Saudi Arabia to start localizing 35% of private dental medicine sector in 2024

Saudi Arabia to start localizing 35% of private dental medicine sector in 2024
Through the move, the ministries aim to provide more job opportunities for citizens across the Kingdom. (SPA/File)
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Updated 14 September 2023
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Saudi Arabia to start localizing 35% of private dental medicine sector in 2024

Saudi Arabia to start localizing 35% of private dental medicine sector in 2024
  • Private-sector organizations will receive help to hire Saudis, through a package of incentives that includes support for recruitment and the training of new employees
  • Dr. Abdul Aziz Aldosari, a dentist in Riyadh, said the move will not only ‘greatly benefit the practitioners in the future but the community as well’

MAKKAH: Saudi authorities will begin the process of localizing 35 percent of the Kingdom’s private dentistry sector on March 10, 2024, the ministries of human resources and health announced on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development will provide private-sector organizations with help to hire Saudis, through a package of incentives that includes support for the recruitment process and for the training of new employees. They will also be prioritized for support and employment programs provided by the Human Resources Development Fund.

The aim is to provide more job opportunities for Saudi citizens across the Kingdom and create an environment that supports a balanced labor market, increases the participation of locals in the work force, and improves productivity and performance, the health ministry said.

Dr. Haifa Al-Rashid, a dental consultant and owner of Haifa Al-Rashid Dental Clinics, told Arab News: “The decision to localize the private dentistry sector is a wise and wonderful decision. It is one of the steps to achieve the Kingdom’s Vision, which is progressing rapidly and promisingly for all the nation, and whose positive impact is felt daily in our professional and social lives.

“This agreement and this localization will, without a doubt, have a clear impact on the dental profession and will make a difference in the final outcome.

“Empowering national competencies will have a great impact on covering professional exposure in this field. As everyone knows, dentistry is one of the most important fields in public health. Paying attention to it, practically and by raising awareness, will inevitably lead to raising the level of public health in society. This has a great economic impact that saves the state a lot of money.”

Al-Rashid added that increased localization in health-related professions such as dentistry will help to enhance the Saudi health sector and the economy, amid a growing culture of health in the country.

“This decision will raise the level of services provided to citizens and residents,” she said. “It will provide a more suitable environment for national health cadres, who have studied in the best universities inside and outside the Kingdom, to provide competitive, quality services at the national and international levels.

“Supporting and localizing these national cadres will lead us to a competitive market that seeks to provide what is best and ideal for citizens and residents, and thus capital circulation.”

It is also important to localize other fields and specialisms related to dentistry, including oral health, dental assistants and professional technicians, Al-Rashid added.

“We aspire for the HR ministry to take the initiative to strengthen cooperation between universities, institutes and itself to support and train them in a way that is commensurate with the labor market and the desired levels, according to what was stated in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030,” she said.

“This support will have a significant impact in creating a balanced atmosphere that enhances the ecosystem of this profession and brings it to the ideal level.”

Dr. Ali Alfarsi, the director of the Dental Medicine Department at Jazan Health Ministry, told Arab News that the provision of high quality dental services is important for all groups in society.

“Everyone is prone to facing oral problems which require a large number of service providers to cater to the large and urgent demand in the Kingdom,” he said.

As a result, officials are keen to create an appropriate environment in which Saudi medical professionals can perform their jobs to the highest standards of quality, he added.

“We aspire to high employment rates, paired with high quality standards, government supervision and continuous follow-up to provide the doctors with opportunities,” Alfarsi said.

This requires efforts to support the ambitions of prospective medical professionals and develop their skills and efficiency to help gain the trust of society in their capabilities, he added.

Practicing Saudi doctors are fully qualified and competent, having passed all of the academic requirements, whether educational or practical, Alfarsi said, adding: We trust in the efficiency of Saudi universities and they provide the most competent outputs, internationally, in all medical fields, including dentistry.”

Dr. Abdul Aziz Aldosari, a dentist at Riyadh’s First Health Cluster, said: “This decision made me happy, as well as many of my unemployed colleagues in the field of dentistry. It will have a positive impact in terms of remedial quality and in terms of growing the national experts in this field.

“I really hope that we will reap the fruits of this decision and cooperate with the private sector to grant Saudi doctors the confidence to gain practical skills in this field.

“Not only will it greatly benefit the practitioners in the future, but the community as well.”


