A number of Saudi ministries joined teams with tech giant Google to kick off several projects, with the vision of helping the economic strategy of the Kingdom.

According to Google, these initiatives will highlight the MENA region and the Kingdom, in an attempt to boost the economy of both, which have been greatly affected because of the coronavirus.

The program, named “Grow stronger with Google,” will include a comprehensive list of grants, digital tools and training opportunities, all of which will support the local businesses across the region.

In the Kingdom, Google will following sectors: retail, tourism and technology including Saudi Post, which will list 100,000 local entities on the company’s digital platform and train employees in online marketing.

“We are proud to partner with Google in this initiative to bring value to Saudi nationals, residents and local businesses, especially SMEs through bringing them together using the Google ‘My Business’ platform,” said President of the Saudi Post Anef Abanomi.

“Through this partnership we aim to list up to 100,000 businesses in the first phase in line with Saudi Post’s strategic transformation objectives to improve quality of life and help SMEs achieve their e-commerce and digitization goals,” he added.

Lino Cattaruzzi, managing director for Google in MENA, said in a press release: “During the pandemic, online tools have been a lifeline for many in Saudi Arabia. Making the most of the online opportunity can help Saudi people, businesses and communities and in the wider region bounce back stronger.” He said the program will equip businesses and individuals in the Kingdom with digital skills, especially in sectors that have been most affected by the pandemic, such as retail and tourism.

Another ambitious plan for the Kingdom in an attempt to provide equal opportunities for women of Saudi Arabia!

The Kingdom’s Vision 2030 hopes to provide jobs for about one million Saudi women, according to Mishaal Al-Balawi, an official at the Permanent Mission of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations in Geneva.

“The Saudi Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program 2020 have put women empowerment among their most important priorities,” al-Balawi said.

Al-Balawi praised the significant role of women in making the economy of the Kingdom much stronger, saying that women are eager to gain access to a large share of reforms especially in the employment market.

These remarks were pointed out by Al-Balawi in a discussion on a report of the working group on the issue of discrimination against women at the Human Rights Council on Monday.

The discussion revolved around the rights of Saudi women and changing the employment scenario to include them.

Al-Balawi also pointed out that Kingdom is doing its best to end to violence and harassment against women at their workplaces.

“The Kingdom, through its regulations and agencies, is striving to address the phenomenon of violence against women at their workplaces as well as to enable them to work in a safe environment. This is through enacting laws to protect women and preserve their rights, such as the Anti-Harassment Law and the Law of Protection from Abuse,” he said.

The Kingdom has announced that it’s working on a new solar energy project that aim at producing electricity with the lowest cost per kilowatt in the entire world.

The announcement was made earlier by Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister during the “Don’t Forget Our Planet!” conference, which was organized by Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative Institute (FII-I).

Prince Abdulaziz also revealed that the Kingdom is currently in the process of activating several programs, including increasing the use of electricity by 30 percent through renewable energy, while 50 percent will be generated through hydrocarbon sources, adding that work is also underway to take advantage of the wind energy project to harness it in generating power.

The Kingdom will not back down from its commitment to the energy efficiency project, but has even become a role model for high commitment in all related projects.

Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman said that the Kingdom aims to produce 50% of its electricity from renewable by 2030, adding that Saudi Arabia has plans to expand the use of wind energy.

This project is among other ambitious projects that are part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the vision’s main aim is to diversify the country’s economy and not have it depend solely on oil.