18 December 2016
Siemens has shown its commitment and dedication to continuously drive its agenda of local value creation during Saudi Aramco’s In Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) Forum on Dec. 14. At the forum, Saudi Aramco and Siemens inked several agreements to collaborate in the fields of renewable energy, research and development, as well as digitalization in the oil and gas industry.

Amin Nasser, president and CEO of Saudi Aramco, said: “Saudi Aramco’s agreements with Siemens resonates with the overall goals of the IKTVA program where partners collaborate closely to drive additional domestic value creation, support the Kingdom’s economic transformation and enable the future prosperity of the Kingdom. The participation of partners like Siemens in IKTVA is crucial to enabling a sustainable and competitive world-class Saudi energy sector.”

The IKTVA program, which marked its first anniversary this month, is instrumental in leveraging opportunities to drive additional domestic value creation and support a rapidly changing Saudi economy.

Joe Kaeser, President and CEO of Siemens AG, who attended the IKVTA Forum for the second time and witnessed the agreement signing ceremony, said: “While factors such as economics, technology and organizational capability continue to drive competition, the localization of value chains in Saudi Arabia is a compelling driver for the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. Our strategy resonates with this approach because we believe that businesses must add lasting value to communities. Localization is therefore critical for further advancing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

Siemens investments in the expansion of its local footprint expansion across the value chain translates into creating quality jobs for Saudi nationals, enhancing innovation, economic diversification and increased global competitiveness for the Kingdom.

The IKTVA program highlights job creation as an important aspect of driving local value creation. In November, Siemens signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Colleges of Excellence (CoE) to jointly develop a vocational education and training concept modelled around the German dual education system.

© Arab News 2016