عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

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)
TT
TT

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.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

Turkish Govt Defends Tax Plan to Fund Defense Industry

Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said Türkiye must boost its 'deterrent power' due conflict in the region - AFP
Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said Türkiye must boost its 'deterrent power' due conflict in the region - AFP
TT
TT

Turkish Govt Defends Tax Plan to Fund Defense Industry

Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said Türkiye must boost its 'deterrent power' due conflict in the region - AFP
Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said Türkiye must boost its 'deterrent power' due conflict in the region - AFP

The Turkish government defended a proposed tax on credit cards on Tuesday, saying it was needed to fund the arms industry and protect the country as conflict rages in its neighbourhood.

Indignant Turks, who already face double-digit inflation, called their banks to lower their credit limits after the ruling AKP party submitted the tax bill to parliament on Friday.

"Our country has no choice but to increase its deterrent power. There's war in our region right now. We are in a troubled neighborhood," Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek told private broadcaster NTV.

The bill stipulates that people with a credit card limit of at least 100,000 liras (nearly $3,000) will have to pay an annual 750 lira ($22) in tax from January to bolster the defense industry.

"The purpose (of the bill) is obvious," Simsek argued.

"If we increase our deterrent power, then our ability to protect against fire in the region will increase," he said, though he added that the bill was in the hands of parliament and the ruling party could "re-evaluate" it.

AKP's parliamentary group chairman, Abdullah Guler, said when he proposed the tax on Friday that Israel's next target would be Türkiye, an argument often cited by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"While we are in the middle of all these hot developments geographically, we need to make our defense industry stronger than ever," Guler said, AFP reported.

- Weapons industry -

A vocal critic of Israel's offensive in Gaza and Lebanon, Erdogan has warned that Israel's military operations could soon target Türkiye, prompting the opposition to demand an emergency session in parliament for the government to elaborate.

Addressing a conference hosted by his AKP party on Tuesday, Erdogan doubled down the threat posed by Israel.

"Even if there are those who cannot see the danger approaching our country... we see the risk and take all kind of measures," he said.

Turkey's defense industry has enjoyed a boom in recent years but Simsek said the sector needed a boost.

The defense industry is planning to invest in 1,000 projects, including a air defense system that would protect Türkiye from missile assaults, Simsek said.

"This requires resources," he added.

Türkiye has allocated 90 billion lira from the budget to fund the defense industry last year, he added.

"This year, we increased it to 165 billion lira. Maybe we will need to double this even more."

Türkiye's defense companies signed contracts in 2023 worth a total of $10.2 billion, according to Haluk Gorgun, the head of Türkiye's state Defense Industry Agency (SSB).

The top 10 Turkish defense exporters contributed nearly 80 percent of total export revenue, he said.

Sales of Turkish Baykar drones, used in Nagorno-Karabakh or Ukraine, amounted to $1.8 billion.

- 'Disguise the Economic Crisis' -

Last week, parliament held behind-closed-doors session for the government to explain why it saw Israel as a potential threat, but the opposition said it was not convinced.

The spokesman for Türkiye's main opposition CHP party, Deniz Yucel, said Monday the government was exploiting national feelings to sweep an "economic crisis" under the rug.

Inflation has spiralled over the past two years, peaking at an annual rate of 85.5 percent in October 2022 and 75.45 percent in May 2023.

Official data showed it slowed to 49.4 percent in September.

"The AKP is trying to create a fake 'foreign threat and war agenda' with the rhetoric of 'Israel may attack us'," Yucel said on Monday.

"We know and see that they are trying to disguise the economic crisis they caused."