JEDDAH: This year, the number of female volunteers for Hajj reached more than 2,000, according to the founder and chairperson of volunteers’ committee of the Saudi Red Crescent Authority (SRCA) in the Makkah region and family medicine consultant, Asmaa Al-Rifai.
“The number of volunteers reached 2,500, which forms a huge motivation for the female volunteers,” Al-Rifai told Arab News.
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah volunteer program this year aims to serve the pilgrims under the slogan “Kon Awnan,” meaning “be helpful.”
The program tries to attract volunteers who wish to serve pilgrims, invest their energies, efforts, skills and specialties during the Hajj season through the initiative.
Al-Rifai pointed out that the program is proud of the Saudi youths who are willing to share their skills and experiences to serve pilgrims on a volunteer basis. Volunteers’ ages range from 20 to 40 years.
This is the first integrated medical, voluntary and therapeutic women’s team in the Arab world. The volunteers must attend specialized training sessions prepared by the authority after they qualify for participation by passing tests related to the medical field. Volunteers are preferred to come from medical and health majors and priority goes to students. Other participants should be qualified in the medical ambulatory field, international humanitarian and relief work, or disaster and crisis management.
The SRCA women’s volunteer team is divided into two sub-teams: One is the “Rufaida,” team for the Umrah season during Ramadan, and the other is the “Zubaida” team, which is deployed during the Hajj season.
The SRCA requires the volunteers to be either Saudi or daughters of a citizen, Al-Rifai added.
Abrar Al-Aidarous, president of the “Zubaida” team, told Arab News that “volunteers are required to attend a training workshop for cardiopulmonary resuscitation as we see a great number of cardiac cases annually in Hajj.”
The volunteers are distributed around the Grand Mosque where they start receiving cases few days before Hajj begins. The medicines provided for patients at the Grand Mosque are monitored and supervised by doctors on the scene, and groups are stationed to assist emergency cases. Volunteers have mobile medical equipment to assist serious cases that need an immediate transfer to the hospital.
Women’s contribution: Over 2,000 Saudi volunteers serve Hajj pilgrims
Women’s contribution: Over 2,000 Saudi volunteers serve Hajj pilgrims
Saudi House kicks off Davos with push on Vision 2030, AI platform and ‘humanizing’ tourism
- Saudi ministers dominate pre-summit spotlight at Saudi pavilion, touting Vision 2030’s next phase and human capital as key to global edge
- Ministry of Economy and Planning announced the SUSTAIN Platform which aims to accelerate AI-enabled, cross-sector collaboration for sustainable development
DAVOS: For regulars at the World Economic Forum, Monday in Davos is usually a chance to ease into the week, a time to reconnect, plan meetings and prepare for the intense schedule ahead.
This year, Saudi Arabia moved quickly to fill that lull, taking center stage with a packed program of panels ahead of Tuesday’s official opening.
At the Saudi House — the Kingdom’s official pavilion on the Promenade, returning after its debut as a standalone venue at the 2025 WEF Annual Meeting — Saudi ministers and global executives set out how the Kingdom sees the next phase of its transformation.
Established by the Ministry of Economy and Planning, the venue is pitched as a platform for international thought leaders to tackle the challenges, opportunities and solutions shaping the global economy.
Opening a session on the Kingdom’s role at this year’s Forum and the next phase of Vision 2030 — now in its 10th year and roughly two-thirds complete — Princess Reema bint Bandar, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US, said human capital “is the actual driver if you want a competitive, modern economy.”
She described one of the biggest achievements of the past decade as the emergence of a highly qualified cohort of young Saudis who could work anywhere in the world but “choose to come home, choose to build at home and choose to deliver at home,” calling this “the biggest symbol of the success of Vision 2030.”
Who can give you optimum access to opportunities while addressing risks? I contend that Saudi Arabia has been able to provide that formula.
Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi minister of investment
On the same panel, Minister of Finance Mohammed Aljadaan said this success is rooted in a “behavioral change” that has strengthened the Kingdom’s credibility with both international partners and its own citizens.
“Credibility comes from being very pragmatic, making sure that you maintain your fiscal policy discipline, but at the same time refocus your resources where it matters,” he said, warning that “markets will call your bluff if you’re not serious.”
The Saudi House, a cross-ministerial initiative led by the Ministry of Economy and Planning, is intended to underscore the Kingdom’s “commitment to global cooperation” by offering “a platform where visionary ideas are shared and shaped,” while showcasing opportunities and lessons from its “unprecedented national transformation.”
Echoing earlier comments to Arab News, Economy and Planning Minister Faisal Alibrahim said the Kingdom’s role as an anchor of stability has helped unlock its potential, stressing that while the objective is to decouple from reliance on a single commodity, “2030 is not the finishing line.”
Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi minister of investment, said Saudi Arabia has been able to enable access to opportunities while addressing major risks, arguing that few countries can match the Kingdom’s overall mix.
“No country has all of those to 100 percent,” he said. “But who can give you the mix that gives you optimum access to opportunities while addressing all of those risks?
“I contend that Saudi Arabia has been able to provide that formula and the proof is in the pudding,” noting that local investment has doubled in recent years to reach levels comparable with India and China.
While societal transformation dominated the morning discussions, the afternoon turned to technology, tourism, sport and culture, four strategic sectors expected to spearhead Vision 2030’s next phase.
The Ministry of Economy and Planning used the day to announce the SUSTAIN Platform, due to launch in 2026, which aims to accelerate AI-enabled, cross-sector collaboration for sustainable development.
The ministry said SUSTAIN will translate the Kingdom’s public and private-sector coordination mandate into a practical national tool to help government entities, businesses, investors, academia and civil society identify credible partners, form trusted coalitions and move initiatives “from planning to implementation more efficiently,” addressing a global challenge where fragmented partnerships often slow delivery and blunt impact.
“We are in a moment in time where technology may well impact the face of humanity,” said Dina Powell McCormick, recently appointed president and vice chairman of Meta, welcoming the Kingdom’s “desire” to partner with technology companies and its embrace of innovation.
Minister of Tourism Ahmed Alkhateeb, discussing how technology is being deployed in his sector, underlined that “in travel and tourism, people are very important. We learn about other people’s culture through interacting with people. We digitalize the unnecessary and humanize the necessary.”
He added that while technological transformation is a priority, “we don’t want to replace this big workforce with technology. I think we need to protect them in Saudi Arabia, where we’re being a model. I’m an advocate of keeping the people.”
Throughout the week, Saudi House will host more than 20 sessions, including over 10 accredited by the WEF, across six themes: Bold Vision, Insights for Impact, People and Human Capability, Quality of Life, Investment and Collaboration, and Welcoming the World.
The pavilion will also launch “NextOn,” a new series of influential and educational talks featuring leading global voices.
