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Updated Version of Saudi ‘Nitaqat’ Program Aims to Provide 340,000 jobs by 2024

The second version of Nitaqat has been launched with a goal to provide 340,000 jobs by 2024. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The second version of Nitaqat has been launched with a goal to provide 340,000 jobs by 2024. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Updated Version of Saudi ‘Nitaqat’ Program Aims to Provide 340,000 jobs by 2024

The second version of Nitaqat has been launched with a goal to provide 340,000 jobs by 2024. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The second version of Nitaqat has been launched with a goal to provide 340,000 jobs by 2024. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The second version of Nitaqat, the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development’s Saudization program, has been launched with a goal to provide 340,000 jobs by 2024.

Inaugurating the program, Minister of Labor and Social Development Ahmad al-Rajhi revealed that it aims at developing and increasing the efficiency of the labor market and providing job opportunities to Saudis.

The latest version of the Nitaqat program boasts three new features.

The first is a localization plan with a clear and transparent vision for the next three years, with the aim of increasing the organizational stability of private sector institutions.

The second part of the updated program will use a linear formula that is properly associated with the number of employees at an institution, instead of current localization rates that rely on classifying institutions into certain and fixed sizes.

The third update simplifies the design of the program and improves the client experience by merging activities with similar characteristics into 32 choices instead of 85.

Nitaqat was launched in 2011 to encourage the localization of jobs and set a minimum wage for Saudis in the private sector. The program’s first step was increasing the minimum wage to SAR3,000 ($800).

It was later raised to SAR4,000 ($1,000) during the beginning of the second quarter of this year.

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Chip Powerhouse Taiwan Calls for Economic Partnership Deal with EU

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks at the annual Taiwan-EU investment forum in Taipei, Taiwan November 18, 2024. (Reuters)
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks at the annual Taiwan-EU investment forum in Taipei, Taiwan November 18, 2024. (Reuters)
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Chip Powerhouse Taiwan Calls for Economic Partnership Deal with EU

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks at the annual Taiwan-EU investment forum in Taipei, Taiwan November 18, 2024. (Reuters)
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks at the annual Taiwan-EU investment forum in Taipei, Taiwan November 18, 2024. (Reuters)

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te called on Monday for the signing of an economic partnership agreement with the European Union, saying it would boost cooperation in semiconductors and that as democracies the two sides should be working together.

Taiwan has pushed for the signing of investment and trade deals with the EU, in what would be politically significant for Taiwan given its diplomatic isolation and general exclusion from most global bodies and agreements.

For its part, the EU has been courting Taiwan as a "like-minded" partner under the European Chips Act to encourage more semiconductor production in Europe and lessen dependence on Asia, despite the lack of formal ties with the Chinese-claimed island.

Speaking at a Taiwan-EU investment forum in Taipei, Lai said that facing the threat of expanding authoritarianism, Taiwan and the EU must form a "strong democratic umbrella" and build secure supply chains for global democracies.

"Looking to the future, Taiwan hopes to take an innovative approach towards the signing of an economic partnership agreement with the EU," he said.

Such an agreement would set a sound institutional basis for further cooperation in fields such as semiconductors and AI, Lai added.

"This would not only make both our economies more resilient and secure, but also ensure the stable operation of global supply chains."

Taiwanese investment in EU has been anchored by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), which in August launched a major new chip plant in Dresden, Germany, expected to be a key supplier to European industry and automakers.

Maria Martin-Prat, deputy head of the European Commission's directorate general for trade, made no mention of signing such a deal with Taiwan in a video message to the investment event, though she did praise bilateral relations.

"Taiwan, a vibrant democracy with an open economy, is a trusted partner for us to promote our economic security," she said.

Taiwan has few free trade agreements, though last year it signed an Enhanced Trade Partnership with Britain and has applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP.