RIYADH: The Saudi Council of Chambers (CSC) and the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Riyadh on Wednesday to build a strategic partnership in local content development. The accord was signed on the sidelines of the Armed Forces Exhibition for Diversity of Requirements and Capabilities (AFED) show currently being held in Riyadh. The MoU is to acquaint the private sector with investment opportunities available through the SABIC Nusaned program and the CSC’s Local Content Promotion initiative. The signatories were CSC Chairman Ahmed Bin Sulaiman Al-Rajhi and Deputy Chairman and CEO of SABIC Yousef Abdullah Al-Benyan. Al-Rajhi said the MoU was part of the Saudi Vision 2030 strategy. “The cooperation between the Council of Saudi Chambers and SABIC is driven by the important strategic roles that both play in the national economy,” he said. Al-Rajhi said that the CSC represented the umbrella of the business sector and worked to enhance its participation in Vision 2030 through a series of national and development initiatives, while SABIC had extensive manufacturing capabilities and was one of the world’s largest manufacturers of petrochemicals, fertilizers, metals and innovative plastics. “It has programs to promote the participation of industrial local content and create opportunities for labor and workforce development,” he said, adding that the CSC and SABIC hoped that this strategic cooperation would bridge the experiences between them to raise the percentage of local content. Under the MoU, the Saudi Council of Chambers is represented by the Local Content Enhancement Program, while SABIC will be represented by the Nusaned initiative to support investment in small and medium enterprises and develop local content. It is the first product of the local content and business development unit that was established by SABIC in early 2017. The SABIC CEO said that this was the age of small and medium-sized enterprises and that the Nusaned program provided entrepreneurs with support to set up enterprises and create opportunities for young people. The MoU aims to enhance joint cooperation between CSC and SABIC by increasing private-sector investment in industrial activity and enhance the value of the sector by organizing workshops, forums and related programs to increase local content.