Tuesday, 20 November 2007
By Mohammed Al-Kinani and Adel Al-Malki
BURAIDAH - The Buraidah Jail Department has allocated a cell that relatively speaking, is of five-star status for prisoners who behave well. According to prison officials, the idea is to further motivate prisoners change and improve themselves. "Any prisoner can join that particular ward no matter what his wrongdoing was," said an official at the Buraidah Jail.
There are rules an inmate must adhere to, though, when inside the five-star jail. Among these are performing prayers on a regular basis, quitting smoking, and, of course, exhibiting exemplary demeanor.
Jail officials also supply the inmates different sources of knowledge. "We give prisoners religious lectures and lessons. We have also designated an area for teaching detainees different abstract courses," he said.
Detainees also get advice from well-qualified scholars as Hamad Al-Saqa'abi, who prisoners look at as a father.
A prisoner said they benefit from the programs being implemented in the five-star cell. "I thank all the people who are behind this idea. I have memorized the whole Qur'an during my stay here - something made possible by the psychological comfort we find here," he said.
Buraidah Voluntary Store that finances the section, has spent over SR2 million on making the five-star jail not only an example on how such places should - or could - be, but also how prisoners must behave.
Maj. Gen. Ahmed Al-Zahrani, Director of Jeddah Prison, said that Saudi jails are not like any other prisons in the world.
"Islam urges us to treat man gently wherever he is found," he said.
"The government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques expects us to be nice to those who committed a wrongdoing, believing that they can be rehabilitated to become effective members of society," he added.
Al-Zahrani confirmed that all prisoners they receive are exposed to the programs of the five-star jail.
"A prisoner undergoes a health checkup when he comes to us, then we investigate whether his family needs any assistance. If so, we coordinate with the appropriate authorities to lend them a hand," said Al-Zahrani.
Monday, 19 November 2007
By Adel Al-Malki
JEDDAH - The Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) has called for the investment of some SR50 billion funds of women in banks on productive projects especially relating to education.
The funds are "frozen" in bank accounts since women cannot use this without permission from their husbands. Saleh Al-Turki, Chairman of the JCCI, said that because of lack of work opportunities for female graduates, there is a general impression that education is not a wise investment to make. This belief partly causes an increase in living dependency up to 70 percent, he said.
Al-Turki said there is a need for an equitable distribution of opportunities for women who want to seek work in sectors other than health and education. "We have to review and expand the educational system in order to meet the needs of the labor market, taking into consideration how it would open up opportunities to our female graduates and the expected increase in population of the Kingdom in the next 10 years," he said.
The budget for girls' education this year is estimated at SR34 billion.
Women represent 56 percent of university graduates, 14 percent of the Saudi labor force and 30 percent of those who work in government.
About 20,000 women own commercial establishments and 21 percent run them, with consent from their elders.
The education sector employs 85 percent of total working women. Others are employed in the health sector.
Al-Turki said there is also a need to open the way for businesswomen to invest in the industrial sector in particular to further boost the economy.
Sunday, 18 November 2007
By Adel Al-Malki
JEDDAH - Some six American companies specializing in the commercial and industrial fields have met with Saudi businessmen and women at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industries (JCCI) recently.
The American delegation, headed by the Director of the International Trade Office for the Development of Economic Relations in Virginia Mark Meyerk, aimed to open investment and joint venture opportunities with the Saudi owners and entrepreneurs. Lama Al-Sulaiman said the meeting also allowed talks on Information Technology. "The Saudi businessmen and representatives of the American companies underscored the need to support trade and economic relations between the two countries, pointing out that the economic cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the US are growing rapidly in the light of the availability of direct and rapid transportation," she said.
The American delegates also expressed their wishes to establish economic partnerships with the GCC states.
Sunday, 18 November 2007
By Adel Al-Malki
JEDDAH - Some 750 female teachers will join a social awareness campaign in Jeddah this week under the slogan "We Are All Responsible".
Abdul Kareem Al-Heqail, director-general of Female Education, said that the joint program between the education department and the municipality aims to attract national attention to the importance of environmental awareness and social unity in nation building. The campaign also highlights the importance of instilling proper behavior among Saudis to achieve both goals.
The crucial role of families in complementing the initiative by the educational system is also emphasized.
Mohammad Abu-Emarah, supervisor of Social Development and Information in the municipality, said, "The campaign will try to remind our children to keep our city clean."
