RIYADH: French multinational giant Thales Group has voiced its support for Saudi Arabia’s national defense production. Thales serves the defense, aerospace, transport and security sectors.
Thales chairman and CEO Patrice Caine was in Riyadh on Saturday giving an overview of the group’s regional activities. He affirmed Thales’ commitment to assisting Saudi localize its defense industry, in line with Vision 2030.
“Our strategy is to localize activities and further develop capabilities in the region through training and knowledge-transfer programs within our defense as well as security and civil businesses,” Caine said.
“A big step toward this is through the opportunity to localize part of the manufacturing element of our business here in the region. Thales has partnered with Saudi companies to produce certain products specifically for the Saudi market within the Kingdom. This is something we are extremely proud of as a company, where it will allow us to contribute to the development of the Kingdom’s economy in line with Vision 2030.”
Caine praised the launch of Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) in May, calling it “a great initiative” and claiming that Thales already has “great ideas” to be developed in partnership with it.
Thales is ramping up its presence in the region, he said, with the Middle East defense market set to reach $180 billion by 2020. Caine noted that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are in the world’s top 10 spenders on defense.
“At the moment, roughly 60 percent of our projects in the region are defense-related,” Caine added. “We are … trusted to assist armed forces to achieve and maintain tactical superiority and strategic independence over any form of threat.”
Caine explained that Thales currently serves five markets in the region: defense, security, ground transportation, aeronautics, and satellites.
Referring to the blossoming Saudi-Thales relationship, Caine noted: “A key involvement for us is the security of the holy sites in Saudi Arabia — Makkah and Madinah — which is supported by Thales’ technology.”
In terms of physical presence, Thales’ operations cover the entire Kingdom through its offices in Riyadh, Jubail, and Jeddah. “We have over 700 employees including 30 percent Saudis covering the group’s entire sector portfolio,” the Thales chief explained.
French giant Thales lends support for Saudi military industry
French giant Thales lends support for Saudi military industry
Saudi Arabia condemns Israeli attempts to undermine UNRWA efforts
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Saturday condemned attempts by Israeli authorities to undermine efforts of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees by labelling it a terrorist organization.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Israeli criticism of UNRWA seeks to strip “immunity from employees who are doing their duty to alleviate the severity of the humanitarian catastrophe that the Palestinian people are going through.”
The ministry said that Israel must abide by international law and stop obstructing the work of international organizations.
On Friday, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini called on Israel to stop its campaign against the organization, saying: “Israeli officials are not only threatening the work of our staff and mission, they are also delegitimising UNRWA by effectively characterising it as a terrorist organization that fosters extremism and labelling UN leaders as terrorists who collude with Hamas.”
UNRWA, which coordinates nearly all aid to Gaza, has been in crisis since January, when Israel accused about a dozen of its 13,000 Gaza employees of being involved in the Oct. 7 attack.
(With AFP)
Riyadh forum paves way for museum sector evolution
- Saudi commission launches Museum Training Academy
- The platform offered foundational courses, a career path, and a customized AI large language model tool.
RIYADH: The inaugural International Conference for Education and Innovation in Museums, organized by the Saudi Museums Commission, began in Riyadh on Saturday with the theme “Explore and Learn to Innovate.”
The event aims to facilitate idea exchange and progress within the museum sector, regionally and globally, through panel discussions, workshops and thought-provoking conversations.
Attendees explored the latest advances and emerging trends in museum education and innovation.
Taghreed Al-Saraj, the Museums Commission’s general manager of education and talent development, introduced the Museum Training Academy.
“MTA is the world’s first simulated AI-powered platform for education and career development in the global museum community.”
Al-Saraj said that the platform offered foundational courses, a career path, and a customized AI large language model tool.
“If you’re a practicing museum professional, MTA will support your developmental needs within your current specialty and provide access to knowledge about other departments and job roles, enhancing collaboration with colleagues.”
The academy will soon have master classes for those currently in leadership roles, based on the real-world experiences of museum leaders and researchers.
“By understanding the specialist functions of divisions, departments and teams within museums of all sizes, we have identified over 140 unique job roles and studied the skills and personality traits that are associated with different museum career paths,” Al-Saraj said.
Al-Saraj highlighted the platform’s ability to support the growth of a vibrant museum sector and benefit various stakeholders, including students, recent graduates, museum professionals and the public.
“MTA has been developed based on the results of close to two years of extensive research into the organizations of museums from large international groups to smaller, independent museums to learn about their organizational structures.”
Under the commission’s sponsorship, an agreement was signed between SOAS University of London and Effat University in Jeddah for the first joint postgraduate diploma in museum studies in Saudi Arabia.
Adam Habib, vice-chancellor of SOAS University of London, and Reem Al-Madani, dean of admissions at Effat University, signed the agreement.
Habib said that “universities and academics can take a long time to negotiate and get things done, but the Saudi Museum Commission facilitated and initiated that through our program with Effat University.”
He was speaking during a panel discussion titled “Collaboration between Museums and Universities.”
“The Museums Commission underscored the urgency of creating important programs, underwrote some of the costs, which is one of the biggest debates that happens in universities, and brought in public resources to enable this partnership.”
Through this tertiary partnership, students at Effat University have already begun their first semester in an experiential learning environment.
