Deal signed to empower Yemeni women

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Al-Jaber said that the agreement was the first to be signed between the SDRPY and a development foundation headed by a Yemeni woman. (SPA)
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Photo/SPA
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Yasmin Al-Qadhi. (SPA)
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Photo/SPA
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Updated 31 August 2020
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Deal signed to empower Yemeni women

  • Al-Qadhi hailed the important and vital role led by the general supervisor of the SDRPY to support Yemeni women in the labor market

RIYADH: A deal has been signed to empower women in Yemen and develop their role in the economy, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The joint cooperation memorandum was signed on Sunday between the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY) and the Marib Girls Foundation.
It was co-signed by the general supervisor of SDRPY, Mohammed Al-Jaber, and the foundation’s chairwoman, Yasmin Al-Qadhi.
Al-Qadhi commented on the impact achieved through cooperation in the economic field as well as through the agreement, which would motivate women to be creative and innovative in implementing and leading small projects and become entrepreneurs over time.
She said that the agreement had several aspects that strengthened the role of women in society such as supporting startups and preparing entrepreneurial women, fulfilling women’s talent, honoring female figures, and drawing the attention of decision-makers toward integrating the concept of women’s economic empowerment into the educational system.
Al-Qadhi hailed the important and vital role led by the general supervisor of the SDRPY to support Yemeni women in the labor market. She said that this reflected the Kingdom’s desire for the recovery of Yemen and its economy, especially through establishing such a program to take on this task.
Al-Jaber said that the agreement was the first to be signed between the SDRPY and a development foundation headed by a Yemeni woman, whether in Marib or elsewhere in the country, that was responsible for the economic empowerment of women, youth empowerment, and strengthening their potential.

HIGHLIGHT

A business incubator that was prepared in Marib will be a model for everything that can be done to empower girls and youth in the area and it will positively reflect on the rest of Yemen’s governorates.

A business incubator that was prepared in Marib will be a model for everything that can be done to empower girls and youth in the area and it will positively reflect on the rest of Yemen’s governorates, according to Al-Jaber.
He also said that development support in Marib covered all areas, including the health sector.
“Several hospitals have been equipped by securing the clinics’ needs of devices, ambulances, and intensive care rooms, in addition to equipping many health centers in Marib with medical equipment,” he added.
Al-Jaber said that the education sector in Marib was supported by a project to build the faculties of Saba University and the School of the Gifted, in addition to launching a project for buses to transport female students from remote villages and regions to the university.


Leading AI company to partner with Saudi Arabia, CEO tells Arab News

Updated 06 February 2026
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Leading AI company to partner with Saudi Arabia, CEO tells Arab News

  • Argentum’s Andrew Sobko: ‘Very easy’ to build new infrastructure, data centers in Kingdom
  • In 2024, Saudi Arabia announced $100bn plan to establish AI hub

CHICAGO: The founder and CEO of Argentum AI, one of the world’s leading artificial intelligence companies, has told Arab News that he is looking forward to partnering with Saudi Arabia.

Ukrainian-born Andrew Sobko, based in Chicago, said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has made a significant commitment to AI use.

In 2024, Saudi Arabia announced a $100 billion plan under Vision 2030 to build a hub to develop technology and data centers to handle a significant portion of the world’s AI workload.

The Kingdom reportedly expects AI to contribute more than $135.2 billion to its gross domestic product by 2030, representing roughly 12.4 percent of its economy.

“The US still is the kind of core leader of this AI innovation, development and infrastructure, but we quickly realized that Saudi Arabia sees this as an important asset class, not just as an innovation,” Sobko said.

“They’re deploying tons of capital. If you try to build some new infrastructure or data center, it’s very easy to do it in Saudi Arabia,” he added. “Saudi Arabia realizes and sees this compute as almost like a second asset class after oil.”

The term “compute” refers to the process of calculations that fuels AI development and applications in everyday use.

“The Middle East wants to be one of the largest exporters of compute. They realized that a couple of years ago and they’re aggressively expanding,” Sobko said, adding that AI is being used more and more in industries such as sports, in which Saudi Arabia has invested heavily.

Argentum AI recently added Majed Al-Sorour, CEO of the Saudi Golf Federation, to its board.

“Majed is also a huge believer in AI and AI infrastructure,” said Sobko. “With the help of Majed, we’re focusing on global expansion. He’s leading charge on that.”

Sobko said the challenge is not simply recognizing the importance of AI, but the ability to power data centers that it requires, and Saudi Arabia recognizes that need.

“If you secure a significant amount of power and you have data center capacity, you can actually control this kind of compute and AI,” he added.

“And the biggest bottleneck to continue expanding as we enter into this new age of robotics industry, it needs a lot more compute.”

Following meetings with US leadership, including President Donald Trump last November, Saudi Arabia secured agreements on AI technology transfers, aiming to avoid reliance on other nations’ systems.