Saudi Aramco Signs 16 Contracts for Community Maintenance

The logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at Aramco headquarters in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)
The logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at Aramco headquarters in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)
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Saudi Aramco Signs 16 Contracts for Community Maintenance

The logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at Aramco headquarters in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)
The logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at Aramco headquarters in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)

Saudi Aramco signed on Monday 16 contracts to maintain and operate facilities in its community facilities with seven companies over the next 10 years.

The company signed contracts with Al-Yamama Company for Trading and Contracting; Arabian Fal Holding Company; Abdulwahab Mansour Al-Moallam Sons Company; Rezayat Company Ltd; Al-Tamimi Global Company for Services and Maintenance; SRACO Company; and Nesma and Partners Contracting Company Ltd.

“The contracts are in line with Saudi Aramco’s continuous efforts to develop its community facilities and increase their efficiency while maintaining the highest safety standards,” said Saudi Aramco Community Services Vice President Mohammed Al-Shammary.

“In addition, the contracts will create job opportunities for Saudi graduates of the National Training Center for Facilities and Hospitality Management (FHM) that was co-established by Saudi Aramco,” he added.

The FHM was established by Saudi Aramco in partnership with the Saudi Technical and Vocational Training Corporation and the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage in 2017.

It invests in the potential of the hospitality management sector to provide employment opportunities for national cadres through offering internationally accredited training programs.

“These contracts are beginning to fulfill their commitment to provide the best services in various standards,” added Shammary.



Russia is Using Bitcoin, Digital Currencies in Foreign Trade

FILE PHOTO: A woman passes by the Bitcoin Monument after bitcoin soared above $100,000, in Ilopango, El Salvador, December 5, 2024. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A woman passes by the Bitcoin Monument after bitcoin soared above $100,000, in Ilopango, El Salvador, December 5, 2024. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas/File Photo
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Russia is Using Bitcoin, Digital Currencies in Foreign Trade

FILE PHOTO: A woman passes by the Bitcoin Monument after bitcoin soared above $100,000, in Ilopango, El Salvador, December 5, 2024. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A woman passes by the Bitcoin Monument after bitcoin soared above $100,000, in Ilopango, El Salvador, December 5, 2024. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas/File Photo

Russian companies have begun using bitcoin and other digital currencies in international payments following legislative changes that allowed such use in order to counter Western sanctions, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Wednesday.

Sanctions have complicated Russia's trade with its major partners such as China or Türkiye, as local banks are extremely cautious with Russia-related transactions to avoid scrutiny from Western regulators, according to Reuters.

This year, Russia permitted the use of cryptocurrencies in foreign trade and has taken steps to make it legal to mine cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin. Russia is one of the global leaders in bitcoin mining.

“As part of the experimental regime, it is possible to use bitcoins, which we had mined here in Russia (in foreign trade transactions),” Siluanov told Russia 24 television channel.

“Such transactions are already occurring. We believe they should be expanded and developed further. I am confident this will happen next year,” he said, adding that international payments in digital currencies represent the future.

Earlier this month, President Vladimir Putin said that the current US administration was undermining the role of the US dollar as the reserve currency by using it for political purposes, forcing many countries to turn to alternative assets.

He singled out bitcoin as an example of such assets, saying that no-one in the world could regulate bitcoin. Putin's remarks indicated that the Russian leader backs the extensive use of cryptocurrencies.