director of South American department affairs at the Saudi Foreign Ministry, and Anibal Gomez Toledo, the Mexican ambassador to the Kingdom

RIYADH: Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Elkhereiji met his Mexican counterpart Carmen Moreno Toscano at the ministry’s headquarters in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.

The two sides looked at bilateral relations between the countries and the means of enhancing them. They also discussed regional and international developments.

The meeting was also attended by Faisal Al-Mandil, the director of South American department affairs at the Saudi Foreign Ministry, and Anibal Gomez Toledo, the Mexican ambassador to the Kingdom.

The Saudi minister also held talks with the newly appointed US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Michael Ratney, with Al-Khuraiji welcoming him and wishing him success in his role.

The parties focused on relations between the two countries and talked about how they could be developed in the future.

 

 


Who’s Who: Areej Naqshbandi, senior director at the Public Investment Fund

Areej Naqshbandi
Areej Naqshbandi
Updated 29 May 2023

Who’s Who: Areej Naqshbandi, senior director at the Public Investment Fund

Areej Naqshbandi

Areej Naqshbandi has been the senior director and head of the project management office at the Public Investment Fund since 2021.

As part of PIF’s rapid growth over the last few years, Naqshbandi has contributed to the operational transformation across different aspects of the business to establish consistency, efficiency and best practice.

She is leading the PMO, a centralized department within the PIF that upholds the highest standards of project management.

It governs operating models, methodologies and tools to ensure best-in-class project management standards and improve delivery.

Naqshbandi’s oversight ensures that the PMO provides support and guidance to project managers and teams across PIF and its portfolio companies.  

In her 23-year career, Naqshbandi has held several executive positions such as director and head of the enterprise project management office within the public and private sectors, including leading government, financial, investment and retail institutions.

Before joining PIF, she established and develop several EPMOs.

Naqshbandi won the PMO Leader of the Year Award by the Project Management Institute in 2022.

She is also a holder of Six Sigma belt certificates, a strategy management certificate in the public sector and an international project management certificate.

Naqshbandi holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from King Saud University and an executive master’s degree in business administration from HEC Paris.

 


Saudi Arabian citizen kidnapped in Beirut: Officials

Lebanon’s Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi. (File/AFP)
Lebanon’s Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi. (File/AFP)
Updated 15 min 9 sec ago

Saudi Arabian citizen kidnapped in Beirut: Officials

Lebanon’s Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi. (File/AFP)
  • “With an iron fist, we work to liberate any citizen who is exposed to any harm on Lebanese soil,” Mawlawi tweeted

BEIRUT: The Saudi embassy in Lebanon announced on Monday that it was “contacting authorities in Beirut to uncover the circumstances of the disappearance of a Saudi citizen.” 

The embassy confirmed in a statement that it had received “a notification from the family of a Saudi citizen about losing contact with him at dawn on Sunday.” 

Instructions have been issued to the employees of the Saudi embassy in Lebanon not to go out into the streets.

“The Saudi citizen, Mashari M., who is an employee of Saudi Airlines in Beirut and lives in the Aramoun area in Mount Lebanon, was kidnapped at around 3:00 a.m. on Saturday in Beirut. The kidnappers contacted his family from the southern suburbs of Beirut and demanded a financial ransom,” the statement said. 

In audio messages from the kidnappers, a $400,000 ransom was demanded for the return of the Saudi citizen. 

Security officials said the Saudia employee was in the administrative department at the airline company, and it is believed that 4 people in military uniforms kidnapped him. The Lebanese security services monitored three locations in the southern suburbs of Beirut; Hazmieh and Dahr Al-Baidar, while his car was later found in the Bekaa region. 

The officials said: “The car in which the kidnapped Saudi was forced to move into was in the Bashoura area near central Beirut.” 

Preliminary information indicated that the victim was last seen in the Biel area of central Beirut, and was last seen on the road toward Beirut Airport, which leads to the Aramoun area, where the kidnapped man lives. 

“The incident is being closely monitored,” a military source told Arab News.

Al-Arabiya TV reported that the Lebanese security services had reached initial leads about the party or persons who carried out the kidnapping.

The Minister of the Interior Bassam Malawi said earlier he had been following the kidnapping with internal security forces since Sunday. 

Mawlawi said he was also in contact with the Kingdom’s ambassador to Lebanon, Waleed Bukhari, regarding the incident. 

“With an iron fist, we work to liberate any citizen who is exposed to any harm on Lebanese soil,” Malawi tweeted. 

“What happened affects Lebanon’s relationship with its brothers, and the perpetrators will be punished harshly,” he added. 

A political observer described the kidnapping of the Saudi as “a very dangerous, reprehensible and unacceptable matter with suspicious aims.”

Bukhari met with the commander of the Lebanese army, General Joseph Aoun, on Monday, according to reports.