Category: General

Jeddah– The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has sent a cable of condolences and sympathy to President Miguel Diaz Canel Bermúdez of the Republic of Cuba on the victims of an explosion caused by a gas leak in a hotel in the capital, Havana, which resulted in deaths and injuries.

In his cable, the Custodian of Two Holy Mosques expressed condolences and sympathy to the President of Cuba, families of the deceased and the friendly people of Cuba, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– The Minister of Transport and Logistics Services Eng. Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser confirmed that the Future Aviation Forum, which was organized here by the General Authority of Civil Aviation, has paved the way for a golden era for international aviation, announcing that it will be held every two years in the Kingdom.

He attributed the creation of the aviation new era to the forum’s establishing a clear vision for the future to raise the confidence of travelers to address the challenges of this sector as well as enable growth, emerge as pioneers and a global sector, extending his thanks to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and HRH the Crown Prince for enabling the Kingdom to host this international event.

In his speech at the conclusion of the activities of the Conference’ second day, the Minister of Transport also indicated that this conference, the first of its kind, had an impact on accomplishing the successes achieved by the aviation sector, adding that the aviation sector contributed to achieving global prosperity and sustainability.

He said, “We have succeeded at the level of policies that can give confidence to travelers to travel again with new partners in this sector to form a new aviation sector and an infrastructure for airports, where agreements concerning air services were signed between countries, and more comprehensive global industries created.”

Eng. Al-Jasser further said that Riyadh Aviation Conference clarifies the vision for the future of global aviation and takes tangible steps together, making this vision a reality and a defining moment for the global industry, indicating that the Saudi aviation sector has shifted to a broader scope to overcome the challenges of recovering from the effects of the corona pandemic in a record time, and to provide opportunities to aviation operators around the world, and promote the spirit of international cooperation in the field of aviation in the coming years.

The Minister of Transport and Logistics Services announced that the Kingdom would host the Future Aviation Forum every two years.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– Television officials of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) held, via video communication, their 13th meeting on Tuesday, headed by the CEO of the Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA) Mohammed bin Fahd Al-Harthi.

Al-Harthi said that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia welcomes everything that would enhance joint action among the Council, and confront the challenges of the media industry with a clear strategy that contributes to the advancement of the GCC television work, and satisfies the aspirations of the followers in accordance with the basic objectives established within the strategy of GCC during its 31st session, which aims to contribute to the promotion of opportunities for citizenship and unity, and the consolidation of societal values and interdependence among the peoples of the region.

The meeting discussed many topics on the agenda, he said, citing the preparation of a future five-year plan to organize the strategy of media action and joint television cooperation in the GCC member countries.

The meeting also reviewed the follow-up to the recommendations of their previous meetings and what would be appropriate for the current stage, and what would enhance joint TV media cooperation among the GCC member states.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Kuwait– With an empowered squad consisting of more than 250 male and female athletes, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is set to participate in the 3rd GCC Games “Kuwait 2022”, scheduled for the Kuwaiti capital, Kuwait next Friday with the participation of all Member States of Riyadh-based Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), an event that proceeds until the end of this May, organizers say.

The Kingdom will be represented in the games of (futsal -men and women), (basketball 5 x 5 for men), (basketball 3 x 3 for women), (athletics – men and women), (padel – men and women), (e-sports – men and women) and (cycling – men and women), in addition to swimming, table tennis, tennis, ice hockey, archery, handball, judo, karate, volleyball and men’s fencing.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– The International Conference and Exhibition for Education (ICEE) 2022, currently ongoing at Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center, is scheduled to wrap up its activities later on Wednesday after having attracted a remarkable turnout over the past three days, organizers said today.

Over 262 parties representing 23 countries participated in the exhibition, in addition to holding 12 sessions, and 103 workshops, with approximately 10,770 participants in them.

The event witnessed the conclusion of 84 agreements and memoranda of cooperation between universities and ministries institutes and local and international institutions serving the education sector.

The third day, falling on Wednesday, is set to witness various sessions reviewing the opportunities available to develop education in the Kingdom, investing in its capabilities and building a person since his/her childhood, in addition to exchanging experiences that reflect the desire for development and global competitiveness, and enhancing opportunities for local and international participation in education and investment in it.