"They should know the importance of proper garbage disposal, and that vandalism and defacing of public facilities are crimes punishable by law," Abu-Emarah said.
Abu-Emarah also said that the campaign also highlights the importance of proper hygiene, disease prevention and public safety.
Friday, 16 November 2007
By Adel Al-Malki
JEDDAH - Al-Rajhi Bank has joined the 5th Dhahran Real Estate Exhibition at the Dhahran Exhibitions Center, which started on Thursday, as part of the bank's effort to market its home and real estate financing programs to exhibition visitors. The exhibition runs until Nov. 17 and is open for public viewing.
Saeed Al-Ghamdi, deputy chief executive officer said, "Saudi Arabia is currently going through a construction and real estate boom, there is a lot of demand on residential and commercial properties." "Such exhibitions give us an opportunity to interact with our customers."
Among the bank's products is Home Financing, based on Musharaka Islamic loan, which offers a long-term repayment schedule of over 25 years to customers. The Real Estate loan on the other hand offers financial solutions based on Murabaha, with a repayment tenor of over 15 years.
period while the Irad is a program that offers opportunities to finance residential and commercial real estate.
Thursday, 15 November 2007
By Adel Al-MalkiA framework to revive the implementation of the 1996 peace agreement was established during the tripartite meeting among the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) held here on November 12. OIC Secretary General Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu also announced that the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has allocated $16 million for the reconstruction of Southern Philippines to translate the peace process into reality through economic and social development.
Joint work groups to review and further the peace process in the light of the Shariah and Judiciary, special regional security force and the unified command for the autonomous region in Mindanao, natural resources and economic development issues, political system and representation, and education will be formed.
Each of the work group will be composed by three experts from both the GRP and the MNLF.
Their meetings will be facilitated by representatives from the Members of the OIC PCSP.
The first progress reports of the groups will be submitted to the tripartite meeting through the OIC by January 10, 2008.
The recommendations will be studied for discussion at the next tripartite meeting four days later.
The Secretary General thanked the delegations of the GRP and the MNLF for their commitment to the peace agreement.
He also thanked the members of the newly expanded OIC Peace Committee for Southern Philippines (PCSP) for their efforts in helping the two sides resolve their differences and preserve the gains achieved. Ihsanoglu then reminded that the OIC Ministerial Council (ICFM) has twice appealed to the GRP to expedite the legal process against MNLF Chairman Prof. Nur Misuari and see to his early release.
This way, he said, Misuari could participate in the next tripartite meeting as well as continue his constructive role in leading the Bangsamoro people.
Randolph Percasio, head of the MNLF delegation, called the meeting historical and a positive step towards achieving peace. He said the MNLF will do its part to achieve the same goal.
Chairman of the PCSP, Indonesian Ambassador Rezlan I. Jenie, also commended the outcome of the meeting.
Wednesday, 14 November 2007
By Adel Al-Malki
JEDDAH - This city's Municipality will present five projects conducted by the Center for Geographic Systems during "World Day for GIS", which will be held on Tuesday.
The systems center has been established with a price tag of SR10 million and municipalities from all parts of the Kingdom will participate in the forum to review the draft centers for GIS. Abdull Lateef Al-Harthi, the director general of the GIS, said the first project models databases through the design and definition of all classes and geographical definitions of fields. It will be based on the municipality's requirements to make a single database for all departments. The project's results will provide a major source of information, which will include geographical and statistical subjects.
He added the conservation of all the geographic information which is available in a unified system also gives sources of information and exchanges information automatically.
The second project focuses on dengue fever during the period the disease spread in Jeddah.
"It was necessary to use GIS to spot where the disease spread and see how to fight it on digital maps, which contributes to identifying these sites and extracting the necessary reports in a simplified and rapid way," Al- Harthi said. "The objective is to set up an infection control system and a system to control mosquitoes in those areas. We also want to identify wetlands and classified sites after chemical analysis and see the most appropriate way to address them."
Linking the GIS project with a management system is what the third scheme involves. Subsequently, it will help to facilitate the follow-up of projects for different levels using GIS.
The fourth venture aims to complete the municipality's GIS applications, including public services, planning and development areas. This will be a necessary step for citizens, engineering companies, governmental bodies and the private sector. They will be able to use the latest techniques to provide services through websites and database designed art, and will be linked to each other in an integrated and effective manner.
