RIYADH: Special women’s detention centers will be set up to hold anyone arrested after the ban on driving is lifted.
Labor and Social Development Ministry spokesman Khaled Aba Al-Khail told Al-Watan daily on Thursday that the ministry has been coordinating with the Interior Ministry about cases that would entail detention.
Sources told Al-Watan that universities had signed agreements with the General Directorate of Traffic Police to open driving schools within their campuses to train women wishing to learn to drive. Arrangements are underway to prepare these schools by the end of February 2018.
Sources from Noura University said that trainers’ positions would be for Saudi women who hold international driving licenses.
These women would undertake a training course to improve their expertise and familiarize themselves with the basics of safe driving.
The sources added that the driving schools would target not just university staff, but interested women from outside the university.
Special centers to hold arrested female drivers in Saudi Arabia
Special centers to hold arrested female drivers in Saudi Arabia
Pakistan ambassador reflects on one-year tenure in the Kingdom
- Envoy says Makkah Route Initiative is a great convenience for pilgrims
RIYADH: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have the closest of relations, brotherly and fraternal, said Ahmad Farooq, Pakistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, reflecting on his one-year tenure in Riyadh.
“This has been a very rewarding experience for me being in a country where Pakistan is so well respected and we have such a strong bond between our leadership and our people,” Farooq told Arab News.
Farooq took charge as head of mission on May 20, 2023, and has now completed a year since his tenure began.
The year he has spent in the country, he said, reinforced “all facets of our relations and it has given me the opportunity (to see) how we can take it further, make it stronger, and bring the countries closer, especially on the economic side.”
The ambassador highlighted four major areas that he described as “most promising” in strengthening economic partnerships between the two countries. These are information technology, agriculture, mining and defense.
“Information technology is a priority area for the Kingdom under its Vision 2030 and on the Pakistan side we have a very strong ecosystem of companies and IT experts with a long history of providing products and solutions worldwide.”
The ambassador said that bringing Pakistani IT companies into the Kingdom is another goal that will welcome new talent and promote business opportunities and investment in the sector.
Agriculture and food security are other fields in which the two countries can cooperate further, he said.
“Pakistan has a very strong tradition of agriculture and what we want to do is that Pakistan becomes a source of food security for the Kingdom,” he added.
The ambassador explained that Pakistan looks to the Kingdom “for investment in our agriculture sector that translates into more production and contributes to the Kingdom’s food security requirements.”
He added that mining is another area where Saudi Arabia and Pakistan can collaborate.
“This (mining) again is a priority area for the Kingdom under its Vision 2030, and Pakistan has immense mineral resources which still have to be exploited,” he said.
“We have had the strongest sector historically where the two countries have collaborated together, which is the defense sector,” he added.
Farooq described as “huge” the changes he has seen in the Kingdom since his return.
“My first exposure to Riyadh was almost 25 years back, I came as a student to learn Arabic at King Saud University. When I compare the Kingdom from that time, it is a huge transformation and the society has opened up. I’m not only talking about the economic transformation but the social and the cultural transformation is huge and it’s very welcoming,” he said.
The ambassador said that everywhere he looked women are actively contributing to society.
Discussing daily life in Riyadh the ambassador pointed to the many options for entertainment and fine dining.
“The Kingdom being home to the Two Holy Mosques is something that is very close to my heart and I am really enjoying it, having that access and being able to visit Madinah and Makkah when you have the desire to do so,” he said.
The ambassador also highlighted his deep appreciation for the Kingdom’s dedication to enhancing the Hajj experience for pilgrims in Makkah.
“Pakistan has amongst the largest number of pilgrims coming for Hajj, and also if you look at the data we are amongst the largest number of people who come for Umrah,” he said. “This year alone we are expecting around 160,000 Hajj pilgrims coming from Pakistan.”
Farooq said the Makkah Route Initiative began two years from Islamabad and that it has turned out to be a big success.
“It’s a great convenience for the pilgrims coming from Pakistan,” the envoy said.
Many of the pilgrims coming for Hajj are elderly, he said, and, for them, it is convenient to complete all the immigration procedures in Islamabad. When they arrive in the Kingdom they can simply leave the airport and have their luggage delivered to their hotel.
“It’s a big help, and we are very grateful to the Saudi authorities, they are putting in a lot of resources and effort into running it and it is a very positive movement and a big help to the pilgrims,” Farooq said.
