Riyadh, Seoul forge new partnership in human capital development

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Updated 07 August 2023
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Riyadh, Seoul forge new partnership in human capital development

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s industrial and mining sectors will strengthen cooperation and enter potential partnerships with South Korean entities to further develop human capabilities, according to the state news agency.

These developments came after a delegation from the Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources visited South Korea, where they held a series of meetings with officials from a number of government institutions and the private sector.

The visit aimed to review programs and initiatives in order to nurture human talent across the two sectors, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The delegation met with officials from the Korean Ministry of Education to discuss the future of training methods with regards to the industrial and mining sectors.

During the visit, the delegation also learned about the most prominent programs, initiatives, and technologies used in the Hyundai Motor Group and the Hyundai Occupational Training College.

In addition to this, there was a meeting with the Korean Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups in order to review the human capital strategy of both parties.

Moreover, the delegation also held discussions with representatives of the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry and talked about ways to further develop and propel human resources such as work-based learning programs.

Talent development strategies to be adopted by the two countries were also tackled thoroughly during the meeting.

The two countries also discussed talent development strategies that they need to adopt while exploring ways to facilitate the exchange of experiences. 

In April, South Korea’s Deputy Foreign Minister Choi Youngsam told Arab News: “With Saudi Arabia, we have common interest in many economic areas, including the construction field and cutting-edge technology area.”  

Talking on the sidelines of the World Journalists Conference 2023 in Seoul, the minister added: “We do hope that we can realize more detailed cooperative projects between our two nations.”  

In November 2022, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and South Korean President Yoon agreed to develop bilateral relations into a “future-oriented strategic partnership,” and establish a special committee to promote cooperative projects.  

The November visit also coincided with the Korea-Saudi Investment Forum, which saw the signing of 26 agreements between Saudi companies and Korean counterparts across various sectors, including clean energy and construction in NEOM — the Saudi smart city giga-project.


Reforms target sustained growth in Saudi real estate sector, says Al-Hogail

Updated 26 January 2026
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Reforms target sustained growth in Saudi real estate sector, says Al-Hogail

RIYADH: The Real Estate Future Forum opened its doors for its first day at the Four Seasons Riyadh, with prominent global and local figures coming together to engage with one of the Kingdom’s most prospering sectors.

With new regulations, laws, and investments underway, 2026 is expected to be a year of momentous progress for the real estate sector in the Kingdom.

The forum opened with a video highlighting the sector’s progress in the Kingdom, during which an emphasis was placed on the forum’s ability to create global reach, representation, as well as agreements worth a cumulative $50 billion

With the Kingdom now opening up real estate ownership to foreigners, this year’s Real Estate Future Forum is placing a great deal of importance on this new milestone and its desired outcomes and impact on the market. 

Aside from this year’s forum’s unique discussions surrounding those developments, it will also be the first of its kind to launch the Real Estate Excellence Award and announce its finalist during the three-day summit.

Minister of Municipalities and Housing and Chairman of the Real Estate General Authority Majed Al-Hogail took to stage to address the diverse audience on the real estate market’s achievements thus far and its milestones to come.

Of those important milestones, he underscored “real estate balance” as a key pillar of the sector’s decisions to implement regulatory tools “with the aim of constant growth which can maintain the vitality of this sector.” He pointed to examples of those regulatory measures, such as the White Land Tax.

On 2025’s progress, the minister highlighted the jump in Saudi family home ownership, which went from 47 percent in 2016 to 66 percent in 2025, keeping the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goal of 70 percent by the end of the decade on track.

He said the opening of the real estate market to foreigners is an indicator of the sector’s maturity under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He said his ministry plans to build over 300,000 housing units in Riyadh over the next three years.

Speaking to Arab News,  Al-Hogail elaborated on these achievements, stating: “Today, demand, especially local demand, has grown significantly. The mortgage market has reached record levels, exceeding SR900 billion ($240 billion) in mortgage financing, we are now seeing SRC (Saudi Real Estate Refinance Co.) injecting both local and foreign liquidity on a large scale, reaching more than SR54 billion”

Al-Hogail described Makkah and Madinah as unique and special points in the Kingdom’s real estate market as he spoke of the sector’s attractiveness.

 “Today, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become, in international investment indices, one that takes a good share of the Middle East, and based on this, many real estate investment portfolios have begun to come in,” he said. 

Al-Ahsa Gov. Prince Saud bin Talal bin Badr Al-Saud told Arab News the Kingdom’s ability to balance both heritage sites with real estate is one of its strengths.

He said: “Actually the real estate market supports the whole infrastructure … the whole ecosystem goes back together in the foundation of the real estate; if we have the right infrastructure we can leverage more on tourism plus we can leverage more on the quality of life … we’re looking at 2030, this is the vision … to have the right infrastructure the time for more investors to come in real estate, entertainment, plus tourism and culture.”