Day: August 28, 2022

Islamabad — Torrential rains and flash floods continue to wreak havoc in Pakistan as the number of people killed in rain-related incidents passed 1,000 and the government appealed for international help, the dpa reported.

The National Disaster Management Authority said 1,033 people, including 348 children, have died since mid-June. More than 100 people have died in the past day alone, it said.

The water has damaged more than 94,000 houses and over 3,400 kilometres of roads, leaving tens of thousands homeless and stranded in remote villages, the agency said in an update on Sunday.

Rescuers are busy evacuating the stranded and it might take days to reach and reaccommodate them, while the death toll is feared to keep rising, a spokesperson for the disaster authority said.

Swollen rivers are destroying houses, bridges and roads. Social media is inundated with videos showing flash floods washing away multi-storey buildings and hotels in the Swat valley in the north.

Millions of people including children were at risk of waterborne diseases in flood-hit regions, officials said. The Pakistani government declared a national emergency and called for international help, saying weeks of erratic rains have affected more than 33 million people, mostly in the impoverished south and south-west of the country.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh — President of the General Court of Audit (GCA) Dr. Hussam Alangari is heading the GCA delegation participating in the Supreme Audit Institution 20 (SAI20) Summit, which will be held on 29 – 30 August 2022 in Bali, Indonesia.

The meeting comes as part of the G20 framework, which is headed by Indonesia, to address the joint efforts to recover better from the COVID19 crisis and address the contributions of the supreme audit institutions (SAIs) in improving and assuring the quality of the performance of the public sector.

The Summit will be discussing a number of issues on its agenda which are strengthening and empowering audit engagements through cooperation by sharing knowledge and identification of best practices to promote governance between SAI20. Moreover, the Summit will address the role of SAIs as reliable and strategic partners to the government to ensure business sustainability and improve resilient governance.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Kuwait — The Kuwaiti government called, in a decree published in official gazette Sunday, for holding parliamentary elections on September 29, state news agency “KUNA” reported.

Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior, as a procedure, would now open the door for people wishing to run for elections to register their nominations at the elections affairs department.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Khartoum — Sudanese officials praised the directive of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, to deliver 250 tons of humanitarian, relief, and shelter aid through an air bridge, and under the supervision of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) to counter the impact of floods and torrents in Sudan, in light of the damage to several states and the collapse of thousands of homes and dozens of deaths.

In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), a member of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Taher Abu Bakr Hajar, expressed appreciation for the Kingdom’s great efforts under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, for Sudan in all fields.

In the same context, the Sudanese Minister of Social Development, Ahmed Adam Bakheet, praised the Kingdom’s efforts in support of Sudan in all fields, highlighting that the air bridge to support the affected Sudanese, reflects the depth of relations between the two countries.

Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid in Sudan, Engineer Adam Ibrahim Abdullah, said the Saudi relief air bridge will contribute to filling the large gaps that occurred due to the floods that hit several Sudanese states, and caused a difficult humanitarian situation that needs to be addressed through friendly support.

He stressed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been extending a helping hand, especially during the times of floods and torrents, through its charitable and humanitarian organizations spread in Sudan, citing the Kingdom’s contribution to building several houses for those affected by torrential rains in the Tokar region in eastern Sudan, which will be inaugurated soon, under the supervision of (KSRelief).

Meanwhile, former Sudanese Minister of Information, Dr. Ahmed Bilal Othman, described the Saudi relief bridge ordered by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques as a reflection of the strong ties between the two countries, indicating that Saudi support has been continuous for decades and has not been affected by the fluctuations of politics. He thanked the Saudi government and people for their noble stances toward the Sudanese people.

For his part, Al-Sharif Al-Hindi, a leader in the Democratic Unionist Party, valued the Kingdom’s stances and its strong support to the Sudanese people during the current crisis, stressing that the relief bridge will contribute to alleviating the suffering of the Sudanese, and gives the Sudanese a strong impetus to overcome this critical stage.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh — The Saudi Authority for Industrial and Technology Zones (MODON) has revealed the success of the evaluation of 58 factories on the global Smart Industry Readiness Index (SIRI) that measures the level of facilities in adopting applications of the fourth industrial revolution, as part of MODON’s qualitative initiative of the National Productivity Program to help factories realize the highest productive efficiency rates.

MODON had launched the National Productivity Program to help industrial institutions reach the highest levels of production efficiency through drawing transformation plans to apply operational excellence principles and adopt technologies of the fourth industrial revolution on 100 existing factories to become a model for other manufacturers via partnership with the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology.

