JEDDAH: Safeguarding the environment and natural resources is an integral part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which calls for developing “sustainable, highly efficient production systems for plants, livestock, and fishery” products. Many projects and programs under the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture seek to fulfill that objective.
Young Saudis are showing an increasing interest in environmental sustainability and many are championing this cause through establishing businesses in the field or promoting environmental awareness.
One such enthusiast and businessman is 29-year-old Albara Lutfallah Qaid, founder and general director of EICO Arabia, in Jeddah. Qaid graduated from Middlesex University in London with a master’s degree in financial management. During his stay in the UK he became more aware and increasingly concerned about global warming and other alarming environmental issues, and that heavily influenced his thinking.
With his entrepreneurial mindset and background in finance, he followed the finance principle “Impact Investment” and, he said, “decided to create a business that will hopefully have a positive impact on people’s lives as well as the environment.”
After three years of planning, conducting thorough research and successful experiments on a domestic scale, EICO Arabia initiated a commercial-scale project in mass production in aquaponics and biofloc in 2017.
“The world has great advancements in this field. It’s about time someone here provides the know-how, but with integrity, honesty and social engagement!” Qaid told Arab News.
He said his company’s project was initiated in an attempt to meet some of the growing demands from health-conscious customers who struggle to find organic fresh food at an affordable price.
Qaid said that he hoped that “after fulfilling their operations, we would share our experience with the local community, and start a social empowerment project in collaboration with authorities, to align with Saudi Vision 2030.”
Another young champion of the environment is 24-year-old Alia Al-Sadat, a CAD engineer and architect at FalconViz in Jeddah. Al-Sadat graduated from Effat University in architecture and has felt strongly about the environment since her childhood.
“I have been concerned about the environment and the safety and wellbeing of animals from a very young age and hope to have a positive impact on my passion.”
Her passion for green design led Al-Sadat to win the Saudi Green Building Award at the Saudi Green Building Forum for her project “Jeddah Science and Technology Center” in June 2016.
Young Saudis are championing the cause of environmental sustainability
Young Saudis are championing the cause of environmental sustainability
- EICO Arabia initiated a commercial-scale project in mass production in aquaponics and biofloc in 2017
- Young Saudis are showing an increasing interest in environmental sustainability
Saudi Border Guard arrest 4 attempting to smuggle qat
JAZAN: The Kingdom’s Border Guard in Al-Ardah, Jazan, recently arrested four Yemeni nationals attempting to smuggle 80 kg of qat into the country, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.
Mostly chewed by users, Qat is a mild stimulant and illegal across most of the Arab world.
The government has urged citizens and residents to report any information they have regarding drug smuggling or sales to the General Directorate of Narcotics Control. Reports can be made by calling 911 for Makkah, Riyadh and the Eastern Province, and 999 for other regions. Alternatively, information can be emailed to [email protected]. All reports are treated confidentially.
KSrelief distributes food in Pakistan, drills solar-powered wells in Nigeria
DUBAI: KSrelief, Saudi Arabia’s aid agency, recently distributed 370 food baskets in the flood-hit Shangla district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, benefiting 2,590 individuals.
The aid was a part of the fourth phase of the Kingdom’s Food Security Support Project in Pakistan 2024.
Last week, KSrelief, in collaboration with a civil society organization, initiated a project to drill six solar-powered medium-depth water wells in Kwara State, Nigeria. The wells, each at a depth of about 80 meters and equipped with tanks holding 5,000 liters, are for the benefit of 30,000 individuals.
The beneficiaries lauded Saudi Arabia for addressing their vital water needs.
Saudi anti-corruption authority reveals details of recent cases
- Spokesman said legal procedures had been initiated against all perpetrators
RIYADH: A spokesman for Saudi Arabia’s Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority, also known as Nazaha, revealed on Sunday details of a number of criminal cases it recently investigated and prosecuted.
Outlining 20 of the most prominent corruption cases, he said legal procedures had been initiated against all perpetrators.
In one case, two Central Bank employees were arrested for receiving sums of money from a resident, who was also arrested, in exchange for depositing more than SR7.3 million ($1.95 million), without verifying the source, into bank accounts belonging to commercial entities over a two-year period.
In another case, a security officer working at the General Department of Traffic was arrested for receiving SR387,000 from the owner of a public services office, who was also arrested, in exchange for illegally amending the essential data of a group of vehicles.
One of the cases also highlighted involved an employee working at a university hospital who was arrested for receiving SR100,000 from citizens in exchange for a promise to employ them at the university.
Nazaha said it continues to work to identify and prosecute anyone in the Kingdom involved in the embezzlement of public funds, guilty of abuse of power and position for personal gain, or otherwise harming the public interest.
It stressed that guilty parties will be pursued and held accountable, and that there is no statute of limitations on such crimes.
Saudi, Bahraini public prosecutor meet in Manama
- Al-Mujeb highlighted the unwavering support the Kingdom's public prosecution receives from its leadership
RIYADH: Saudi Public Prosecutor Sheikh Saud bin Abdullah Al-Mujeb met with his Bahraini counterpart Ali bin Fadl Al Buainain in Manama, Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.
Al-Buainain welcomed Al-Mujeb and his accompanying delegation and expressed his delight at the visit, which he said signified the ongoing exchange of visits between the judicial bodies of the two nations and the sustained collaboration in combating transnational crime.
During the meeting, Al-Mujeb emphasized the deep-rooted historical ties between the Bahrain and the Kingdom and their continued advancement across various sectors, particularly in parliamentary cooperation and the exchange of information to ensure regional security.
He highlighted the unwavering support the Kingdom's public prosecution receives from its leadership, which he said enhanced the efficiency of its judicial processes.
Conjoined Filipino twins arrive in Riyadh for surgery
- Parents convey appreciation to King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
RIYADH: Conjoined Filipino twins arrived in Riyadh from Manila on Sunday following a Saudi evacuation plan coordinated by the Ministry of Health, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Akhizah and Ayeesha Yusoph were born in Panabo City in the Davao del Norte province on the southern island of Mindanao in December 2022. Their bodies share one liver.
The two 16-month-old girls arrived at King Khalid International Airport and traveled to the King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital to be assessed to determine the feasibility of separation surgery.
Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, supervisor general of the Saudi aid agency KSrelief, thanked the Kingdom’s leadership for their support of the flagship Saudi Conjoined Twins Program.
The program, which is spearheaded by Al-Rabeeah, has operated on more than 130 children from 25 countries since 1990. The children were born sharing internal organs with their twin.
Al-Rabeeah spoke of the program’s global significance which marks a milestone in the field of medicine, while aligning with the ambitious goals of Saudi Vision 2030 to elevate the Kingdom’s healthcare services.
The parents of Akhizah and Ayeesha conveyed their heartfelt appreciation to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the warm welcome and generous hospitality extended to them following their arrival in the Kingdom.
