Saudi Arabia aims to boost tourism sector through 10 new regulations – Arab News

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RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has initiated 10 new policies aimed at expanding the tourism sector and protecting tourists, according to the Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb.   
The issued policies included laws for the sector, as well as regulations for quality control and monitoring of services.   
Al-Khateeb described the new laws as “a promising step towards a prosperous tourism future” in a tweet. 
The latest regulations ensure that the tourism sector keeps up with the renaissance that Saudi Arabia is undergoing, and mirror the ministry’s efforts to achieve the goals of the development strategy for tourism in the Kingdom.   
“These regulations would allow the ministry to strengthen cooperation with the private sector, and to offer job opportunities for the national competencies in the tourism sector,” Al-Khateeb said.  
The regulations intend to contribute to making the Kingdom more attractive for investors, as well as develop the quality of services, protect the rights of tourists, and, in addition, boost job opportunities for the younger generations. This also emphasizes Saudi Arabia’s objective to build a competitive tourism sector at a global scale.  
Al-Khateeb noted that regulations issued under the tourism law were planned in accordance with the international best practices chosen based on the index of the top 10 countries in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness issued by the World Economic Forum.  
The ministry has granted agencies and operators in the tourism sector up to 90 days to accommodate the latest conditions and standards.   
It also requested that these organizations take these regulations into account to preserve the rights of tourists, and the quality of the services offered to keep away from being subjected to legal penalties and fines.  
“The adoption of NIPST (National Intellectual Property Strategy) supports the empowerment of innovators in various fields to build an ambitious country and a diversified and prosperous economy for the Kingdom and attracts interested researchers, entrepreneurs and innovators from Saudi Arabia and around the world towards innovation, creativity and respect of IP rights,” stated the Saudi Press Agency.  
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman Al-Fadli inaugurated the 10th International Conference on Water Resources and Arid Environments on Monday.
Held under the patronage of King Salman, the conference is being co-organized by King Saud University, represented by the Prince Sultan Institute for Environmental, Water and Desert Research and the Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Foundation, along with MEWA.
The speakers expressed thanks during the opening ceremony to the king and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, for their policy of helping to bring about radical development in all areas of the Kingdom, as well as sponsoring scientific events which will contribute toward achieving the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 programs.
Abdulmalik Al-Sheikh, the chairman of the Supreme Supervisory Committee of the conference supervising PSIEWDR, stressed the importance of workflow in implementing many ambitious initiatives adopted by the Kingdom and launched by the crown prince.
He said that among projects the conference will highlight is the Saudi Green Initiative, which was launched by the crown prince last year, while policy aims included protecting the environment, energy conversion and sustainability programs in the Kingdom, achieving comprehensive goals of offsetting and reducing carbon emissions, increasing the use of clean energy, and combating climate change.
Al-Sheikh, who is also the secretary-general of the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water, gave an overview of the prize, which coincided with the 20th anniversary of its inception by its founder, Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
He said: “The conference aims to develop knowledge and exchange information within its five pillars, which are water and dry environment; water rationalization and conservation; the use of modern technologies in studying the dry environment and its natural resources; exchanging expertise between decision makers, experts and specialists; and finding solutions to water and environmental challenges, especially in arid and semi-arid regions of the world.”
President of King Saud University Badran Al-Omar said King Salman “graciously sponsored” the conference two weeks after sponsoring the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water award ceremony, which was held at the UN headquarters in Vienna.
He said the conference was vital as it addresses water resources that form the basis of sustainable economic and social development, food production, and the integrity of environmental systems.
Al-Omar said that the world is going through political, economic, and environmental crises, which require unifying efforts and focusing on serious scientific research to develop creative solutions, adding that the UN and the World Meteorological Organization warned last year that water and food are the main reasons why these crises have exacerbated.
He reviewed the role of King Saud University in preserving the Kingdom’s natural resources through its general strategic plan and initiatives, especially those related to water resources management and development.
He said the university also conducts and publishes scientific research through many scientific research chairs and institutes that deal with water issues, including PSIEWDR, and among the pilot projects it has implemented is developing effective methods to harvest and store rain and torrential water, which it has successfully applied in the basins of more than 20 dams throughout the Kingdom.
