Riyadh - Mubasher: The CEO of the Saudi Export-Import Bank, Saad bin Abdulaziz Al-Khalab, said that the presence of local content is a basic condition for obtaining credit facilities from the Saudi Export-Import Bank and should not be less than 20%.

Al-Khalab's statements came during his speech during the fifth dialogue session within the activities of the second edition of the Local Content Forum, entitled: "Integration of government efforts in developing local content."

Al-Khalb added that the Saudi Export-Import Bank has provided more than 60 billion riyals for exports since its establishment, resulting in 150 billion riyals in the GDP.

In a separate context, Hani Al-Sayegh, Executive Vice President of Shared Services at Tahkam, said that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia today, as a regional center for digital technology, aims to attract investments worth $20 billion by 2030, which demonstrates the great opportunity for technology companies.

Al-Sayegh added: “Today, the role of technology companies lies in enhancing their capabilities in providing these innovative solutions and providing services to vital sectors in the Kingdom.”

He continued: “One of the most important challenges is the lack of technical human resources. According to studies, 55% of Saudi companies today suffer from a lack of technical skills, so we need to train and develop Saudi youth to produce such solutions using artificial intelligence and modern technologies.”

The Local Content Forum is one of the strategic initiatives of the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority, which seeks to create a platform to raise awareness, exchange expertise, and empower local capabilities by activating strategic partnerships and investment opportunities, and highlighting success stories to stimulate the public and private sectors.

The second edition of the Local Content Forum opens up broad horizons for exchanging knowledge, expertise, and raising awareness of the potential, mechanisms, and policies of local content, through a number of workshops that the forum will host throughout its days.