"With this project, the municipality aims to help citizens to quickly complete a transaction. The project is considered as one of the municipality's electronic government plans," Al-Harthi said.
The fifth project entails the establishment of a geographic explorer. Users can interactively explore the most basic geographical strata with the possibility of doing research about the elements of a geographical location. The explorer provides multiple search mechanisms such as the ability to research street names and municipal districts. It can also be controlled through the map, tools available through the site and by printing various maps.
Sunday, 11 November 2007
By Adel Al-Malki
Jeddah - The new garbage yard will take care of Jeddah's waste for the next 30 years, said Deputy Khaled Aqeel of this city's municipality as he started the campaign for the new location on Saturday.
The new site will cost more SR30 million, located on an area of 4.5 million square meters at a distance of 25 km from Beriman bridge. It is scheduled to open within two months.
The municipality also signed three contracts for the closure of the old garbage yard worth SR150 million, Aqeel said. The space will be turned into parkland, according to city officials.
The mechanism of the new garbage yard also includes a new system for the extraction of gas from waste, potentially providing something - energy and cash - from nothing.
"The municipality plans to dispose solid waste here for more than 30 years," he said. "By taking advantage of the decomposition of fertilizers, waste wood and green waste, as well as livestock, poultry and waste oils, components can be recycled and will be a source of material income that can be spent in the operation of the site in addition to the possibility of providing other recycled materials and gas for the production of electricity."
Aqeel said the new garbage yard will be much more technologically advanced than the previous fill, where fires caused thick smoke to rumble through Jeddah neighborhoods. Many families complained that their children were coming down with chronic conditions from living near the old dump.
"The new garbage yard will operate ... in accordance with the foundations of the world to preserve the surrounding environment, and it impacts positively on the city of Jeddah and its inhabitants," he said.
Thursday, 08 November 2007
By Adel Al-Malki
JEDDAH - Dutch and Philippine delegations are visiting the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry to promote opportunities for trade and technical cooperation between the countries.
The Dutch delegation included a group of 12 specialists in the fields of water and sanitation networks aimed at promoting opportunities for technical and commercial cooperation. "The delegation held a meeting during the visit with Saudi businessmen to study the ways to increase the volume of joint cooperation," said Mustafa Al-Sabri, the Secretary General of Jeddah's Chamber for Commerce and Industrial said.
Al-Sabri said that the delegation's visit comes within the framework of strengthening the interest of the two sides' trade relations and called Dutch businessmen to expand partnerships especially regarding investment in addition to water systems industry in the Kingdom and to take advantage of the climate of economic reforms and investment at the present time.
Meanwhile, Mustafa and the Philippine delegation also reviewed the economic relations between the two countries and ways of developing them.
Mustafa said the Philippine delegation has introduced a number of investment opportunities, particularly in commercial food products, spices, fish and pharmaceutical products.
Wednesday, 07 November 2007
By Adel Al-Malki
RIYADH - The National Commercial Bank will host today the Middle East and North Africa Economic Forum sponsored by the International Institute of American Financial Sciences with the participation of more than 370 financial firms.
Abdulkareem Abdulnaser, Chief Executive Officer, National Commercial Bank, said, "We are pleased to be hosting this forum with the IIF. Our program will not only highlight critical global economic issues; it will also focus on major regional trends in the Middle East," he said. He said the forum aims to put in perspective the recent developments and prospects in the oil market, the domestic economic challenges in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. It will also highlight important financial market challenges.
"The program is unique given the outstanding group of presenters who are coming to Riyadh for this very special event." Abdulnaser said.
The meeting will start with a set of overviews by IIF experts on the critical challenges confronting the global economy. Experts will discuss the latest IIF forecasts for the global economy and review how the markets are coping with the recent turmoil that was triggered by the US subprime mortgage crisis.
In addition, IIF Asia-Pacific Department Director Gregory Fager will discuss the continuing Chinese economic boom and its implications for the global economy and the Middle East.
Special keynote addresses are to be given by His Excellency Mohammad Al Sabban, Deputy Oil Minister, Saudi Arabia; Gerd Haeusler, Vice Chairman of Lazard Frères and a former senior official at the International Monetary Fund; and by Mr. Richard Gnodde, Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs International.
A panel will also discuss economic prospects for Middle East and North African countries.