The institute is currently preparing the first environmental atlas for Saudi Arabia, which highlights the diversity of the local environment and issues related to it, he added.
Al-Fadli affirmed the state’s support for motivating scientists and researchers to work on developing research, innovation and technologies, and said this contributes to finding practical solutions to many challenges in environmental, water and desertification issues.
He said the Kingdom is working on developing a national strategy for water and the environment, which includes many strategic goals, programs and initiatives that adopt research and innovation, and are among the options and enablers to support and enhance the management of water resources, to raise environmental commitment and reduce pollution.
He added: “The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture has adopted many initiatives and programs to develop the natural plant sector and combat desertification, most notably the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative, in addition to the water resources initiative, which has 15 initiatives, including developing renewable groundwater resources, which is the main focus of this conference.
“It resulted in many projects that contributed to enhancing the utilization of renewable water, including the construction of dams, whose storage capacity amounted to about 2.6 billion cubic meters, and developed rainwater harvesting projects, agricultural terrace rehabilitations, and rural development programs.”
Al-Fadli said the environmental field has achieved many targets to reduce carbon emissions in the desalination industry at a rate of 26 million tons annually, as well as programs to rehabilitate pastoral sites, seedling production, and afforestation and seed field development to protect and develop vegetation cover.
TUNIS: Tunisia’s finance minister unveiled a budget Monday aiming to use new tax revenues to claw the deficit back to near 5 percent of GDP, as the cash-strapped country awaits an international bailout.
The 2023 budget comes as the North African country grapples with public debt, shortages of goods from sugar to petrol and inflation at nearly 10 percent.
The latest plans aim to cut the budget deficit from 7.7 percent of gross domestic product to 5.2 percent, Finance Minister Sihem Boughdiri told journalists.
The state is set to take in around 46.4 billion dinars ($14.8 billion), Boughdiri said.
It will need to borrow some 23.5 billion dinars to cover state needs for the coming year, she added.
To find the cash, it will seek more than $4 billion from overseas as well as some $3 billion from local banks, according to the fiscal plan.
To boost revenues, the government has imposed a new tax of half a percent on real estate assets worth over 3 million dinars.
Cash payments of over 5,000 dinars will be taxed at 20 percent, while taxes on some professional services such as legal services will be hiked to 19 percent, up from 13 percent.
The budget is based on assumptions of 1.8 percent GDP growth, oil at $89 a barrel and a deal with the International Monetary Fund for a $1.9 billion bailout loan.
Economy Minister Samir Saied has predicted 2023 would be “a very difficult year” and that inflation would hit 10.5 percent.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Stock Index ran out of steam on Monday as it lost 5.88 points — or 0.06 percent — to close at 10,228.64 as the seasonal slowdown in the last trading week of the year cast its shadow on the bourse.    
The total trading turnover stood flat at SR1.92 billion ($510 million) compared to Sunday’s close and declined against Thursday’s SR2.67 billion. The advance-decline ratio tilted south as 60 stocks of the listed 221 gained while 148 lost. 
“Value traded on the exchange today was the lowest in three years while volume traded was the fifth lowest in three years, reflecting a seasonal slowdown in trades globally,” Junaid Ansari, head of investment strategy and research at Kamco Invest, told Arab News.  
“Saudi market continued to move sideways with minimal change due to lack of catalysts,” he added.   
Moreover, 12 of the 21 sector indices were in the red, partially offset by a gain in the Utilities Index, which rose 44.6 points to close at 7,119.15, led by ACWA Power Co., which ended 0.94 percent higher at SR150.60.   
“A marginal increase in the Banking Index also helped after healthy gains in Banque Saudi Fransi, Riyad Bank and Arab National Bank were almost fully offset by the decline in five listed banks,” said Ansari.  
The parallel market Nomu, on the other hand, rose 68 points to end at 18,887.75.
Stock markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council region remained muted as Dubai, Kuwait and Muscat gained 0.31 percent, 0.67 percent and 0.01 percent, respectively. However, exchanges in Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Bahrain fell 0.52 percent, 1.23 percent and 0.06 percent, respectively.  
“The performance of regional markets remained mixed, failing to provide any meaningful direction to the Saudi market,” said Ansari.  
