Saudi entrepreneurs to scale up India collaborations after G20 meetings 

Prince Fahad bin Mansour (C) attends a signing ceremony between Singaporean firm Codesurance and Saudi company Healthgena in New Delhi, India at G20 YEA Summit on July 15, 2023. (AN photo)
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Updated 16 July 2023
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Saudi entrepreneurs to scale up India collaborations after G20 meetings 

  • Saudi delegates sign agreements with Indian, Singaporean companies
  • Prince Fahad bin Mansour says more ‘will be announced very soon’ 

NEW DELHI: New Saudi-Indian collaborations are going to be announced in the near future, Prince Fahad bin Mansour has told Arab News after a successful exhibition of the Kingdom’s projects and investment opportunities at the G20 young entrepreneurs’ summit in New Delhi. 

Prince Fahad, the chair of the board of directors of Entrepreneurship Vision and president of the Saudi G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance, led Saudi Arabia’s delegation to the YEA Summit on July 13-15. 

Hosted by Young Indians, a group of young businessmen from the Confederation of Indian Industry, the summit was held as part of the program of India’s presidency of the world’s largest economies. 

Its strategic partners were the Kingdom’s investment brand Invest Saudi and the smart city megaproject NEOM. 

“I think that it was a huge success today what India did with the G20 YEA Summit,” Prince Fahad told Arab News in an exclusive interview as the summit wrapped up on Saturday. “It’s my third time here in India in one month, so every time I come, they exceed the expectations.” 

Only two weeks earlier, he represented Saudi Arabia at the meetings and summit of Startup20 — one of 11 official engagement groups of G20. 

“I think that I will probably (be) coming again very soon,” he said. “Today we signed three (memoranda of understanding) — two Saudi companies with two Indian companies, and one Saudi company with a Singaporean company. And that is just the beginning of what we are looking to have in the next coming days and months.” 

Saudi-Indian collaborations were mostly in the technology sector — particularly health tech and fintech — and in the food and beverage sector. 

“In health tech, we have some entities from the private sector as investors that are looking for opportunities over here, and we found a lot of investors from India that are planning to invest in Saudi (Arabia). So, I think what we have is a huge opportunity and we’re going to capitalize on that as we move forward,” Prince Fahad said. 

“There are a lot of things that will be announced very soon.” 

The Saudi delegation consisted of more than 40 leaders from both the public and private sectors, of whom a third were women involved in startups based on high-tech innovation in engineering and science. 

“I’m very happy with our participation. I’m also happy how the Saudi delegation interacted with the G20 delegates and as well the other countries that were invited,” Prince Fahad said. 

“I hope that we’ll always add great value to the entrepreneurship ecosystem, not only in Saudi (Arabia), but for the whole world.” 


Prince Faisal bin Farhan speaks with Swiss foreign minister

Updated 02 May 2024
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Prince Faisal bin Farhan speaks with Swiss foreign minister

  • two ministers discussed developments of common interest and efforts made by both countries in those areas

RIYADH: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan spoke on the phone with his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis on Thursday.

During the call, the two ministers discussed developments of common interest and efforts made by both countries in those areas, Saudi Press Agency reported.

Cassis was in the Kingdom last month to attend the Special Meeting of the World Economic Forum held in Riyadh on April 28 and 29, during which he met with Prince Faisal.

Prince Faisal and Cassis also met earlier in the year in February during UN meetings in Geneva.


Saudi FM discusses preparations for Expo 2030 with BIE chief

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan receives the Secretary-General of the BIE Dimitri Kerkentzes in Riyadh.
Updated 02 May 2024
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Saudi FM discusses preparations for Expo 2030 with BIE chief

  • During the meeting, the two officials discussed the Kingdom’s preparations to host Expo 2030 in Riyadh
  • “We underlined the importance of careful planning to deliver a transformational World Expo in 2030,” Kerkentzes said

RIYADH: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan received the Secretary-General of the Bureau International des Expositions Dimitri Kerkentzes in Riyadh on Thursday.

During the meeting, the two officials discussed the Kingdom’s preparations to host Expo 2030 in Riyadh and coordination to ensure that the exhibition would be “exceptional,” Saudi Press Agency reported.

Writing on social media platform X, Kerkentzes said: “We underlined the importance of careful planning to deliver a transformational World Expo in 2030.”

The BIE chief met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday.

