‘Takamol’ CEO: 1 Mln Daily Operations Tracked on ‘Qiwa’ Platform

One of the job fairs that bring together companies and job seekers in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
One of the job fairs that bring together companies and job seekers in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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‘Takamol’ CEO: 1 Mln Daily Operations Tracked on ‘Qiwa’ Platform

One of the job fairs that bring together companies and job seekers in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
One of the job fairs that bring together companies and job seekers in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)

A Saudi official has revealed a new initiative dedicated to achieving an integrated employment market and fixing issues in the Kingdom’s job market. The initiative combines various services into one platform, “Qiwa.”

Qiwa is a unified platform for automating the services of the Ministry of Human Resources in the labor sector to be a meeting point between establishments and workers in the private sector.

Qiwa connects businesses, individuals, and public services.

Dr. Ahmed Al-Yamani, CEO of “Takamol,” a Saudi government-backed company, explained that traditionally, tasks like visa issuance and contract documentation were scattered.

Now, everything happens on a single automated platform, making things much easier for employers. This move seeks to modernize and streamline the job market processes in Saudi Arabia.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, the CEO of Takamol reflected on how much the labor market has changed.

Al-Yamani revealed that Takamol used to handle 10,000 to 20,000 tasks daily on the Qiwa platform, but now it’s over a million.

This boost in efficiency makes services smoother and helps with economic growth, Al-Yamani stressed, saying Takamol is a big part of Saudi Arabia’s labor market, supporting the goals of the Kingdom’s national transformation plan, “Vision 2030.”

The services inspired by the Vision’s initiatives didn’t just stop at organization; the labor market always needs empowerment.

“We began by launching two platforms, around four or five years ago, for the Human Resources Development Fund,” said Al-Yamani.

“When we started, the idea was to address the problem of very low female participation in the Saudi labor market, which was below 19%,” he added.

“Our goal was to reach 39 or 40% by 2030. We launched several programs, including remote training and skill enhancement, so that women, youth, or anyone seeking or already in employment could develop their abilities easily and quickly through these platforms,” explained the CEO.

“Now, millions of users have accessed them, accumulating millions of training hours,” revealed Al-Yamani.



Syria Completes First Global SWIFT Transfer since War

FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows the Syrian central bank, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, December 16, 2024. REUTERS/Yosri Al Jamal/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows the Syrian central bank, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, December 16, 2024. REUTERS/Yosri Al Jamal/File Photo
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Syria Completes First Global SWIFT Transfer since War

FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows the Syrian central bank, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, December 16, 2024. REUTERS/Yosri Al Jamal/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows the Syrian central bank, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, December 16, 2024. REUTERS/Yosri Al Jamal/File Photo

Syria has carried out its first international bank transaction via the SWIFT system since the outbreak of its 14-year civil war, its central bank governor said on Thursday, a milestone in Syria's push to reintegrate into the global financial system.

Central bank governor Abdelkader Husriyeh told Reuters in Damascus that a direct commercial transaction had been carried out from a Syrian to an Italian bank on Sunday, and that transactions with US banks could begin within weeks.

"The door is now open to more such transactions," he said.

Syrian banks were largely cut off from the world during the civil war after a crackdown by Bashar al-Assad on anti-government protests in 2011 led Western states to impose sanctions, including on Syria's central bank. Assad was ousted as president in a lightning offensive by opposition factions last year and Syria has since taken steps to re-establish international ties, culminating in a May meeting between interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and US President Donald Trump in Riyadh. The US then significantly eased its sanctions and some in Congress are pushing for them to be totally repealed. Europe has announced the end of its economic sanctions regime.

Syria needs to make transfers with Western financial institutions in order to bring in huge sums for reconstruction and to kickstart a war-ravaged economy that has left nine out of 10 people poor, according to the United Nations.

Husriyeh chaired a high-level virtual meeting on Wednesday bringing together Syrian banks, several US banks and US officials, including Washington's Syria envoy Thomas Barrack.

The aim of the meeting was to accelerate the reconnection of Syria's banking system to the global financial system and Husriyeh extended a formal invitation to US banks to re-establish correspondent banking ties.

"We have two clear targets: have US banks set up representative offices in Syria and have transactions resume between Syrian and American banks. I think the latter can happen in a matter of weeks," Husriyeh told Reuters.

Among the banks invited to Wednesday's conference were JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Citibank, though it was not immediately clear who attended.