04 April 2014
The Shoura Council approved a recommendation Tuesday to speed up the development of a consular and diplomatic employment system for Saudis living abroad. The scheme would include benefits such as medical, educational and social insurance to ease financial pressure on diplomats and citizens with foreign contracts. There are half a million Saudi families living in Cairo and more than 70,000 Saudi citizens living in the United Arab Emirates, said Saud Al-Shammari, a member of the Shoura Council. There are also 150,000 Saudis living in Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, he said.
"These figures express a social reality that should be studied by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to determine the social and economic reasons behind this migration phenomenon," he said. The council also called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help resolve the problems of Saudis studying outside the Kingdom and to learn from the experiences of retired diplomats. The council rejected a recommendation by the Cultural and Information Affairs Committee to set up an independent television channel for tourism, culture and heritage as it would require massive financial and manpower resources. The council instead called on the ministry to launch a comprehensive cultural channel in coordination with the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities highlighting the Kingdom's tourism, heritage and architecture.
The Shoura Council approved a recommendation Tuesday to speed up the development of a consular and diplomatic employment system for Saudis living abroad. The scheme would include benefits such as medical, educational and social insurance to ease financial pressure on diplomats and citizens with foreign contracts. There are half a million Saudi families living in Cairo and more than 70,000 Saudi citizens living in the United Arab Emirates, said Saud Al-Shammari, a member of the Shoura Council. There are also 150,000 Saudis living in Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, he said.
"These figures express a social reality that should be studied by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to determine the social and economic reasons behind this migration phenomenon," he said. The council also called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help resolve the problems of Saudis studying outside the Kingdom and to learn from the experiences of retired diplomats. The council rejected a recommendation by the Cultural and Information Affairs Committee to set up an independent television channel for tourism, culture and heritage as it would require massive financial and manpower resources. The council instead called on the ministry to launch a comprehensive cultural channel in coordination with the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities highlighting the Kingdom's tourism, heritage and architecture.
© Arab News 2014
