JEDDAH: The Saudi Minister of Justice Waleed Al-Samaani has revealed that the ministry plans to launch seven new labor courts in seven cities across Saudi Arabia early next year.
This is expected to highly speed up the legal process and save time for clients as they will all be fully digitized, paperless and follow digital procedures.
Al-Samaani said during his visit yesterday to the legal training center that the ministry works hard to provide judges with personal and professional skills to work in labor courts.
“Those courts will be open for progress and development and will be role models for other courts to follow once proven successful,” said Al-Samaani.
The operation of labor courts early next year will be based on digital transformation, which other courts are currently implementing. The first phase will focus on the launch and operation of labor courts in seven main cities: Riyadh, Makkah, Jeddah, Abha, Dammam, Buraidah and Madinah.
Saudi Arabian Justice Ministry to fully digitize labor courts
Saudi Arabian Justice Ministry to fully digitize labor courts
Saudi surgeons train Indonesian doctors in advanced cardiac procedures
- Saudi surgical team is embedded with a general hospital in Medan, in North Sumatra
- Some procedures taught by Saudi doctors have never been performed in the province
JAKARTA: A 22-member medical team from Saudi Arabia has been in Indonesia since the beginning of May to train doctors in advanced cardiac procedures on adults and children.
Facilitated by the Kingdom’s aid agency KSrelief, the cardiovascular surgical team is embedded with Adam Malik Central General Hospital in Medan, North Sumatra province.
It consists of surgeons, specialist nurses, perfusionists and respiratory therapists from the King Faisal Cardiac Center in Jeddah and the King Abdullah International Medical Research Center in Riyadh.
Among them are “some of the best heart surgeons in Saudi Arabia,” who not only “help save the lives of Indonesian people, but also provide training to young doctors to handle open-heart surgery, catheterization and pediatric heart surgery,” Indonesia’s Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in a statement on Monday.
“(Their presence) will encourage quality improvement and accelerate the transfer of knowledge to young Indonesian doctors. They will train and work with well-known doctors from abroad, learning their work discipline, work culture and interaction with patients.”
During their stay in Indonesia, the Saudi Arabia doctors will perform surgery on about 30 patients, with all the costs covered by the program.
Heart disease is the second-leading cause of death in the Southeast Asian nation — after stroke — killing 250,000 people a year, including 6,000 children.
Many patients die before they receive specialist care, which is often available only at hospitals in the biggest cities.
The transfer-knowledge program sponsored by KSrelief supports Indonesia’s health system transformation plan, under which all regional government hospitals will be expected to carry out open-heart surgery and pediatric heart surgery, without having to refer patients to the main cardiac centers in Jakarta.
The Ministry of Health said some of the complex procedures introduced by the Saudi Arabia team at the Medan hospital, including the replacement of a part of the aorta and the aortic valve of the heart, have never been performed in the province.
The ministry quoted the Medan hospital’s head of cardiovascular services, Dr. Faisal Habib, who said his team was also learning from the Saudi Arabia doctors the advanced techniques of handling surgery in less invasive ways.
“One of their master skills is performing heart surgery without opening the entire chest, but only through a small opening,” he said. “We are learning this from their expertise.”
Vice foreign minister attends reception to mark Africa Day
- Africa Day, which is celebrated annually on May 25, acknowledges the continent’s role in the fight against colonialism.
RIYADH: Saudi Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed bin Abdulkarim El-Khereiji was among those attending a special event to commemorate Africa Day.
The party took place at the Palace of Culture in Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter on Monday, reported Saudi Press Agency.
El-Khereiji was welcomed by the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to Saudi Arabia, Diaa Al-Din Bamakhrama, ambassador of Djibouti, and Iyad Tijani, head of the African Group and ambassador of Cameroon.
As well as emphasizing the Kingdom’s deep-rooted political and diplomatic relations with African countries and organizations, he highlighted its commitment to developing cooperation and partnerships with African countries in trade and integration, as well as enhancing consultation, coordination and mutual support in international organizations on issues of common interest.
Africa Day, which is celebrated annually on May 25, acknowledges the continent’s role in the fight against colonialism and the progress it has made, as well as reflecting the challenges it faces in a global environment.
SAR signs rail transportation contract with major manufacturer
- P&G wants to utilize the rail network to advance its product transportation and enhance operational efficiency
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia Railways has signed a major contract with Ismail Abudawood and Procter & Gamble to transport goods from the company’s factory in Damman to customers in Riyadh.
SAR’s Senior Vice President of Freight Badr Al-Atni and P&G’s Chief Operating Officer of Supply Chain and Logistic Network Operations Ahmed Bannan completed the deal on Monday, reported Saudi Press Agency.
P&G wants to utilize the rail network to advance its product transportation and enhance operational efficiency.
The agreement will help reduce truck traffic on highways between Dammam and Riyadh, which will lower carbon emissions and help preserve road infrastructure and safety in line with the goals of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy and the Saudi Vision 2030.
