We’ll Fill All Jobs With Saudis, Says Naif

We’ll Fill All Jobs With Saudis, Says Naif P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News Staff

JEDDAH, 21 April 2003 — Interior Minister Prince Naif yesterday called for joint efforts by the public and private sectors to help the Saudization drive. “Saudization is a strategic choice of the Kingdom at this important juncture in its development,” he said during Careers Day at Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah. Prince Naif, who is also chairman of the Manpower Council, said he hoped development projects, the privatization of services and expansion of the tourism sector would create new job opportunities for young Saudi graduates. “Our objective is to fill all jobs with Saudis,” the prince said during an open dialogue with students and teachers of the university. He urged the authorities to intensify their efforts to train Saudis for the jobs available in the market. Prince Naif’s statement comes hard on the heels of a new order by Crown Prince Abdullah to create at least 200,000 jobs by replacing expatriates with Saudis. The minister said government agencies and private firms must employ Saudis and improve their competencies by providing them with the necessary training. Commenting on a proposal to set out a standard for salaries in the private sector, the prince said private companies must provide reasonable salaries to Saudi employees. He emphasized the need to open more technical and vocational institutes to provide training to Saudis, especially for jobs related to tourism and the hotel business. He commended the competition among Saudi universities to create job opportunities for their graduates. The Careers Day at Umm Al-Qura University is expected to provide 3,200 jobs to its graduates. “God willing a time will come when there will be no competition for Saudis. Competition will only be between the Saudi graduates themselves, and the most qualified and capable will get the job,” he explained. The minister also reiterated the Kingdom’s commitment to bringing the prisoners held by the US at Guantanamo, Cuba, back to the country. “We are following the issue of Guantanamo prisoners with the utmost interest,” he added. He said there was “no increase” in the number of Saudi prisoners held in Guantanamo. The prince said he could not see any benefit in reopening the file of the Saudi hijackers who had taken refuge in Iraq in October 2000. “We don’t know anything about the situation of the hijackers and we are not concerned with this issue,” he said. Prince Naif said he hoped the repercussions from the US-led war in neighboring Iraq would be minor.