Saudi Arabia to Hold Human Capability Initiative in Feb 2024

Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and the Chairman of the Human Capability Development Program Committee. (SPA)
Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and the Chairman of the Human Capability Development Program Committee. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia to Hold Human Capability Initiative in Feb 2024

Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and the Chairman of the Human Capability Development Program Committee. (SPA)
Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and the Chairman of the Human Capability Development Program Committee. (SPA)

The inaugural edition of the Human Capability Initiative (HCI) will be held in RIyadh on February 28-29, 2024.

The event will be held under the patronage of Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and the Chairman of the Human Capability Development Program Committee, one of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 Realization Programs.

Under the theme of “Future Readiness”, HCI will bring together over 6,000 experts, decision makers, and more than 150 international keynote speakers from government, private and non-profit entities, and think tanks from over 50 countries to explore impactful dialogues, create synergies and seize opportunities for human capability development worldwide.

HCI will focus on how to strengthen the human capability development ecosystem, promote innovative policy design and creative solutions, and showcase success stories of human capability development and its impact on economic growth.

This collective effort will contribute to a sustainable global agenda that pioneers solutions for human capabilities across all age groups, and sparks initiatives that proactively anticipate the challenges of tomorrow and help shape a promising future for all.

Minister of Education and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Human Capability Development Program Yousef Al-Benyan, said: “The conference is the first of its kind global cooperative platform to catalyze international collaboration, enrich global dialogue in human capability development, and contribute to the development of human skills and a prosperous global economy.”

He added: “The conference will discuss challenges facing human capabilities development in light of global changes, and the most important skills required in the future global labor market, in addition to the impact of rapid developments in the digital and economic fields on human capabilities”.

“Topics addressed at HCI are of vital importance in driving new conversations on shaping policy, collaboration, and private-public-third sector partnerships and investment at a global level in developing human capabilities. This will contribute to building strong and flexible economies to meet future challenges,” he stressed.



Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
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Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)

The United States on Thursday called on Israel to extend its cooperation with Palestinian banks for another year, to avoid blocking vital transactions in the occupied West Bank.

"I am glad that Israel has allowed its banks to continue cooperating with Palestinian banks, but I remain convinced that a one-year extension of the waiver to facilitate this cooperation is needed," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday, on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Rio de Janeiro.

In May, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to cut off a vital banking channel between Israel and the West Bank in response to three European countries recognizing the State of Palestine.

On June 30, however, Smotrich extended a waiver that allows cooperation between Israel's banking system and Palestinian banks in the occupied West Bank for four months, according to Israeli media, according to AFP.

The Times of Israel newspaper reported that the decision on the waiver was made at a cabinet meeting in a "move that saw Israel legalize several West Bank settlement outposts."

The waiver was due to expire at the end of June, and the extension permitted Israeli banks to process payments for salaries and services to the Palestinian Authority in shekels, averting a blow to a Palestinian economy already devastated by the war in Gaza.

The Israeli threat raised serious concerns in the United States, which said at the time it feared "a humanitarian crisis" if banking ties were cut.

According to Washington, these banking channels are key to nearly $8 billion of imports from Israel to the West Bank, including electricity, water, fuel and food.