Day: August 24, 2024

The Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC), a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the US BlackRock conglomerate in New York City, to develop programs in the real estate finance market in Saudi Arabia, and increase the share of businesses in the real estate sector capital markets. The MoU was signed on the sidelines of the official visit of Saudi Minister of Municipalities and Housing, Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail who is also SRC Board of Directors chairman. The minister and his accompanying delegation are in the US to discuss ways to boost Saudi-American partnerships in the urban development, construction, building, finance and real estate development sectors. The agreement was signed by SRC CEO Majid Fahd Al-Abduljabbar and General Manager of BlackRock in the Middle and CEO of BlackRock Saudi Arabia Yazeed Al-Mubarak. BlackRock President Robert Capito attended the signing ceremony. The MoU aims to accelerate the development of programs in t he real estate refinancing market in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and expand through local and international capital market channels. It also seeks to diversify funding sources through fixed income markets, which is bound to increase the stability of the real estate finance market, and contribute to achieving the goals of the housing and financial sector development programs, which serve as enablers of the Kingdom's Vision 2030. Source: Saudi Press Agency

The second edition of AlUla Desert Blaze race started today from the Hegra archaeological site, the first Saudi site inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List, for runners participating in races of 5, 10 and 21 kilometers. Participants on the more difficult 42-kilometer route started their journey from Ashar Valley, in front of the Maraya Hall, which the Guinness Book of World Records says is the largest mirrored building ever constructed in the world. AlUla Desert Blaze race is one of the toughest running competitions in the world, testing the participants' physical abilities to the limit, and enabling them to win cash prizes totaling SAR176,000. Men and women at all fitness levels could take part in the race. Tickets to participate in all races were available for four distance options: 5 kilometers (SAR70), 10 kilometers (SAR120), 21 kilometers (SAR200) or 42 kilometers (SAR350). Source: Saudi Press Agency

The Saudi handball team of players born in 2006 is set to play a second friendly match against the Tunisian team at 8:00 pm today in preparation for the tenth Asian Handball Championship. The team is currently training in a camp in Tunisia. The Asian championship will be hosted by Jordan from September 3 to 14, 2024, qualifying teams for the World Handball Championship that will be held in Slovakia in 2025. The Saudi team won 26-25 the first friendly match against Tunisia. The team returns home after the camp in Tunisia before heading to Jordan to participate in the Asian championship. Source: Saudi Press Agency

The eighth edition of the Women's Economic Forum, organized by the Business Women Center, an affiliate of the Eastern Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECCI), is scheduled to be held in Dammam on November 19-20 under the patronage of Governor of the Eastern Region Prince Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz. The forum, to be held under the title "Empowering Effective Leadership", aims to encourage and stimulate investment in small projects, boost the business spirit and investment initiatives of Saudi women, and identify mechanisms for financing successful ideas and projects in the small-enterprise sector for women. ECCI Board of Directors Chairman Badr bin Suleiman Al-Rizaiza commended the support the ECCI governor lends to the chamber initiatives showcasing women's achievements in the business world in the governorate, and highlighted the important role women play in, and their impact on, community development. Source: Saudi Press Agency

Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development teams have inspected over 700,200 private sector facilities in the Kingdom since the beginning of the year to mid-July of 2024, as part of its ongoing efforts to regulate and control the labor market, and ensure that owners of establishments comply with labor regulations. As a result, 88,776 warnings were issued to establishments contravening the law, and 107,329 establishments were found in noncompliance with several articles of the labor law. Violations included: 59,891 employers who failed to raise the wages as specified by the ministry; 16,295 cases of employees who had not received salaries; 7,662 cases of employment of foreigners in professions or activities reserved exclusively for Saudi nationals. The ministry's teams have stepped up efforts to monitor compliance of establishments with the decision to localize jobs, visiting 522,092 establishments. These visits yielded 9,712 opportunities for citizens and enabled attaining the target localizat ion rates in numerous sectors. The percentage of establishments that complied with the decisions to localize professions increased to 93.5%. In collaboration with the relevant authorities, the monitoring teams conducted 840 visits to petrol stations and service centers throughout the Kingdom. The ministry has reported that its inspection tours are under way at all facilities in the Kingdom's regions and governorates. It has urged all individuals to report any violations by calling the unified number 19911, or by using the ministry's smartphone application. Source: Saudi Press Agency

The Ministry of Interior conducted inspection campaigns in the Kingdom between August 15 and August 21 to ensure compliance with residency, labor and border security laws. The inspections yielded the following results: Across the Kingdom, 17,616 violations were recorded: 11,022 of residency, 4,216 of border security, and 2,378 of labor laws. Attempting to cross the border into the Kingdom illegally were 883 individuals, of whom 41% were Yemenis, 58% Ethiopians, and 01% of other nationalities; 68 people were arrested for attempting to leave the Kingdom illegally. Fifteen people involved in transporting, sheltering, and employing violators were arrested. A total of 14,542 expatriates (13,471 men and 1,071 women) are currently undergoing procedures for enforcing regulations. Five thousand, nine hundred and twenty-six people were detained for violating laws and instructed to contact their countries' embassies or consulates to obtain proper travel documentation; 2,070 were told make booking arrangement s for their departure, and 13,952 were repatriated. The Ministry of Interior has warned that any person who facilitates the illegal entry of individuals into the Kingdom, transports them on its territory, provides them with shelter or any other assistance or service may be penalized with up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to SAR1 million, and that the vehicles used for transport or houses used for shelter may be confiscated. The ministry stressed that such acts are major crimes that warrant arrest. It also urges people to report any violations by calling 911 in the Makkah, Riyadh, and Eastern regions, and 999 and 996 in the rest of the Kingdom. Source: Saudi Press Agency