Tuesday, 06 November 2007
By Mohammed Al-Kinani and Adel Al-Malki
JEDDAH - Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, the Emir of Makkah, on Monday formally launched Emaar Co.'s residential project Abraj Al-Hilal, a part of Jeddah Gate project that the real estate development company is developing. Ala'a Abdullah, executive chairman of Emaar, said the project is part of Emaar's efforts to broaden its footprint in the Kingdom's real estate development industry.
"The SR6-billion project is the first among the many residential complexes we intend to develop," he said.
Sales begin on November 7. The project consists of 3 housing towers that house apartments between 124 and 600 square meters.
"As one of the fastest growing cities in the Kingdom, Jeddah has a high demand for world-class residences," Ala'auddine Sa'id, chief executive director of Emaar Mideast said in a press conference. "The project will have 6,000 residential units built on 230,000 square meters of office space and 75,000 square meters of commercial area." Sa'id however did not reveal how much each unit would cost.
Tuesday, 06 November 2007
By Adel Al-Malki and Mohammed Al-Kinani
JEDDAH - Police blamed this city's mayoralty for the recent garbage dump fires, which they said was started by illegals.
Col. Misfir Al-Ju'aid, Jeddah police security spokesman, said the mayoralty did not take the necessary precautionary measure to stop these illegals from entering the garbage dump yard.
Makkah Emir Prince Khaled Al-Faisal held a meeting with city officials about the fire, where he asked them to take all necessary steps to prevent this from happening again. The meeting followed a protest where hundreds of residents of the eastern part of Jeddah banded together to close off the garbage yard where fires have repeatedly broken out in recent days, preventing more garbage trucks from dumping all Sunday night.
The people asked for immediate closure of the place because of chronic, noxious fumes as well as the thick cloud of smoke from the fires that covered area neighborhoods. Officials were able to calm the crowd after a few hours.
Saeed Rajab, a resident of Al-Samer district, said the smoke - especially since recent fires - was driving locals insane.
"How can we sleep when the clouds of smoke enter our homes and our children's lungs?" he asked. "I took two of my children to the hospital because they are suffering from asthma, and the fire continues to burn. For this reason, we will not allow the municipality's trucks to enter the area, even if the Mayor of Jeddah comes."
Most of the population fled from these neighborhoods to Jeddah's Corniche, while others went to hotels and furnished apartments, particularly as clouds persisted.
"We will not accept promises from the municipality any longer," resident Mesfer Al-Amri said. "One of the municipal officials even denies that there were fires at the site now. We closed the entries of the garbage yard in front of attending officials who have seen the fumes and told them that our children will not move until the solutions that we've heard for years come to pass."
Brigadier Mohammed Al-Ghamdi, Director of the Civil Defense Department, said that the fires resulting from dumps have become a nightmare.
"There are other fires that start daily in this city, not just here," he said, adding that his office has received dozens of calls about the fires since they began.
"Two days ago, we had a big fire where eight teams of firemen struggled to fight the fire. Only two days later, we are here to put out a fire that could influence not only people but also the environment," he said.
Al-Ju'aid said that the wind has played a major role in the spread of the smoke over the whole city.
"The dump is away from the residential areas, but people in remote places complained due to the smoke," he added.
Al-Ju'aid said the fast growth of Jeddah has made what happened unavoidable.
But with authorities' efforts to move the dump to a remote place within two months, things will change, he said.
Jeddah Mayor Adel Faqih will visit both the new site and the current dump where the fire started on Saturday.
Sunday, 04 November 2007
By Adel Al-Malki
JEDDAH - Police are investigating a huge fire that broke out in the waste dump yard in the eastern part of the city on Friday.
Some of the residents were detained and released after interrogation.
On Friday, a huge fire was reported in the garbage dump area. According to African scavengers, fires were intentionally started. Khaled Aqeel, the Undersecretary of Services at the Jeddah Municipality, said the fire started at four different sites in the garbage yard.
Dark toxic smoke blanketed many parts of the city, causing breathing trouble to residents in Al-Ajwad and Al-Samer districts.
"Onlookers blocked the Civil Defense trucks from getting closer to the fire," Aqeel added.
According to medical sources at the health center in Umm Al-Slam District, 7,000 patients suffering from chest and nose allergy have visited the center in six months, 70 percent of them were children.