UNESCO listing of Uruq Bani Ma’arid Reserve puts Saudi conservation efforts in the limelight

UNESCO listing of Uruq Bani Ma’arid Reserve puts Saudi conservation efforts in the limelight
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UNESCO listing of Uruq Bani Ma’arid Reserve puts Saudi conservation efforts in the limelight

UNESCO listing of Uruq Bani Ma’arid Reserve puts Saudi conservation efforts in the limelight
  • Decision seen as recognition of Kingdom’s commitment to protecting and maintaining natural ecosystems and cultural heritage
  • Inscription of the reserve on UNESCO World Heritage List comes more than 30 years after it was designated a protected zone

LONDON: Uruq Bani Ma’arid Reserve has become the first natural site in Saudi Arabia to be added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, joining the six man-made heritage locations in the Kingdom that were previously inscribed.

In the words of Prince Badr bin Abdullah, the Saudi minister of culture, when he announced the organization’s on September 20, the addition of the site “contributes to highlighting the importance of natural heritage on a global scale and reflects the outstanding value of the reserve.”

But the Kingdom’s dedication to the protection of its natural environment is far from a new phenomenon. The recognition by UNESCO reflects a long-running commitment by Saudi Arabia to the preservation of a diverse and internationally important natural environment that stretches back almost four decades.

The listing of the Uruq Bani Ma’arid Reserve, on the edge of Rub Al-Khali, also known as the Empty Quarter, comes more than 30 years after the area was designated a protected zone.

But it was not the first such site afforded protected status. That honor went to Harrat Al-Harrah, a 13,775 square kilometer volcanic plateau in the north of the country, which was designated as a reserve in 1986 — 37 years ago.

Uruq Bani Ma’arid joined the list in 1992 and since then the flora and fauna of the reserve have been sensitively reintroduced and protected, a commitment that has transformed what was once a near-barren landscape of more than 12,500 square kilometers into a haven of diversity.

In 1994, by which time 10 areas had been accorded protected status, a paper published in GeoJournal recorded the sorry state of Uruq Bani Ma’arid, an area that had once been rich in wildlife.

It was, for example, here that the Arabian oryx, by that time extinct in the wild, had last been sighted. In fact, as the paper — titled “Protected Areas in Saudi Arabia: Sustainable Use of Natural Resources” — noted, “Uruq Bani Ma’arid used to have many animal species that are now extinct.”

The problem, which had prompted the official intervention in the area in 1992, was that the age-old balance of sustainable use of natural resources had been upset by the rapid growth of the human population in the Kingdom and the incursion of roads and other infrastructure into once-remote areas, upsetting entire ecosystems in the process.

“People still remember vividly the diversity of fauna that the area had, and the tales of their hunting are still related,” Abdullah Alwelaie, of the Imam Mohammed bin Saud Islamic University’s Department of Geography in Riyadh, wrote in the 1994 GeoJournal paper.

FASTFACT

Uruq Bani Ma’arid Reserve has taken its place alongside six other UNESCO World Heritage sites in Saudi Arabia.

The slopes of Jabal Tuwayq in the west of the reserve were once home to ibex, while the wadis, desert plains and sand dunes had teemed with Arabian oryx, sand gazelle, and Arabian ostrich.

“They are now all extinct in the wild in this area,” wrote Alwelaie, who offered some consolation when he noted that some wild species continued to hold out, including the Arabian wolf, sand fox, wild cat, sand cat, and honey badger.

Almost 30 years later, many of these species and more besides are once again thriving in the reserve — and, indeed, across the other 13 reserves in Saudi Arabia. These 14 special landscapes account for about five percent of the Kingdom’s territory — a total area of more than 82,000 square kilometers.

This, however, is just a start. Under the wide-ranging Saudi Green Initiative, a “whole-of-society initiative” launched in 2021 “to combat climate change, improve quality of life and protect the planet for future generations” as part of the Kingdom’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2060, Saudi Arabia has pledged to protect 30 percent of its terrestrial and marine landscape by 2030. The initiative is also committed to planting 10 billion trees across the country in the coming decades.

In the meantime, Uruq Bani Ma’arid has taken its place among the six other UNESCO World Heritage sites in Saudi Arabia. These include the Hegra Archaeological Site in AlUla (which was the first to be inscribed, in 2008), At-Turaif District in Diriyah (added to the list in 2010), Historic Jeddah, Gateway to Makkah (2014), Rock Art in the Hail Region (2015), Al-Ahsa Oasis — An Evolving Cultural Landscape (2018), and Ḥima Cultural Area (2021).