This year, after high demand and success of the initiative, the Kingdom has extended the program to Karachi.
“Both the north and south are now covered by the Makkah Route and we look forward to expanding it to other cities in the future,” the ambassador said.
Kuwaiti Emir receives Saudi foreign minister
KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah on Monday received Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who is on an official visit, at Bayan Palace of the Gulf nation’s capital
During their discussions, Prince Faisal conveyed to Sheikh Meshal the greetings from Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as well as ‘their wishes of further progress and prosperity to Kuwait and its people,’ state news agency SPA reported.
The meeting was attended by Kuwaiti Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Al-Yahya and other senior officials.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived a day earlier and was welcomed by his Kuwaiti counterpart Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya and the Kingdom’s ambassador to Kuwait Prince Sultan bin Saad bin Khalid.
Kingdom’s chip production, digital economy under focus at tech event
- Future of Semiconductors Forum June 5-6 aims to promote domestic manufacturing, research and development
RIYADH: The third Future of Semiconductors Forum 2024 in Riyadh on June 5 and 6 will see experts discuss ways to boost domestic production of chips and the nation’s digital economy, according to a statement released by the organizers on Sunday.
The event will be hosted by the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.
The participants will discuss production including the sourcing of raw materials and manufacturing of completed microchips. Additionally, they will examine the application of this technology in space exploration, quantum technologies, 6G communications, electric vehicles, and integrated sensors to enable smart cities.
Dr. Munir Eldesouki, president of KACST, said that the forum reflects the goals and priorities set by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in research, development and innovation.
Dr. Tony Chan, president of KAUST, said the forum offers opportunities to enhance the digital economy, advance research cooperation between various entities, and exchange knowledge about best practices in the electronic chip industry.
Among those expected to attend are policymakers, industry leaders, and scholars in semiconductor technology.
Notable participants include Shuji Nakamura, a Nobel laureate in physics for his development of blue/green light-emitting and violet-laser diodes; and Kang Wang, who serves as co-director of the Center for Quantum Science and Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Also expected is Steven P. DenBaars from the University of California-Santa Barbara, renowned for holding more than 190 US patents and co-founding the Institute of Engineering Electricity and Electronics with four photonics and electronics companies.
Discussions will also take place on the Saudi Semiconductors Program, a regional initiative with 16 Saudi Arabia universities that has trained over 400 researchers and students in microchip design and manufacturing.
Those interested can register at https://semiconductors.kacst.gov.sa.
First group of Bahraini, Jordanian pilgrims depart for Saudi Arabia
CAIRO: The first group of pilgrims from Bahrain and Jordan left for Saudi Arabia on Sunday to perform Hajj.
Nawaf bin Mohammed Al Maawda, Bahrain’s minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Waqf and chairman of the high committee for Hajj and Umrah affairs, bid the pilgrims farewell as they left for Saudi Arabia.
The minister commended the efforts of Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in serving the pilgrims and providing what was required for them to perform Hajj comfortably and safely.
The Jordanian minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and Holy Sites, Mohammad Khalayleh, on Sunday attended the farewell ceremony of the first cohort of Jordanian pilgrims.
More groups are scheduled to depart this week, state-run Petra News Agency reported.
At the ceremony, Khalayleh emphasized the ministry’s keenness to find ways around the difficulties and hardships facing Jordanian pilgrims on their trip to Saudi Arabia.
Khalayleh praised the ministry’s “great efforts” to prepare for the Hajj season according to a precise program.
Additionally, Khalayleh stressed the importance of adhering to the ministry’s instructions, and Saudi regulations and laws in place to organize Hajj.
First group of Sudanese pilgrims arrives in Makkah
RIYADH: The first group of Sudanese pilgrims arrived in Makkah on Sunday for Hajj, the Saudi Press Agency said.
The 305 pilgrims, out of 8,000 Sudanese expected to perform the rituals, were received with gifts and roses upon their arrival.
Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and requires every adult Muslim to undertake the journey to the holy Islamic sites in Makkah at least once in their lifetime if they are financially and physically able.
Sudan’s Hajj and Umrah official Mohammed Othman Al-Khalifa extended his thanks and appreciation to the Saudi leadership and people.
He commended the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah’s efforts to facilitate performing Hajj for the Sudanese people amid the crisis their country is going through.