The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), celebrated World Humanitarian Day at the Zaatari refugee camp in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The event, observed annually on August 19, highlights the importance of humanitarian work and the concept of volunteering and community cooperation. The center organized activities at the camp that highlighted the significance of humanitarian efforts and their impact on individuals and communities. People with disabilities were included in the activities to integrate them into the community. The celebration is part of a series of humanitarian and relief projects provided by the Kingdom through the KSrelief for Families at the Zaatari camp. It aims to raise social awareness about humanitarian work and its vital role in the development and progress of nations and peoples. Source: Saudi Press Agency

The Aligned for Advancing Lifesaving and Peace in Sudan (ALPS) Group, which includes the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the US, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the African Union and the UN, issued a statement following the August 14-24, 2024, meeting held in Switzerland with the objective of taking concrete and immediate action to deal with the situation in Sudan. The statement reads as follows: 'The Sudanese people have suffered 16 horrific months of war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that has resulted in ten million people being forced to flee their homes, more than 25 million people plagued by acute hunger, and one million people facing starvation. Responding to the demand of the Sudanese people for greater action by the international community, the United States of America, Switzerland, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the African Union, and the United Nations convened in Switzerlan d on August 14, 2024, with the objective of taking concrete and immediate action to alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people, save lives, and achieve a lasting cessation of hostilities. Building upon the foundation of the Jeddah process, over the last 10 days, the ALPS Group secured the reopening and expansion of critical humanitarian access routes, received commitments to improve the protection of civilians, particularly women and children, and developed a framework to ensure compliance with the Jeddah Declaration and any future agreements between the warring parties. Using a hybrid negotiating model that combined in-person, proximity, and virtual diplomacy, the ALPS Group partnered with frontline humanitarian responders and directly engaged the RSF and SAF to open access for the delivery of emergency food, medicine, and services to millions of Sudanese in need. The ALPS Group secured guarantees from both parties to the conflict to provide safe and unhindered humanitarian access through two key art eries -- the Western border crossing in Darfur at Adre and the Dabbah Road with access through the North and West from Port Sudan -- and aid trucks are on the road to provide famine relief in Zamzam Camp and other parts of Darfur. These routes must remain open and safe so we can surge aid into Darfur and begin to turn the tide against famine. Food and starvation cannot be used as a weapon of war. We continue to make progress toward opening an access route through the Sennar junction, and the United Nations is undertaking a feasibility study for routes across the country that can enable aid access. Collectively, securing these routes would expand humanitarian access for nearly 20 million vulnerable Sudanese. We call on all parties to ensure that this urgent flow of aid continues and accelerates. To that end, we also welcome the RSF acceptance of a streamlined notification system to facilitate humanitarian aid delivery, and encourage SAF to take action on similar proposals. In the face of ongoing brutal viole nce and atrocities, including gross violations against women, it is critical that the two warring parties take immediate action toward the implementation of the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan, of 11 May 2023, in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions 2724 and 2736, adopted on March 8, 2024, and June 13, 2024, respectively, and the latest communiqué of the African Union Peace and Security Council dated June 21, 2024. To that end, the ALPS Group also worked to advance the protection of civilians, consistent with obligations of the parties under international humanitarian and human rights law and the Jeddah commitments. We have urged both parties, and received the RSF's commitment, to issue command directives to all fighters throughout their ranks to refrain from violations, including violence against women or children, the use of starvation or checkpoints for exploitation, and attacks on humanitarian operations and essential services such as agricultural fields, farm ers and operations related to the harvest. Additionally, the ALPS Group presented to both warring parties a proposal for a compliance mechanism to resolve disputes, receive complaints, and address problems arising in relation to implementation of commitments around the protection of civilians under existing agreements, including the Jeddah Declaration, and international humanitarian and human rights law. We and other partners stand ready to work with the parties to operationalize this mechanism. We appreciate the RSF decision to send a senior delegation to Switzerland to engage with the ALPS Group. Though we were in consistent communication with SAF virtually, we regret their decision not to be present, and we believe that limited our ability to make more substantial progress toward key issues, particularly a national cessation of hostilities. The ALPS Group remains open to both parties joining future rounds of talks to urgently relieve the suffering of the Sudanese. We remain committed to answering the call of the people of Sudan to pursue a national cessation of hostilities, secure humanitarian access to every state across the country, and negotiate an immediate cessation of hostilities in areas such as El Fasher, Khartoum, and Sennar. Out of dedication to the Sudanese people, the ALPS Group will continue to build on the results and momentum created over the last 10 days. We will continue to elevate and integrate the voices of women in the process and broader efforts to improve humanitarian access, protect civilians, and end the war. We call on the international community to honor and increase its pledges of financial support for the humanitarian response in Sudan and the region, including those made in Paris in April 2024. We will continue to build on the foundation of the Jeddah Declaration, under the auspices of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and we thank Switzerland for its generous hosting of this effort.' Source: Saudi Press Agency

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has sent a cable of congratulations to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy on his country's Independence Day. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques wished President Zelenskyy continued good health and happiness, and the government and people of Ukraine steady progress and prosperity. Source: Saudi Press Agency

Tabuk region, located in the northwest of the Kingdom, is a place of juxtapositions: desert meets mountains, sand meets sea, and the sun rises and sets with a uniqueness based on minute details. The area covers more than 138,000 km2. Located between the Nafud Desert and the Red Sea, Tabuk is home to five governorates that span the Red Sea coast: Haql, Duba, Al-Wajh, Amluj, and Al-Bada. Knowing that a picture is worth 1,000 words, the Saudi Press Agency captures the wonder and magnificence of the Tabuk region. The photos give the viewer a glimpse into the beautiful scenery that defines this wonderful region. Source: Saudi Press Agency