RIYADH: The Empretec Forum, organized by the Social Development Bank, was launched in Riyadh on Sunday by the UN Conference on Trade and Development to foster the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises that are sustainable, inventive, and able to compete globally. The event, sponsored by the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Ahmed Al-Rajhi, hosted senior government officials and international experts, including the Secretary-General of UNCTAD Rebeca Grynspan; the Governor of the National Development Fund Stephen Grove; and the CEO of the Social Development Bank Ibrahim Al-Rashid. The forum saw the signing of several partnerships to support the entrepreneurship system and create opportunities in the logistics services sector, focusing on developing specialized educational resources and materials, in addition to developing capacity-building programs aimed at enabling young people to engage in the sector. Al-Rajhi said that empowering the private sector in the Kingdom was one of the most critical priorities of the Saudi National Transformation Program. The program aims to achieve the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 by increasing the contribution of small and emerging enterprises to the gross domestic product to 35 percent by 2030. He spoke of the success of efforts to double the number of small and emerging enterprises to more than 1.1 million by the end of 2022. Al-Rajhi told the Saudi Press Agency: “The National Transformation Program achieved more than 750 economic reforms to develop the private sector in the Kingdom, and launched its initiatives to raise the country’s ranking in the relevant global indicators.” He said this included remarkable leaps in the Invest in Saudi Arabia initiative. Al-Rajhi added: “(Some) 80 international companies also obtained licenses to open regional headquarters in the Kingdom, as foreign direct investment flows reached SR22.5 billion ($6 billion) by the end of the third quarter of 2022. “In the sectors of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development we were able to reduce the unemployment rate to 8.3 percent.” Al-Rashid said: “We are honored to cooperate with the 35 members of the Empretec program, as they have diverse experiences that can assist in knowledge transfer. “We have begun developing the bank’s branch system to be a business incubator, and we opened six new branches this year to support entrepreneurs. We will have 17 branches next year, and we will soon see the largest business centers in Saudi society.” The forum’s activities included dialogue sessions that focused on the importance of innovation within various sectors and technical and logistical services and scientific skills related to the business sector, emphasizing research skills in product development, market needs, and financial management. The forum bids to enhance the business sector’s focus on economic sustainability and support a culture of innovation in line with Vision 2030.