Saudi Arabia to Implement Strategic Approach to Develop Biotechnologies at Global Level

The Riyadh International Biomedical Technology Summit concluded on Thursday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Riyadh International Biomedical Technology Summit concluded on Thursday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT

Saudi Arabia to Implement Strategic Approach to Develop Biotechnologies at Global Level

The Riyadh International Biomedical Technology Summit concluded on Thursday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Riyadh International Biomedical Technology Summit concluded on Thursday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Participants in the Riyadh Global Biomedical Technology Summit underlined the need to launch an international coalition to work on the implementation of a set of recommendations issued at the end of the two-day conference.

Held under the auspices of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the Riyadh International Biomedical Technology Summit concluded on Thursday, with the participation of a large number of government officials, experts and scientists in biomedical technology.

The conference emphasized the importance of maximizing health technology investment and cell and gene therapy, as well as researching ways to eliminate solid tumors by targeting cancer cells using cell therapy, and improving research and development productivity.

Bandar Al-Khorayef, Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, said that the Kingdom followed a strategic and comprehensive approach to building the right infrastructure for biotechnology on a global level, with the aim to attract the best talents, promote innovation, and turn Saudi Arabia into an international leader in the field of healthcare and life sciences.

The minister added that Saudi Arabia had 50 registered pharmaceutical factories that cover the domestic reserves, with a rate of 28 percent in terms of value, and 42 percent in terms of volume, noting that pharmaceutical exports amounted to 1.5 million riyals ($400,000).

Al-Khorayef emphasized that the chemical pharmaceutical sector in the Kingdom “has proven its efficiency and ability to deal with challenges during the pandemic.”

Eng. Suliman Almazroua, CEO of the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP), touched on the Saudi Vision 2030 programs, which seek to transform the country into a leading industrial power in the world and the region.

The conference sessions discussed clinical trials, the development of the working mechanisms of the Real World Evidence (RWD), and the significant role of the Real World Data and artificial intelligence in reading the present and the assumed future.



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)
TT

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.