Dr Muhammed Yahia, Director of Al-Azizyia Hospital, said toxic gasses coming from the waste cause most of the respiratory tract diseases, eye infection and sinusitis.
Dr. Nasruldean Al-Sharif, a pediatrician, said weak immunity of the children make them susceptible to bronchial diseases.
More than a thousand scavengers sift through the dump on a daily basis, looking for metals that they can melt by starting fires. One example is the burning of insulated copper wiring to remove the plastic.
Jeddah Mayor Adel Faqeeh discussed with the director of the Jeddah police ways of protecting the garbage yard from scavengers and a plan to organize security patrols around the area.
"The municipality has also sought the help of private security companies to monitor the location," Aqeel said.
Aqeel announced that the municipality will impose a fine on all hardware merchants who buy cheaper metal from the site.
Sunday, 04 November 2007
By Adel Al-Malki
JEDDAH - Police are investigating a huge fire that broke out in the waste dump yard in the eastern part of the city on Friday.
Some of the residents were detained and released after interrogation.
On Friday, a huge fire was reported in the garbage dump area. According to African scavengers, fires were intentionally started. Khaled Aqeel, the Undersecretary of Services at the Jeddah Municipality, said the fire started at four different sites in the garbage yard.
Dark toxic smoke blanketed many parts of the city, causing breathing trouble to residents in Al-Ajwad and Al-Samer districts.
"Onlookers blocked the Civil Defense trucks from getting closer to the fire," Aqeel added.
According to medical sources at the health center in Umm Al-Slam District, 7,000 patients suffering from chest and nose allergy have visited the center in six months, 70 percent of them were children.
Dr Muhammed Yahia, Director of Al-Azizyia Hospital, said toxic gasses coming from the waste cause most of the respiratory tract diseases, eye infection and sinusitis.
Dr. Nasruldean Al-Sharif, a pediatrician, said weak immunity of the children make them susceptible to bronchial diseases.
More than a thousand scavengers sift through the dump on a daily basis, looking for metals that they can melt by starting fires. One example is the burning of insulated copper wiring to remove the plastic.
Jeddah Mayor Adel Faqeeh discussed with the director of the Jeddah police ways of protecting the garbage yard from scavengers and a plan to organize security patrols around the area.
"The municipality has also sought the help of private security companies to monitor the location," Aqeel said.
Aqeel announced that the municipality will impose a fine on all hardware merchants who buy cheaper metal from the site.
Saturday, 03 November 2007
By Adel Al-Malki
JEDDAH - An Iranian delegation has begun its visit to the Jeddah Chamber for Commerce and Industry to promote bilateral trade relations with Saudi Arabia.
The delegation includes the president of Iran's chambers of commerce, a top tourism official, and influential businessmen. Spokesman Ahmad Al-Ghamdi said during the visit, the delegation discussed increased networking of the two countries' chambers of commerce between the two countries to increase bilateral trade and investment by removing the stumbling blocks to economic cooperation. The delegation discussed a number of topics relating to navigation, shipping and import of agricultural products, especially Iranian rice.
"The delegation will discuss ways to promote exhibitions for industrial products in the two countries and to reactivate the Iranian exhibition in Jeddah on an annual basis," Al-Ghamdi said.
Saleh Al-Turki, the head of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that the volume of trade between the Kingdom and Iran jumped from SR250 million in 2000 to SR2.5 billion in 2005, and continuing this growth rate in the volume of exchange is one of the key objectives.
Al-Turki explained that the Iranian delegation looks forward to continued growth of current trade, especially with promising opportunities provided by the many Iranian products, which combined with access to the Saudi market is a "recipe for success."
The visit of the Iranian delegation came on the sidelines of the first Islamic tourism forum in Jeddah last week.
Friday, 02 November 2007
By Adel Al-Malki and Jassim Al-Ghamdi
Jeddah - The First International Andrology Conference ends today at Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital in this city, where international and local speakers in the field of sex medicine and male infertility will discuss the latest strategies for combating men's diseases.
Sex medicine is defined by the International Society for Sex Medicine as the branch of medicine which specializes in all aspects of human sex health. Within the field of sexual medicine, there are several key issues which have widespread impact on public health. One of the most important of these issues is the new concept that erectile dysfunction (ED) is a predictor of future heart disease. ED and heart disease have common risk factors.
