Leading Saudi technocrats and specialists in industrial development will meet at the Asharqia Chamber in the Eastern Province on Monday, to discuss the Kingdom's resources and capabilities in establishing its own technology. The one-day marathon meeting, called Local Content Forum (LCF), will be addressed and attended by technocrats and specialists from the various ministries and leading corporate organizations like Saudi Aramco and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic). The forum will be opened and addressed by Prince Muhammad Bin Fahd, Emir of the Eastern Province, under whose patronage the forum is being convened. “The objective of the forum is to thrash out and identify our strength and the available infrastructures to support Saudi Arabia's move towards establishing its own technology,” said Adnan A. Al-Naeim, Secretary General of the Asharqia Chamber. He said the Kingdom has the resources to establish technologies of its own, and that the forum will try to identify them. “Our infrastructures are there – knowledge, raw materials, human resources, and the vision of our leaders. The forum will crystallize all these,” Al-Naeim said. According to Al-Naeim, after identifying the technologies the Kingdom is capable of launching, based on its resources, an international content forum will be held in mid-2010 to be attended by international companies and the world's leading technocrats and specialists. “The global local content forum will seek to identify what the international community can provide in helping us meet our objective of setting up our own technology,” he said. The Kingdom has already started working towards its technology development goal by establishing the National Industrial Clusters Development Program that will develop new industries, support their growth, and diversify the national economy. The Saudi Clusters Program, authorized by the Council of Ministers, is specifically aimed at diversifying the Saudi Arabian economy by developing targeted industrial clusters that leverage the Kingdom's resources. Five clusters have been selected for development. These are automotive, construction, metals processing, plastic packaging, and consumer appliances. The program was started in 2006 and will hopefully see results by 2011. The Saudi Clusters Program is being pursued in coordination with several organizations, including the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, General Organization of Technical and Vocational Training, and the Saudi Industrial Development Fund. “The Saudi private business sector should play a key role in establishing indigenous Saudi technology. The local content forum is the first serious step in this direction,” Al