It is worth mentioning that the Minister of Education Dr. Hamad bin Mohammed Al Al-Sheikh, launched the work of ICEE 2022 last Sunday morning, in the presence of a number of education ministers from many countries.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– Saudi Stock Exchange’s main index ended trading lower here today, losing 305.54 points to close at 13,509.31 points.

The total value of the trading reported was SAR 9.4 billion, while the toll of shares traded was over 180 million, divided into over 400,000 deals.

The Saudi Parallel Equity Market Index (NOMU) ended the day losing 381.30 points, to close at 23,094.51 points, with a valuation of SAR 27 million and an overall tally of more than 300,000 stocks traded and divided into as many as 1,887 deals.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Jeddah– The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) voiced its rejection and denouncement of the Israeli allegations on the alleged sovereignty on the occupied Jerusalem city, and the demolition of a building of Al-Rajabi family in Silwan, which forms a blatant violation to the international law and relevant UN resolutions.

The organization stressed its constant support to the right of the Palestinian people in full sovereignty on East Jerusalem for its being the capital of the State of Palestine, renewing its denouncement of all Israeli positions and procedures that aim to change the legal and historical status quo in the city, including the colonization settlement policy, demolishing of houses, forcible immigration of Palestinians and attempts to impose the temporal and spatial division of All-Aqsa Mosque.

The OIC held Israel, the occupying power, fully and directly accountable for going on with these crimes and attacks perpetrated against the Palestinian people and holy places, calling on the international community, mainly the UN Security Council, to bear its responsibilities towards implementing its resolutions and pressure Israel to stop its continuous violations of the international law and international legitimacy resolutions.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– The Communication and Information Technology Commission (CITC) is pleased to announce the launch of the Emerging Technologies Regulatory Sandbox. The Application period starts from Tuesday, 10 May thru 7 July 2022 via the Emerging Technologies Regulatory Sandbox page on CITC website (https://www.citc.gov.sa/en/services/Pages/Emerging_Technologies_sandbox.aspx).

Noting that the launch of the Emerging Technologies Regulatory Sandbox is part of CITC’s mission upon delivering on its mandate, to provide a flexible and promoting a supportive regulatory environment that will enable service providers to test and deliver innovative business models, solutions and services that accelerate digital transformation and maximize the beneficial use of emerging technologies across sectors.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Madinah– The number of Umrah performers and visitors who arrived in Madinah through air, land and sea ports since the beginning of the Umrah season of this year totaled 1,542,960 Umrah performers, 1,300,380 have left and 242,580 are still in Madinah till yesterday, according to a report issued by the Agency of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah for the Affairs of Visit in Madinah.

The statistics showed the number of the top visitors to Madinah in terms of their nationalities during this Umrah season, where Iraqi Umrah performers topped nationalities with 313,815, followed by Pakistanis with 201,003, Indonesians with 171,898, and Egyptians with 95,907 Umrah performers who visited the Prophet’s Holy Mosque and performed prayers in it.

The number of permits issued electronically to perform prayer in the Holy Rawdah at the Prophet’s Holy Mosque during Ramadan totaled 262,781, including 116,045 permits for women, while the number of permits issued to pray at the Holy Rawdah since the beginning of the Umrah season reached 2,785,720 permits through Eatmarna application.

The ministry’s statistics showed that the total permits issued to perform Umrah during Ramadan this year reached 6,694,998 permits for Umrah performers and visitors of various nationalities through the Eatmarna application.

The statistics revealed that the follow up and inspection teams implemented 900 field visits to check on the level of services offered by Umrah companies during Ramadan, where 950,000 visitors took part in a questionnaire to measure the level of satisfaction of visitors on the level of services offered during Ramadan.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Jeddah– The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has sent a cable of condolences to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of the Arab Republic of Egypt on the victims of terrorist attack that targeted one of the water lifting points west of Sinai and led to a number of deaths and injuries.

