MODON Sets Smart Technology Transformation Strategy for Saudi Industrial Environment

MODON establishes a strategy to help transform Saudi Arabia into a promising industrial powerhouse. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
MODON establishes a strategy to help transform Saudi Arabia into a promising industrial powerhouse. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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MODON Sets Smart Technology Transformation Strategy for Saudi Industrial Environment

MODON establishes a strategy to help transform Saudi Arabia into a promising industrial powerhouse. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
MODON establishes a strategy to help transform Saudi Arabia into a promising industrial powerhouse. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Over the last year, the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (MODON) has been working under a strategy in harmony with the programs listed in the Kingdom’s plan for national transformation, Vision 2030.

Some of the core objectives of the plan are to transform Saudi Arabia into a promising industrial powerhouse, a global logistics platform and achieve sustainable and balanced development in the Kingdom.

Vision 2030 also promotes activating innovative technical transformation in the business environment of the industrial cities in the country.

In its latest report, MODON revealed it had established a strategy that paves the way towards the vision of it becoming an enabling industrial environment powered by smart technology transformation. This will aid in MODON contributing to the growth of the national economy.

MODON is working in collaboration with the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP) towards realizing the abovementioned goals.

The authority also contributes to developing non-oil revenues, generating new job opportunities, stimulating the private sector, and providing a safe environment for investors.

Also, it follows a unified framework that enhances coordination and control over performance, projects, and initiatives.

This method helps in achieving strategic goals, reducing risks, and contributing to increasing chances of success.

It does so through the governance of initiatives and projects and facilitating coordination with relevant authorities.

The authority works to ensure the smooth running of initiatives and offers a continuous follow-up to their implementation. It oversees stakeholder participation, corrective action, continuous improvement, and development of the plan’s outputs.

MODON was initially launched to adapt to the local and global variables and meet the growing needs for the primary environment required for the Kingdom’s industrial development.

The authority was also established to fulfill the future requirements and help the private sector play a more significant role in the development, operation and management of facilities and services.



China, Africa Ask US to Return to ‘Right Track’ on Trade Differences 

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with African officials in the city of Changsha located in southern Hunan province. (Reuters file)
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with African officials in the city of Changsha located in southern Hunan province. (Reuters file)
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China, Africa Ask US to Return to ‘Right Track’ on Trade Differences 

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with African officials in the city of Changsha located in southern Hunan province. (Reuters file)
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with African officials in the city of Changsha located in southern Hunan province. (Reuters file)

China and 53 African countries called on nations, especially the United States, to return to the "right track" of resolving trade differences, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.

The statement came after China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with African officials in the city of Changsha located in southern Hunan province.

The White House, in its April 2 "Liberation Day" tariff announcement, imposed some of the highest tariffs on several African countries. That included levies of up to 50% on goods from Lesotho, 47% for Madagascar, 40% for Mauritius, 38% for Botswana and 31% for South Africa, the continent's biggest exporter to the US.

The China-Africa statement, made on behalf of China, 53 African countries and the African Union Commission said it "firmly opposed any party reaching a compromise deal at the expense of the interests of other countries."

"We call on all countries, especially the United States, to return to the right track of resolving trade differences through consultation on an equal, respectful and reciprocal basis," the statement said.

China is willing to implement zero-tariff measures for the 53 African countries that it has diplomatic relations with, the statement said, apart from Eswatini, the only African country that supports Taiwan.

China's relations with African countries have strengthened as its own economy slows and it has emerged as Africa's biggest lender. In recent years, China has stepped up cooperation in areas from agriculture to infrastructure.

The continent offers a much-needed avenue for Chinese state-owned infrastructure firms struggling for projects as indebted local governments hold off on spending, and as a market for its electric vehicles and solar panels, areas where the US and EU say China has over-capacity.