Habib said that skillsets are normally thought of as simply the theory that needs to be imparted, and that the actual application happens in the job market when a graduate goes to work.
“But what the Museums Commission puts on the table is the importance of an experiential learning process that we want to ensure that our graduates, when they come out of the program, are in a position to start operating immediately,” he said.
This idea of experiential learning in museums by shadowing professionals was particularly important.
Al-Saraj said that developing a blended, experiential learning program required a balance between global knowledge and local expertise to create a robust curriculum.
Al-Madani added that “there are challenges in creating a schedule that accommodates different modes of learning, different educational systems, and different criteria.”
Despite these challenges, she said that blended learning offered a promising solution for museum studies and entry into the industry.
Saudi Arabia, Alibaba partners to market KSA dates globally
- The Kingdom exported dates worth SR644 million ($172 million) in the first quarter of 2024
RIYADH: A delegation from the National Center for Palms and Dates has visited Alibaba Group Holding’s headquarters in China to boost Saudi date sales internationally, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.
The aim was to establish a partnership enabling 23 Saudi date companies to use Alibaba’s e-commerce platform to market Saudi dates in international markets.
During the visit, a forum showcased companies from Saudi Arabia and China, and discussions were held to boost trade exchanges. Additionally, agreements and memoranda of understanding were signed to bolster Saudi date exports.
This working visit is part of a collaboration between Saudi date companies and the Alibaba Group, following an agreement signed in Riyadh last December. There has been a 120 percent increase in Saudi date exports to China over the past year.
The Kingdom exported dates worth SR644 million ($172 million) in the first quarter of 2024, marking a 13.7 percent rise compared to the corresponding period last year when exports amounted to SR566 million.
Saudi Arabia exports dates to many countries. In some, such as Austria, Norway, Argentina, Brazil, Portugal, Germany and Canada, exports grew by more than 100 percent. Exports grew by 69 percent to Morocco, 61 percent to Indonesia, 41 percent to South Korea, 33 percent to the UK, 29 percent to the US, and 16 percent to Malaysia.
Saudi Arabia has more than 36 million palm trees and an annual date production exceeding 1.6 million tons, which secures it the top rank in date exports.
The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture seeks to improve the quality of farm products by applying good agricultural practices and adopting quality standards in factories, SPA reported.
HR Ministry launches new phase for localization contracts
RIYADH: The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development on Saturday commenced the second phase of the electronic service for documenting contracts related to the localization of operation and maintenance in public entities, through the Qiwa electronic platform.
The second phase applies the decision to large enterprises, while the third phase, set to begin on Dec. 1, will include all other enterprise sizes.
The ministry aims to monitor the localization of operation and maintenance contracts in public entities, and ensure that enterprises comply with the targeted localization percentages in those contracts.
The move supports the ministry’s efforts to increase job opportunities for Saudi men and women in the labor market, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The decision applies to enterprises contracting with government agencies and companies where the state holds a minimum 51 percent stake, covering various contracts including operation and maintenance, city cleaning, road maintenance, catering and IT.
Enterprises with such contracts must now upload contract data via the localization service on Qiwa.
OIC chief praises Uzbekistan’s cultural and scientific heritage
- Taha meets Uzbek Senate Chairperson Tanzila Narbaeva in Tashkent
RIYADH: Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Hissein Brahim Taha met with Chairperson of the Senate of Uzbekistan Tanzila Narbaeva in Tashkent recently, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.
During the meeting, which covered various regional and global issues on the OIC agenda, Taha praised Uzbekistan for its rich cultural and scientific heritage, and emphasized that the OIC City of Tourism award — awarded to Khiva in Uzbekistan for 2024 — recognizes the government of Uzbekistan’s efforts to develop the tourism sector and showcase that heritage.
He expressed appreciation for Uzbekistan’s hosting of the 12th Islamic Conference of Tourism Ministers in Khiva on June 1 and 2, which will, Taha said, “significantly contribute to promoting tourism and cultural exchange among OIC member states.”
Taha also acknowledged Uzbekistan’s socioeconomic progress, noting its significant efforts toward regional socioeconomic integration.
Regarding Palestine, the OIC chief stressed the efforts being made to halt Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip, as well as the need for an immediate ceasefire and the provision of adequate and sustainable humanitarian aid to Gazans.
On Afghanistan, Taha commended Uzbekistan’s role in promoting peace, security, stability, and socioeconomic development, as well as providing humanitarian assistance.
Taha and Narbaeva also discussed the OIC’s initiatives to counter Islamophobia and anti-Islamic sentiments, emphasizing the importance of promoting Islamic principles of peace and tolerance through education, interfaith dialogue, and media outreach.
Additionally, the meeting addressed socioeconomic and developmental programs focused on education, scientific cooperation, sustainable development, and the alleviation of poverty.
Cultural cooperation was also discussed, with an emphasis on preserving and promoting the heritage of OIC member states through publications, exhibitions, and cultural exchanges.
Narbaeva expressed Uzbekistan’s support for various OIC initiatives, highlighting its active collaboration with the OIC in fields ranging from culture and heritage to the empowerment of youth and women.
While in Uzbekistan, Taha also met with the country’s foreign minister, Bakhtiyor Saidov, and discussed a wide range of international issues.
