The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Investment (MISA) announced today that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Amazon Saudi Arabia, with the goal of creating a dynamic business environment that affords growth opportunities for small and medium enterprises across the Kingdom. MISA and Amazon will form a joint committee consisting of members from each party that will meet twice per month to explore reforms across a range of areas including development of skills, technology and infrastructure, supporting knowledge and trust in online shopping and e-payments, and working with relevant public sector entities to produce and deliver support and incentive programs to accelerate the growth and adoption of investments in digital services and e-commerce. The signing took place at MISA's offices in the presence of the Minister of Investment, Eng. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih, and the Vice President of Amazon for the Middle East and North Africa, Ronaldo Mouchawar. The Minister of Investment Eng. Khalid Al-Falih said: "One of our objectives at MISA is to create long-lasting partnerships with leading international organizations that will provide the local market with economic value and global expertise. In line with the Kingdom's Vision 2030, our partnership with Amazon will open growth opportunities for SMEs and address the main challenges facing the sector, creating job opportunities across the Kingdom by harnessing new technologies. Furthermore, we will learn from Amazon's global practices and leverage its talents and expertise to bring world-class innovation and sustainable investment practices to the Kingdom." He added that the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with Amazon aims to explore investment opportunities, build local capabilities, and contribute to the efforts of the various authorities in the Kingdom to develop e-commerce infrastructure across the country For his part, Ronaldo Mouchawar, Vice President for Amazon MENA said: "At Amazon, we always look to innovate on behalf of our customers. Underpinned by our customer-centric culture, we are focused on ensuring our third-party sellers have the tools, technology, and skills to reach more customers in more convenient ways. This partnership underscores our commitment to the Kingdom and our customers in it, and will contribute to accelerating the growth of the e-commerce sector, as well as enabling businesses to take advantage of the great growth opportunities that the Kingdom offers." The Ministry of Investment seeks to enable ease of access for investors. This is achieved by providing the largest possible number of facilities and flexibility in licensing procedures and investor services; providing representatives from the relevant government agencies to finalize the required procedures; and providing support to investors from inception to starting a business to achieve an investment environment characterized by high efficiency and ease of doing business.