Another issue in sex medicine with important public health implications is the question of whether sexual dysfunction after prostate cancer can be prevented.
If this is the case, treatment for prostate cancer will become more convenient to patients who develop this disease.
Conference president Dr. Amr Al-Meligi said that in the past, people used to hear only about gynecology issues and no body heard about Andrology.
"This is quite a new field, and it is providing men with very effective treatment for their sexual and productive problems." he said.
International scientists attended the Conference from such places as the United States, the UK, Italy, and Egypt.
One lecture quoting the latest research will discuss that male circumcision reduces the chances of AIDS infection.
"There will be a special symposium which will discuss the symptoms of hormone deficiency, which affects 38 percent of men over the age of 40, and leads to poor sexual desire.
It also discusses the relationship between masculinity and hormone deficiency diseases diabetes, depression, osteoporosis. The review is the latest means to compensate for hormone problems," he said.
Thursday, 01 November 2007
By Adel Al-Malki
JEDDAH - The Ministry of Health will expand the blood test that citizens must take before marriage to include AIDS and hepatitis testing, over the next few months, said Minister Hamad Al-Manie at a health symposium in Jeddah on Wednesday. Al-Manie also said that the number of Saudi doctors in the Kingdom has not broken 21 percent in the last 15 years, despite the great rise in graduation rates at Saudi medical colleges. He attributed this to the increasing population and lamented how many doctors are stationed in the big cities.
"It is necessary at this time to send Saudi doctors to villages and areas away from large cities, because ... they understand the needs between doctor and patient," Al-Manie said.
The Minister of Health also unveiled a recommendation about lifting the salaries of doctors working in government hospitals to equal counterparts in other government sectors.
"The study's recommendations ... will cope with the leakage of cadres to work in the private sector," he said.
Thursday, 01 November 2007
By Adel Al-Malki
JEDDAH - This city's municipality will install new machines to control the garbage yard, which will allegedly prevent illegals from starting fires in that area, city officials said.
Twenty observers will also monitor the site with the power to arrest scavengers who come to the location to take advantage of the scraps of iron and copper. "The municipality has held big campaigns in the garbage yard to fight fires there," said Jeddah Mayor Adel Faqih.
He said that the municipality will soon move garbage a new landfill that will follow world standards to preserve the surrounding environment, which will impact positively on the city, citizens and residents.
The new site, which will cost up to SR30 million for a 4.5-million square meter landfill, will be located about 25 kilometers east of the Beriman bridge.
"After completion of the new location, the old one will be closed and will be converted to parkland," he said "(The old dump) caused environmental problems for the citizens who live in the surrounding areas, particularly as it receives large quantities of waste, which was leading to a number of fires," Faqih said.
The current dump received about 1.3 million tons of waste last year.
In a related event, three companies signed contracts with the municipality for five years to clean Jeddah districts with value of SR 900million.
"The new contracts divide Jeddah into three separate zones: North, south and center, and gives SR300 million for cleanliness projects in each of these areas," said Khaled Aqeel, the Under Secretary for Services in the municipality.
Aqeel added that the municipality will increase the number of containers in the city to more than 45,000, and employment to more than 7,000 cleaners.
Monday, 29 October 2007
By Adel Al-Malki
JEDDAH - Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, the Emir of Makkah region, opened the new building of Jeddah Governate located in the Northern Emirate of Makkah on Sunday.
The new building costs SR 23 million and is equipped with the latest machines for faster services and transactions. The opening of the office help fill the city's needs even as the the new electronic equipment will improve the performance of the staff, said Prince Misha'l Bin Majed, the Governor of Jeddah.
The new building has three floors with six emergency exits, parking for the Governorate visitors, and others.
Sultan Al-Bogami, Director of Administrative and Financial Affairs in Jeddah Governorate, said the building sits on a 10,386 sq. m. and can accommodate 1000 people.
Saturday, 27 October 2007
By Adel Al-MalkiA German medical trade delegation will visit the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industries this month to discuss the establishment of new marketing agencies and the consolidation of trade relations.
The delegation will comprise major German companies that specialize in the manufacture and marketing of medical equipment and health laboratory supplies, said Abdulaziz Al-Watar , the director of the Media Department at the Jeddah Economic Board. Apart from Saudi businessmen, the German delegation will meet with officials of private and public hospitals.
The annual volume of German medical equipment available in the Saudi market is valued at SR3 billion.