French architecture firm Unanime to expand Saudi Arabia operations
- Healthcare infrastructure projects include Riyadh hospital
- Design underway of Jubail marine biology research center
DUBAI: French architecture firm Unanime has begun expanding its healthcare operations in Saudi Arabia and internationally.
The company has four subsidiaries dedicated to architecture, interior design and healthcare.
“We are expanding internationally through healthcare initiatives steered by Unanime-Golf. The entity plays a key role in promoting and developing Unanime’s healthcare projects abroad,” Pierre Sfeir, partner at Unanime, told Arab News en Francais.
Unanime’s healthcare subsidiary, UNHI, will leverage the group’s expertise for state-of-the-art medical infrastructure projects in several countries, including in the Gulf region.
The focus is on human well-being and user experience, while meeting the requirements of local regulations, said Sfeir.
Founded in Lyon in 1994, Unanime Architectes moved to Paris in 2001, and established its first Gulf office, in Bahrain, in 2011.
“We have added an office in the Alps region and soon in Riyadh, to cope with the growing demand and the specialties and expertise we offer as an architectural firm,” said Sfeir.
Unanime collaborates with local players, including NEOM, in Saudi Arabia.
“We have delivered a project to NEOM, and other projects are underway in Riyadh. The goal is to open an office in Riyadh with around 15 to 20 architects and engineers,” he added.
The healthcare project for NEOM was designed in a month and delivered in in six months.
“Usually, projects delivered to hospitals are the longest projects to execute, and we were able to do it in such a short time,” said Sfeir.
Unanime is also leading a project for the Prince Sultan Cardiac Excellence Center in Riyadh. The state-of-the-art cardiology project is integrating artificial intelligence and robotics, and includes building management.
“Today we are introducing artificial intelligence into something that needs improvement: health and well-being. Artificial intelligence is the future. Having these technologies in the region will make the cardiology center in Riyadh one of the best in Asia and the Middle East,” he said.
He added that Riyadh offers architects from around the world the opportunity to conduct projects in various sectors, including healthcare, retail and education.
“We are fortunate to be in Riyadh. There is a shift in the strategy of Saudi Arabia in general, and Riyadh in particular, to become the most advanced city in the region, if not in the world,” he added.
“The environment is business-friendly, the projects are very interesting and motivating for us as architects, giving us the opportunity to be creative, to be innovative and to bring something new to the market that didn’t exist before, which could be like breakthrough in certain areas of architecture, especially in terms of AI applications,” he said.
Sfeir said the projects are in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 which calls for the development of various sectors of the economy.
“It is important to establish a very good system of research centers, universities, and experts to lead the changes that the Kingdom is undertaking,” Sfeir said.
Unanime participates regularly in conferences that connect architects from Saudi Arabia and France.
“I think what is needed now is to put on paper all the agreements, all the discussions, and to have a strategy to make cooperation between France in particular, and European know-how in general, more accessible to local people and the community,” he said.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Unanime specializes in buildings for healthcare covering research centers, laboratories and logistics.
- The group provides research, medical planning, equipment, consulting, and a 360-degree approach to deliver sustainable projects.
In line with its expansion in the Gulf, Unanime and Rougerie+Tangram have been selected to design the marine biology research center in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.
The northeastern province will be home to the Marine Applied Research Center, whose mission is to rescue and rehabilitate animals, which requires state-of-the-art architecture and the application of modern technologies.
In France, the group’s flagship projects include the International Agency for Research on Cancer, delivered in 2023.
“We have a genomic library of over a million samples, stored in a very specific way, which enables researchers to carry out research, and make advances in curing certain types of cancer,” said Sfeir.
The aim is to welcome researchers from various parts of the world to exchange ideas and develop innovative technologies.
Located in the Lyon Gerland biodistrict, home to the French pharmaceutical industry, the building’s design encourages exchange and movement of 300 researchers on-site.
“From an architectural point of view, this is a technological and sustainable building. We have biomimicry technology on the inner courtyard facades and on the outer facade, which provides shade to the building, with no additional energy cost,” he added.
“We strive to make hospitals more user-friendly, more welcoming. We should be able to put people at ease, psychologically ready to receive physical treatment.
“That is how our buildings are built, how our spaces are thought out to help people start their treatment as soon as they walk through the hospital door,” he said.
Saudi Arabia attends 77th World Health Assembly in Geneva
- This year’s assembly will address several important issues, including discussions on the WHO investment round
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Health Minister Fahad bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel is attending the 77th session of the World Health Assembly at the UN headquarters in Geneva, which began on Monday.
Under the theme “All for Health, Health for All,” the WHA77 includes health ministers from the member states of the World Health Organization.
This year’s assembly will address several important issues, including discussions on the WHO investment round, and the fourteenth draft of the general program of work.
Key topics on the agenda include amendments to the International Health Regulations and negotiations by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body on an agreement concerning pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.