MODON Director of Marketing and Corporate Communication Department and Spokesperson Qusay Al-Abdulkarim stressed that this success is a result of MODON’s efforts to keep pace with the latest developments in the global industrial sector and keenness to transfer the latest industrial technologies that enhance the competitiveness of Saudi products in local, regional and international markets, and boost the national export system according to the best accredited quality standards and as part of supporting initiatives of MODON within the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP) that is in harmony with the MODON’s main role in the Saudi Vision 2030.

He pointed out that MODON paid attention to train human personnel to implement the targets of the National Productivity Program, considering them the core of its strategy for digital transformation and creating national personnel that are capable of leading the industrial sector in the future, where it hosts three certified and specialized evaluators by SIRI out of six evaluators available in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

SIRI, owned by International Centre for Industrial Transformation (INCIT), is the only accredited index so far by the World Economic Forum to measure rates of adoption by industrial facilities to applications of the fourth industrial revolution and provide them with necessary tools to increase their technological preparedness to realize this purpose.

Al-Abdulkarim said that the National Productivity Program has trained more than 450 leaders from 76 factories on the concepts of the fourth industrial revolution according to the best training programs in cooperation with global technological partners: General Electric (GE) and McKinsey Company, which contributed to realizing the targets of the Human Capabilities Development Program as part of the Saudi Vision 2030.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Manama — The Kingdom of Bahrain has expressed its deep concern and regret over the armed clashes that took place yesterday in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, which threaten the security and safety of Libyan citizens and expose the country to great danger.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Kingdom of Bahrain called on the Libyan parties to stop armed clashes, prevent bloodshed and any further escalation, in addition to pursuing political dialogue to resolve the differences between the two parties to the conflict, preserve the higher interests of Libya, and achieve the aspirations of its people for peace, development and prosperity.

The ministry reiterated Bahrain’s position in support of Libya in a manner that preserves its sovereignty, security and stability.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Jeddah — The Secretary General of Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hissein Brahim Taha, has expressed deep sorrow and offered sincere condolences to the government and people of Pakistan over the casualties, massive destruction of property and loss of life resulting from the floods.

He also appealed to all Member States, Islamic humanitarian organizations and the international community at large for emergency assistance to mitigate the suffering of the affected populations.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh — The Saudi National Basketball Team will face its Philippine counterpart tomorrow in the Philippine capital, Manila, in its second match in the final stage of the Basketball World Cup Qualifiers.

Coach of the Saudi National Basketball Team Mohammad Al-Kardani affirmed the team’s readiness to play the match and achieve the victory.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Rabat– King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) continued implementing the voluntary medical program to combat blindness and its causes in Taroudant, Morocco, within the “Noor Saudi Arabia” volunteer program.

KSrelief’s volunteer medical team examined, over the past two days, 1,600 cases, distributed 926 eyeglasses, and successfully performed 247 surgeries to remove cataracts.

This campaign is an extension of the projects related to combating blindness implemented by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by the KSrelief, for low-income families in a number of brotherly and friendly countries.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh — The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) and the Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority (ZATCA) have signed today a Service-Level Agreement (SLA) to regulate joint activities as well as create and execute service-level operations and automation mechanisms at Jeddah Islamic Port to optimize efficiency, increase productivity, and enhance the customer experience.

The deal was co-signed in the presence of Engineer Suhail bin Mohammed Abanmi, ZATCA Governor, and Omar Bin Talal Hariri, Mawani President.

The agreement is a key chapter in the integrative collaboration between Mawani and ZATCA to define operational procedures and services that follow world-class operational standards under rules and regulations governing each entity’s activities in line with the objectives of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy (NTLS) to bolster public-private partnerships and position the Kingdom as a global logistics hub.

The deal, which will soon be rolled out across other ports, will be instrumental in supporting the Fasah platform in addition to streamlining operational efficiency and boosting competitiveness at Saudi ports.

The partnership also aims for evolving to regulate joint activities in ports, integrate roles and responsibilities, outline service level requirements and escalation mechanisms for both parties, specify means to tackle operational challenges, and develop and perform service-level operations to raise operational efficiency and consolidate integration between Mawani, ZATCA, and concerned stakeholders in future port operations.

The latest agreement comes as part of Mawani’s efforts to enhance the business environment of Saudi ports and realize its strategic goals of facilitating trade and achieving customer satisfaction besides driving economic diversification and creating an attractive investment climate.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Khartoum — King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) continued to distribute relief aid to those affected by the floods in the Republic of Sudan.

These efforts come within the works of the Saudi aid airlift, which was directed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to support the brotherly Sudanese people after the torrential rains that swept a number of cities and states in Sudan.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh — Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for Arab States Dr. Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf received here today Ambassador of the Republic of Maldives to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Mohamed Khaleel.

During the meeting, they discussed a number of issues of common interest between the GCC and the Republic of Maldives in various fields, and ways to enhance and develop them.

Source: Saudi Press Agency