The General Authority of Foreign Trade held a workshop with the Council of Saudi Chambers today, in the presence of Mr. Abdulrahman bin Ahmed Al-Harbi, Governor of the Authority, engineer Usamah al-Zamil, Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, and Dr. Sami bin 'Abdullah al-'Ubaydi, Chairman of the Council of Saudi Chambers, along with the heads and members of the Business Councils at the headquarters of the Council of Saudi Chambers. During the workshop, they discussed the development of the Foreign Saudi Business Councils by the General Authority of Foreign Trade to promote the Kingdom's economic relations with international trade partners. Mr. Abdulrahman bin Ahmed Al-Harbi, Governor of the Authority, pointed out that the private sector is the strategic partner of the General Authority of Foreign Trade and one of the most important factors supporting economic development. Therefore, the General Authority of Foreign Trade is keen to ensure that the private sector's voice is parallel to the ongoing services of the governmental sectors. He added that the Kingdom is currently witnessing an unprecedented attraction of foreign investments and opportunities of partnership with business establishments abroad, in line with the goals of Vision 2030, in terms of income diversification, foreign investment stimulation, and accompanying generation of job opportunities. One of the most important ways to stimulate investments is the efficient use of the role of foreign Saudi Business Councils that seek to organize gatherings including representatives of the business sector in the Kingdom and their peers in other countries. They mainly aim to promote economic relations between the Kingdom and these countries in various fields, particularly the field of investments. He emphasized that legal and effective participation by the foreign Saudi Business Councils will greatly contribute to highlighting the Kingdom as a global trade center and an attractive environment for investment. For his part, Dr. Sami bin 'Abdullah al-'Ubaydi, Chairman of the Council of Saudi Chambers, gave a visual presentation through which he discussed the vision of the Council of Saudi Chamber for the development and empowerment of foreign Saudi Business Councils. The vision consists of five points including the launch of foreign representation offices for the Business Councils, supporting the Council to develop an electronic platform and link with governmental entities, appointing full-time specialized executives for Business Councils classified under category (A), Supporting economic studies and consultancies, and holding joint annual events. During the workshop, the Authority gave a visual presentation during which it discussed 12 initiatives to promote the role of and empower foreign Saudi Business Councils to help them achieve economic, trade, and investment goals, which include the development of regulations for foreign Saudi Business Councils, the establishment of the innovation and development center at the headquarters of the General Authority of Foreign Trade, and the governance of the work of Business Councils: Identifying targeted performance indicators and the executive plan controls; conducting reports to control performance and limit the challenges hindering the development of investment and trade exchange; supporting the strategic Business Councils with specialized staff inside the Kingdom and abroad; establishing an electronic website that combines Business Councils; enabling the establishment of bilateral and regional business councils, as well as sector-based working groups; establishing a center for inquiry and technical support at the Authority; determining the financial compensation for membership in Business Councils and diversifying financial resources; promoting the engagement of Business Councils in governmental events; classifying Business Councils and setting standards for each classification; and the private sector engagement in decisionmaking and reflecting opinions in trade and investment agreements