In January this year, Saudi Arabia was elected chair of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee by a unanimous vote among the 20 other member states that are party to the 1972 World Heritage Convention.

This month, Riyadh hosted the 45th annual session of the committee. It was, as the Kingdom’s permanent delegation to UNESCO tweeted, “a new chapter in our evolving history.”

The extent to which Saudi Arabia is focused on its natural and cultural heritage, which is apparent in its careful development of historic sites as AlUla and Diriyah as global tourism destinations, is also reflected in the list of 14 sites that have been registered on UNESCO’s “Tentative List” of locations that states intend to consider for nomination to the main list.

Six of these sites were added to the Tentative List this year alone. They include a collection of prehistoric stone structures discovered at 10 locations across the Kingdom; ancient dams that tell the history of water management; a collection of five sites that together are representative of Saudi Arabia’s oil-industrial heritage, including the famous “Well Number 7” in Dammam, and Tapline, Aramco’s 1,648-kilometer Trans Arab Pipeline that between 1950 and 1976 carried oil from Qaisumah on the Gulf coast to the Mediterranean port of Sidon in Lebanon.

Two of the recently submitted sites, however, could join the Uruq Bani Ma’arid Reserve as natural sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

One is the “Bioclimatic Refugia of Western Arabia,” a series of mountain crests, woodlands and wetlands that harbor the surviving relics of ancient plant and animal species.

The other is “the rural cultural landscapes of the Sarawat Mountains,” a collection of seven landscapes along the southernmost stretch of the Hijaz Mountains, prized for their “unique geographic characteristics and dramatic mountain setting (which) offered a secure and defensible environment for human settlement, protected agriculture, and fortified trade halts.”

These projects feed directly into the ambitious aims of the SGI, the third annual forum of which will take place this year during the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference, COP28, at Expo City in Dubai on Dec. 4.

As Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Public Investment Fund and chairman of Saudi Aramco, said last year during the second SGI forum, held during COP27 in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh, the initiative represents “a turning point in green efforts” that has “already changed both the conversation and the facts, and promises a green future anchored around Saudi Arabia’s ambition to reach net-zero emissions by 2060, turning national ambitions into real actions that positively impact the world.”

On the ground in Saudi Arabia, that ambition is symbolized by the rapidly growing and spectacular list of protected environments, including its newly internationally recognized flagship, the Uruq Bani Ma’arid Reserve.

Rewilding Arabia
Return of the leopard is at the heart of plans to conserve and regenerate Saudi Arabia’s landscapes and wildlife
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Saudi Arabia strongly condemns ‘cowardly terrorist attacks’ in Pakistan

Saudi Arabia strongly condemns ‘cowardly terrorist attacks’ in Pakistan
Updated 5 min 56 sec ago
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Saudi Arabia strongly condemns ‘cowardly terrorist attacks’ in Pakistan

Saudi Arabia strongly condemns ‘cowardly terrorist attacks’ in Pakistan

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Friday said it strongly condemned and denounced the “cowardly terrorist attacks” that struck a number of provinces in Pakistan, killing and injuring several people.
A suspected suicide bomber blew himself up among a crowd of people celebrating the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday in southwestern Pakistan on Friday, killing at least 52 people and wounding nearly 70 others, authorities said, in one of the country’s deadliest attacks targeting civilians in months.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated the Kingdom’s firm stance on renouncing violence and terrorism, expressing full solidarity with Pakistan and its people.
The ministry expressed the Kingdom’s sincere condolences to the families of the victims, the Pakistani government and people, wishing the injured a speedy recovery, it said in a statement.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Mastung, a district of Baluchistan province.
The second attack, in neighboring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killed five people at a mosque, according to rescue officials. The roof collapsed trapping about 30 to 40 people under the rubble.
The attack involved two explosions, one of which was at the mosque gate and the other in the compound, an official said.
(With AP and Reuters)


Royal Commission for Riyadh City hosts Riyadh Expo 2030 seminar in Paris

Royal Commission for Riyadh City hosts Riyadh Expo 2030 seminar in Paris
Updated 29 September 2023
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Royal Commission for Riyadh City hosts Riyadh Expo 2030 seminar in Paris

