Friday-Saturday weekend to up productivity

The Shoura Council will soon discuss the issue of changing the country’s weekend to Friday and Saturday instead of Thursday and Friday.
Shoura member Khidr Al-Qurashi said the idea of changing the weekend had been brought up before but not discussed. He said a change would benefit financial institutions, foreign agencies and citizens.
Saud Al-Shammari, a member of the Shoura’s foreign affairs committee, said Saudi Arabia was different from other countries in the world in terms of weekend holidays. Neighboring Middle East countries have their weekend on Friday and Saturday, which means Saudi Arabia has four working days coinciding with them, and only three with other countries.
Shoura member Asia Al-Asheikh supports a change, saying it would increase productivity.
Fuad Halabi, chairman of the foreign investment committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), said the Thursday and Friday holiday prevents many Saudi companies from communicating and managing their interests with their international counterparts for two days of the week. They are only able to have three days for international dealings because overseas countries have their weekends on Saturday and Sunday. Approving Saturday instead of Thursday would be better for foreign trade, he added.
Yasin Al-Jifri, a financial analyst, said four days are lost currently in communication with foreign companies, which has an impact on traders and banks. “I hope the new weekend holiday is implemented.”
The head of the JCCI’s securities committee, Muhammad Al-Nufaie, said working on Saturday has an impact on important sectors of the local economy.
Having Saturday as a holiday is an economic requirement to connect the Kingdom with the international economy, he said.