World Expo 2030 will be hosted in Riyadh after the Kingdom defeated challenges from South Korea and Italy to host the prestigious event in November 2023.


Female students take top prizes at university’s Engineering Hackathon

Updated 02 May 2024
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Female students take top prizes at university’s Engineering Hackathon

  • 88 teams from the Eastern Province took part in the event at Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University
  • Team Al-Farahidi took first place with its Aram project, which aims to help prevent sleepwalking

RIYADH: Teams of female students took the top three prizes at Engineering Hackathon 24, which concluded on Wednesday at Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University in Dammam.

A total of 88 teams of male and female students from the Eastern Province took part in the event, which began on April 27, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Murad Al-Thubaiti, dean of the university’s College of Engineering, welcomed the high level of participation by students from universities across the province, and said 16 teams were chosen as finalists to present their projects, which covered a variety of specializations.

Team Al-Farahidi took first place with its Aram project, which aims to help prevent sleepwalking. The members were Nada Al-Dosari, Sarah Al-Nami, Manal Al-Tamimi and Nihal Al-Suhaibani.

Second spot went to Al-Khawarizmi, a team comprising Fatima Shuwaiheen, Fatima Al-Baik, Hawraa Al-Suwaiket, Walaa Al-Sulays and Amani Al-Saeedi, who designed a device that helps isolate cardiac signals from background noise.

Team Al-Battani was awarded third place for its system to help surgeons deal with stress. Its members were Hawraa Al-Wael, Dahhouk Al-Sabaa and Zainab Bou Moza.

Al-Thubaiti said activities such as the hackathon are an essential element for the development of students’ personalities and helping them prepare for the future.


Illegal workers in Riyadh region arrested after changing expiry dates on food products

Illegal workers at a farm in the Riyadh region were arrested after they were caught changing the expiry dates on products.
Updated 02 May 2024
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Illegal workers in Riyadh region arrested after changing expiry dates on food products

  • Seized products included 248,000 chicken stock cubes weighing 8 grams, 4,600 potato chip products, 2,900 soy sauces, and 1,500 pasta sauces
  • A laser device used to print new production dates was also seized

RIYADH: Illegal workers at a farm in Riyadh region’s Huraymila governorate were arrested after they were caught by the Saudi Ministry of Commerce changing the expiry dates on products, Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.

A 3.00 a.m. raid was carried out in cooperation with Riyadh region police and Huraymila governorate police after expired products that were seized in the possession of expatriates a few hours earlier were traced back to the farm.

Seized products included 248,000 chicken stock cubes weighing 8 grams, 4,600 potato chip products, 2,900 soy sauces, and 1,500 pasta sauces. The products were later destroyed. A laser device used to print new production dates was also seized.

The workers were referred to the competent authorities so that deterrent measures could be taken against them in accordance with the provisions of the anti-commercial fraud law.

The ministry said that violators of the anti-commercial fraud law could be imprisoned for up to three years, fined up to SR 1 million ($266,623), or receive both punishments. They could also be deported, the ministry added.


Saudi Arabia calls for unified Arab efforts to confront environmental challenges

Updated 02 May 2024
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Saudi Arabia calls for unified Arab efforts to confront environmental challenges

  • Minister Abdulrahman Al-Fadli spoke of biodiversity and the Arab region’s natural resources
  • Al-Fadli said that the region was capable of utilizing technology and innovation

RIYADH: Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman Al-Fadli has stressed the importance of regional action to combat environmental challenges facing the Middle East and North Africa region and the world, the Saudi Press Agency has reported.

Speaking during the 38th meeting of the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development in Riyadh, the minister spoke of biodiversity, the area’s natural resources and the range of agricultural environments, while stressing the challenges facing the region. He called for a united effort to reduce the impact on the region’s peoples.

Al-Fadli said that the Arab region was capable of utilizing technology and innovation, as well as seizing opportunities to invest in agriculture and improve practices to become more productive, efficient and sustainable in the use of water and natural resources.

He said enhancing trade, regional and international cooperation, and the benefits of international organizations were sources of optimism.

The minister said that the Arab region could take advantage of opportunities in technology, innovation and investment in agriculture by improving practices to make the utilization of water and natural resources more productive, efficient and sustainable.

Ibrahim Al Dukhairi, the director general of the organization, pledged his support for sustainability and agricultural development in the region, along with the development of the Arab landscape and food security.

He pointed out the significance of strategies to launch the necessary initiatives and partnerships to achieve the region’s goals.