Royal Commission for Riyadh City hosts Riyadh Expo 2030 seminar in Paris
  • Representatives from member countries of the Bureau International des Expositions and global experts attended the seminar
  • Princess Reema bint Bandar said Saudi Arabia is becoming the fastest-growing economy among the G20 countries

PARUS: The Royal Commission for Riyadh City and the Riyadh Expo 2030 team co-organized a seminar focusing on the expo’s sub-theme “Prosperity for All” on Thursday in Paris.
Representatives from member countries of the Bureau International des Expositions and global experts attended the seminar that was hosted by RCRC, the body responsible for Saudi Arabia’s bid to host World Expo 2030, according to a media statement.
The Kingdom’s Ambassador to the US Princess Reema bint Bandar said her country is becoming the fastest-growing economy among the G20 members, with non-oil government revenues having more than doubled.
“The Kingdom achieved the highest employment rate in its history, increased participation of women in the workforce, and registered a significant growth of small and medium enterprises, with nearly 40 percent of startup businesses owned by women,” she said.
Meanwhile, Fahad Al-Ruwaily, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to France, highlighted the Kingdom’s commitment to finding common solutions, stating: “As we seek to find shared solutions, today I want to pledge to you that Saudi Arabia is committed to working together as a partner with all nations to achieve our common aspirations. We are committed to utilizing Riyadh Expo 2030 to further catalyze (the) collaboration necessary to achieve our shared goals.
“We are committed to sharing the opportunities of building the expo with the whole world, and our vision of Riyadh Expo 2030 is as an expo ‘built by the world, for the world.’”
Al-Ruwaily highlighted the strength of cooperation and partnership between Saudi Arabia and France and the broad development it has witnessed in recent years.
The seminar was part of a series organized by the RCRC in Paris under the theme “Prosperity for All.”
It discussed ways to address inequalities in the world, with every nation contributing through the prism of its culture, context, and aspirations, ultimately working toward a more inclusive world that meets the needs of humanity. 


Riyadh exhibition pays tribute to Zakia Al-Dubaikhi, acclaimed painter, loving mother

Riyadh exhibition pays tribute to Zakia Al-Dubaikhi, acclaimed painter, loving mother
Updated 29 September 2023
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Riyadh exhibition pays tribute to Zakia Al-Dubaikhi, acclaimed painter, loving mother

Riyadh exhibition pays tribute to Zakia Al-Dubaikhi, acclaimed painter, loving mother
  • The exhibition is being hosted by Al-Dubaikhi’s daughter, Basma Al-Zamil, and the artist’s husband, in celebration of the painter’s profound work and legacy
  • She began painting at a young age, encouraged by her late father who bought her all the required tools

RIYADH: The late Saudi artist Zakia Al-Dubaikhi’s artwork is showcased at the “Once Upon a Time” exhibition at Ahlam Gallery in Riyadh.
Her work focused on Saudi women’s rights at a time when it was not common to do so, while celebrating multicultural neighborhoods in the Eastern Province.
The exhibition is being hosted by Al-Dubaikhi’s daughter, Basma Al-Zamil, and the artist’s husband, in celebration of the painter’s profound work and legacy.
Al-Zamil said: “It is important to me in this exhibition to keep her legacy and her name alive and to kind of help people know that art never dies.”
Al-Dubaikhi was born in Dammam, in a multicultural neighborhood with narrow streets, and played and grew up with children from different nationalities.
She began painting at a young age, encouraged by her late father who bought her all the required tools, from brushes to painting colors and canvases.
In the 1980s, at a time when being a Saudi artist was uncommon, Al-Dubaikhi overcame many obstacles, taking painting lessons from renowned female Saudi artists, which led to her work being showcased in Dammam, Riyadh, and Jeddah.
Later focusing on her family and her career as an English teacher, Al-Dubaikhi parted company with her brushes but never deserted her artistic inclinations, using her knowledge to help her students.
Her artistic mindset and love for painting never left her and she aspired to present a solo exhibition and open an art gallery.
Her ambitions were never achieved, though, and she died in November 2018.
Al-Zamil and her father have showcased Al-Dubaikhi’s artwork in several cities around the Kingdom, including Dammam, Al-Ahsa, Riyadh, and Jeddah, and outside the Kingdom in Manama, Bahrain.
The “Once Upon a Time” exhibition opened its doors on Sept. 27 and runs until Oct. 2.
Tania Mehanna Cantone, the wife of the Italian ambassador to the Kingdom, attended the opening day of the exhibition.
Pointing at one of Al-Dubaikhi’s paintings, Cantone said: “It is an expression of what Saudi women were feeling in the middle of between 2000 and 2016, and really it touches each one of us because you see the call for freedom.
“You see this hope in the eyes of the different ladies, lots of ladies that she has been painting, and it is a beautiful way of looking at Saudi Arabia.”
Another guest of honor on opening night was Ahmed bin Abdullah Al-Maghlouth, an artist and cartoonist from the Eastern Province.
He said: “I was very happy to attend this exhibition. I was impressed with her interest in the environment and heritage portrayed through her paintings, and the depth of her work showcasing the history of the Kingdom and the Gulf region at large.”
Al-Dubaikhi’s paintings reveal her take on Saudi women’s rights, along with her other interests, including Indian culture and her love of cats.
Al-Zamil said: “She was living with neighbors from different nationalities in the Eastern Province, and she was interested in Indian culture, music, and food.”
Al-Dubaikhi saw early changes toward women’s rights in the Kingdom just before her death.
Al-Zamil added: “My mother recorded a time in our history, and not too many artists were able to do that.
“In her humble way she covered the times of Saudi Arabia before Vision 2030 and after Vision 2030.”
“Once Upon a Time” is a walk through Al-Dubaikhi’s life, passing significant moments from her early childhood in the Eastern Province to her artistic journey and roles as Saudi artist and loving mother.
 


