Saudi Arabia Ranks First among G20 Countries in Productivity Growth

Governmental initiatives and programs contributed to raising the rate of worker production in the Saudi labor market (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Governmental initiatives and programs contributed to raising the rate of worker production in the Saudi labor market (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT

Saudi Arabia Ranks First among G20 Countries in Productivity Growth

Governmental initiatives and programs contributed to raising the rate of worker production in the Saudi labor market (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Governmental initiatives and programs contributed to raising the rate of worker production in the Saudi labor market (Asharq Al-Awsat)

After successfully introducing development initiatives and programs to regulate the labor market and improve the contractual relationship between employers and employees, Saudi Arabia has managed to secure first place among the Group of 20 countries (G20) for factor productivity growth in 2022.

According to a series of modeled readings issued by the International Labor Organization (ILO) annually on worker productivity, Saudi Arabia has achieved top place among G20 countries with a 4.9% gain.

This gain represents the Kingdom’s highest productivity growth rate, which was -6.3% in 2019.

Following that, the productivity growth rate increased to 4.4% in 2021 before peaking in 2022.

Much of this is mainly attributed to the efforts of the Kingdom’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development in collaboration with government agencies.

This comes as they have contributed in this achievement through the initiatives in developing and organizing the Saudi labor market, enhancing its attractiveness, and improving its productive efficiency in accordance with the labor market strategy.

In 2021, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz launched the Human Capability Development Program to boost Saudi Arabia’s competitiveness both locally and globally.

The Human Capability Development Program aims to ensure that Saudi citizens have the required capabilities to compete globally by instilling values and developing basic and future skills, as well as enhancing knowledge.

The Crown Prince affirmed that the Human Capability Development Program is one of the programs to achieve the Kingdom's Vision 2030, readying citizens for the current and future labor market with capabilities and ambition that compete with the world, through the promotion of values, and the development of basic and future skills, and knowledge development.

Moreover, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development launched in 2020 an initiative to improve contractual relationships between employers and employees.



Riyadh and Tokyo to Launch Coordination Framework to Boost Cooperation

Saudi Ambassador to Japan Dr. Ghazi Binzagr. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Ambassador to Japan Dr. Ghazi Binzagr. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT

Riyadh and Tokyo to Launch Coordination Framework to Boost Cooperation

Saudi Ambassador to Japan Dr. Ghazi Binzagr. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Ambassador to Japan Dr. Ghazi Binzagr. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia and Japan are close to unveiling a higher partnership council that will be headed by the countries’ leaderships in line with efforts to build a partnership that bolsters the technical transformation and joint research in clean energy, communications and other areas, revealed Saudi Ambassador to Japan Dr. Ghazi Binzagr.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the two countries will soon open a new chapter in their sophisticated strategic partnership.

The new council will be chaired by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to push forward the Saudi-Japan Vision 2030, he added.

The council will elevate cooperation between the countries and pave the way for broader dialogue and consultations in various fields to bolster political, defense, economic, cultural and sports cooperation, he explained.

The two parties will work on critical technological partnerships that will focus on assessing and developing technologies to benefit from them, Binzagr said. They will also focus on the economy these technologies can create and in turn, the new jobs they will generate.

These jobs can be inside Saudi Arabia or abroad and provide employers with the opportunity to develop the sectors they are specialized in, he added.

Binzagr said Saudi Arabia and Japan will mark 70s years of relations in 2025, coinciding with the launch of Expo 2025 in Osaka in which the Kingdom will have a major presence.

Relations have been based on energy security and trade exchange with Japan’s need for oil. Now, according to Saudi Vision 2030, they can be based on renewable energy and the post-oil phase, remarked the ambassador.

Several opportunities are available in both countries in the cultural, sports and technical fields, he noted.

Both sides agree that improving clean energy and a sustainable environment cannot take place at the expense of a strong economy or quality of life, but through partnership between their countries to influence the global economy, he explained.

"For the next phase, we are keen on consolidating the concept of sustainable partnerships between the two countries in various fields so that this partnership can last for generations,” Binzagr stressed.

“I believe these old partnerships will last for decades and centuries to come,” he remarked.

Moreover, he noted that the oil sector was the cornerstone of the partnership and it will now shift to petrochemicals and the development of the petrochemical industry.