On the announcement front, Saudi Top Trading Co. on Monday informed Tadawul that its board of directors has recommended distributing cash dividends of 120 percent or SR12 per share to its shareholders, excluding its chairman Abdullah Muhammad Al-Ajmi, who waived his profits for 2022.  
The number of eligible shares is 1.2 million, and the company will distribute SR14 million in cash dividends. The company’s share price increased 5.16 percent to close at SR114.2.  
Keir International Co. on Dec. 26 also announced that it signed a contract worth SR16.6 million, including the value-added tax, with the Saudi Ports Authority, also known as Mawani, to connect the authority’s ports to the fiber-optic network. The company’s share price gained 1.6 percent to wind up at SR127. 
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Japan on Monday signed 15 strategic investment agreements spread across various industries during the Saudi Japan Investment Forum held in Riyadh, as both countries look to deepen business ties.  
The agreements were signed to drive investment in the sector of metals, marine, petrochemicals, and automotive among others, with around 99 Japanese companies investing in the Kingdom as both countries want a further boost in their economic relations. 
Speaking during the forum Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih said the two countries have bolstered their relationship with tremendous dedication as the Kingdom targets $3.3 trillion worth of investments with Japan by 2030. 
The minister added that Saudi Arabia will utilize its relationship with the east Asian country to build more than 500,000 electric cars annually by the end of the decade.
Moreover, the Kingdom aims to build five largest marine industry parks in the world in Ras Al-Khair, Al Falih said during the forum. 
He added that the Kingdom aims to become the world’s leading energy nation as the two countries intend to cooperate for a smoother energy transition. 
Al-Falih said Saudi Arabia aims to become a major hub for gaming and e-sports by 2030 with content that can be exported in the region and globally. 
One day before the forum, Saudi Arabia and Japan held a ministerial meeting in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency reported. 
Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, and Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Nishimura Yasutoshi, signed a memorandum of cooperation in the circular carbon economy and carbon recycling fields as well as hydrogen, fuel ammonia, and derivatives. 
Both ministers agreed to focus on emissions reduction rather than energy sources through the effective deployment of carbon recycling and a circular carbon economy. 
The dialogue also expressed the two countries’ ambitions to collaborate in the fields of petrochemicals to maximize integration across the value chain, SPA reported. 
The two sides also revealed their intentions to continue to collaborate in the energy sector with a focus on electricity, renewable energy, energy efficiency and innovation. 
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is the second largest investor in Egypt, with $6.1 billion poured into 6,017 projects, according to the north African country’s Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir. 
The trade minister announced the investment figure during his visit to Riyadh on Dec. 25, where he met Saudi ministers and senior officials to boost bilateral ties between the two countries. 
According to Samir, Saudi Arabia’s investments in Egypt span across various sectors including industry, construction, tourism, agriculture, services, finance, communications and information technology.
The trade minister also added that trade exchange between Egypt and Saudi Arabia surged 41.3 percent year-on-year to $4.572 billion in 2021, compared to $3.236 billion in 2020. 
Back in August, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund launched the Saudi Egyptian Investment Company, aimed at investing in promising Egyptian sectors and widening PIF’s investment footprints in Africa. 
A statement by the Egyptian ministry noted that Samir had meetings with the Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Sultan Al-Saud and Minister of Trade Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi. 
During the meeting, ministers discussed ways to enhance investment cooperation between the two countries, and the talks also tackled ways to launch Egyptian-Saudi industrial partnerships in various production domains. 
Saudi Arabia is the top exporter among Arab Nations with exports worth $6.4 billion, followed by Kuwait, the UAE and Oman with exports worth $2.4 billion, $2.2 billion and $625.7million respectively, according to the Egyptian Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. 
In November, Saudi Press Agency reported that the Kingdom is exploring investment opportunities in Egypt’s improving real estate landscape following the recent move of the African nation to remove restrictions on foreign ownership of land. 
The report further noted that Saudi Arabia’s Real Estate National Committee has met with the Egyptian Businessmen’s Association to discuss potential real estate investments.
Earlier in June, during a meeting of the Egyptian-Saudi Business Council, Al-Qasabi noted that Saudi Arabia and Egypt signed investment agreements worth $7.7 billion under 14 deals.

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