Melody festival’s pitch perfect celebration of Saudi music

Melody festival’s pitch perfect celebration of Saudi music
Updated 29 September 2023
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Melody festival’s pitch perfect celebration of Saudi music

Melody festival’s pitch perfect celebration of Saudi music
  • The festival opened with a poignant tribute to pioneers of Saudi composition
  • Singer Mohammed Abdu opened the musical evening with a stirring performance of compositions by Kadars and Idris

JEDDAH: The inaugural Kingdom’s Melody Festival is taking center stage in Jeddah, captivating audiences with a celebration of Saudi Arabia’s musical heritage.
The three-day festival began on Thursday with a mission to illuminate the history of music and composers in the Kingdom, highlighting their deep-rooted cultural ties to the local community.
The festival opened with a poignant tribute to pioneers of Saudi composition.
Deputy Minister of Culture and Vice Chairman of the Music Commission Hamed Fayez honored Saudi composer Abdulrab Idris and late artist Omar Kadars.
Singer Mohammed Abdu opened the musical evening with a stirring performance of compositions by Kadars and Idris.
Before the concert, Abdu said: “Kingdom’s Melody is a wonderful initiative by the Ministry of Culture. Today, we honor the distinguished figures in Saudi music, and this is a new beginning for us.”
The Jeddah Superdome was transformed into a vast musical tent, resonating with applause and cheers from a capacity audience mainly clad in the traditional Saudi shemagh, a red-and-white headscarf.
The festival continued with two events: “Send Love” allowed the audience to send greetings to beloved composers, while “Melodic Memories” showcased songs from various musical figures.
Samar Moghrabi told Arab News: “I am very happy about the Kingdom’s interest in Saudi song composers, and I thank the Ministry of Culture for this unique event.”
Shadi Tashkandi, who was attending with his family, said:, “This grand event brings together iconic artists who have shaped the musical history of our country. I am proud to attend this event in my beloved city, Jeddah.”
The festival also featured performances by Abdel Majeed Abdallah, who presented a selection of songs composed by Fawzi Mahsoon and Saleh Al-Shehri.
The final night promises a showcase by Saudi composer Abadi Al-Johar, featuring songs composed by Talal Bagher.
Complementing the performances, an accompanying exhibition narrated the stories and experiences that shaped Saudi music and its composers.
Jeddah’s historical significance in Saudi music was underlined, as diplomatic missions recorded the earliest Saudi musical compositions. Smart screens and high-definition speakers allowed visitors to explore Saudi music from its inception to the present.
The festival is set to become an annual event, with each year focusing on the influence of other cultures on Saudi music.
This initiative aligns with the Quality of Life program, part of the Vision 2030 framework, which strives to enhance cultural experiences and foster the arts in Saudi Arabia.