Cairo: Saudi Arabia will launch this week an initiative to enhance connections with a large community of expatriates it hosts.
Titled "Global Harmony,” the initiative aims to shed light on the lives of expats in the kingdom, including career and family aspects, their social and recreational activities, contribution to Saudi economy, and success stories.
The initiative, undertaken by the Saudi Ministry of Media, also aims to emphasize the diversity and richness of expats' cultures, and integration into Saudi society.
Through a partnership between the Ministry of Media and the General Entertainment Authority, a series of events are planned in the ongoing edition of the Riyadh Season, a flagship annual Saudi entertainment and tourist festival.
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These events focus on cultures of India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, Yemen, Sudan, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Bangladesh, and Egypt.
They feature concerts, roving shows, family, cultural and entertainment activities, as well as national foods and handicrafts. The events will be held in the presence and with participation of Saudis and expats of different nationalities.
Last year, the Saudi General Authority for Statistics, citing an official census, put the kingdom’s total population at 32.2 million with foreigners making up around 13.4 million or 41.5 per cent.
Asian nationals from three countries accounted for over 42 per cent of the total foreigners in Saudi Arabia, according to the census figures. Bangladeshi nationals took the lead with 2.1 million, or around 15.08 per cent of the overall expatriates in Saudi Arabia, followed by Indians with 1.88 million and Pakistanis with 1.81 million.
Yemenis ranked the fourth in expatriate terms with 1.8 million followed by Egyptians with 1.4 million, Sudanese with 819,000, Filipinos with 725,000 and Syrians with 449,000.