In the cable, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques stressed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s strong condemnation of this criminal act, and its support for the Arab Republic of Egypt and its people.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques expressed condolences and sympathy to the President, the families of the deceased and the Egyptian people, wishing a speedy recovery for those injured.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– Tatweer Company for Educational Services has signed strategic partnerships with five international experience houses for partnership in the fields of building and designing educational contents and innovating electronic services and solutions, on the sidelines of the International Conference and Exhibition for Education (ICEE 2022).

The agreements, signed by Talemia Executive Director Dr. Mansour bin Salamah with McGraw Hill, Binary Logic, Cengage, and Octivo, aim at benefiting from the best international practices in building and designing electronic content, services and solutions and vocational development, as well as sharing knowledge and distinguished experiments with international experiences in providing new solutions and products that contribute to developing the educational process.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– The Minister of Economy and Planning, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority for Statistics )GASTAT(, Faisal Al-Ibrahim has launched the data collection phase for the Saudi Census 2022.

The date of Monday evening, 8th Shawwal 1443 H, which corresponds to May 9th, 2022, was approved by Royal Decree last September as the census day for the General Population and Housing Census for 1443 H (2022).

The Minister of Economy and Planning expressed his sincere gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and to His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister for their kind guidance and their unlimited support for GASTAT to

implement the Census.

In his speech during the ceremony, which was held in Riyadh today, he also praised the great efforts made by various government agencies in the Saudi Census 2022, contributing in various roles during its preparatory phases, and appreciating what their support and contribution in the coming phases.

The Minister Al-Ibrahim, referred to the transformation in the Kingdom under ‘Vision 2030’, pointing out that GASTAT provides accurate and reliable statistical data as a basic pillar for planning, development, creating economic and social policies, and developing plans for various sectors to achieve the Vision’objectives and create a better future.

He stressed that GASTAT conforms to the highest international standards and uses the latest techniques to issue statistical data, by integrating various administrative records, big data and statistical census information to provide accurate data.

He also explained that the Saudi Census 2022 is the first digital census in the history of the Kingdom, using a self-enumeration feature which allows heads of households to conveniently fill the census questionnaire on their own without the need for the census interviewer’s visit. In addition to self-enumeration, 30,000 census

interviewers will visit households to collect information, all while upholding the highest levels of confidentiality.

The Minister Al-Ibrahim also praised the wide participation of Saudi women in the Saudi Census 2022, whether through their leadership positions or by contributing in the field operation, stressing that it was an extension of the Kingdom’s approach to empowering women and increasing their contribution to the national economy.

He urged the Kingdom’s residents and citizens to participate in the census by completing its questionnaire through the various available options, considering it as a national

duty, a societal responsibility, and an opportunity to build a better future for the Kingdom.

The President of GASTAT, Dr. Konrad Pesendorfer clarified that the Saudi Census 2022 is the beginning of a new era of statistical knowledge in the Kingdom, describing it as an innovative digital census, and indicating that it will provide detailed information to help planners and policymakers.

Dr. Pesendorfer pointed out that GASTAT is helping with the Kingdom’s development by investing in its human capabilities, as well as following a new business model of producing high quality statistics by integrating data from multiple sources.

The census project is a good example of implementing this new business model as big data sources like satellite images were used in the preparation of the census, just as well as administrative data before collecting data directly from households. He explained that the Authority had improved the quality of data of major statistical products and information provided to decision makers, exemplifying GDP figures that were available earlier than they used to be.

He addressed several Saudi leaders who had worked on preparing for the Census, through a video in which they talked about the efforts made during the census operations and the roles they played.

GASTAT prepared the Census project based on the best international practices as implemented in countries of the G20 and in member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), through collaboration with experts from the United Nations (UN) and various government agencies.

The Authority is always keen to ensure the quality of data, by setting quality control procedures, as data is validated and processed during the data collection phase by a specialized quality control team, which communicates with a random sample of census participants to ensure the accuracy of the information.

After completing the data collection phase, data analyzing will start to ensure its quality and accuracy, after which the preliminary results will be published before the end

of 2022, and made available to decision-makers and researchers in the public and private sectors. This will be a record time to complete the analysis and data dissemination,

while some countries take more than a full year to complete the analysis and publication process.

Source: Saudi Press Agency