KSA to boost quality and efficiency in industries

RIYADH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman wants the country to improve its production of top quality products to help boost the economy.
The king’s strategies were outlined in a speech delivered on his behalf by Minister of Trade and Industry Tawfiq Al-Rabiah at the opening of the Fifth National Quality Conference here this week. Al-Rabiah said the Kingdom has launched a package of economic initiatives and structural reforms to ensure sustainable development leading up to 2020.
The three-day event, which ended Thursday, was hosted by the Riyadh-based Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO) and featured 23 lectures and 11 working papers presented by 32 international speakers. A total of 1,200 people from various sectors participated.
Al-Rabiah, who is also the SASO chairman, said the Kingdom would grow steadily in the coming years because of the opening up of the Saudi market to international companies. This would strengthen industries, attract investment in development projects and help diversify the economy, he said.
Among the top Saudi officials who addressed the event were Minister of Health Khalid Al-Falih, following the first session on institutional quality and sustainability presided over by Khaled Awad, a member of the Shoura Council.
The second session dealt with quality in education under the chairmanship of the Public Education Evaluation Commission Gov. Naif Al-Roumi, while the third session on quality and competitiveness was addressed by Prince Saud bin Khaled bin Faisal Al-Saud, chief executive officer of systems and investment policies at the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority.