Saudi Arabia holds local content expo

Saudi Aramco will host its iktva 2023 Forum & Exhibition to promote local content and diversification of Saudi Arabia’s economy from January 30 to February 2, 2023.

The annual event will consist of workshops, seminars and meetings between stakeholders and investors in Saudi Arabia’s largest developments.

The conference’s theme is Accelerating Future Success and will focus on segments such as sustainability, digital technologies and smart manufacturing.

The previous event in 2022 saw the signing of 50 agreements with local and international players including SLB, TechnipFMC, Baker Hughes, Larsen & Toubro and Honeywell.

The In-Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) programme was launched in 2015 to promote and establish a localised manufacturing sector and other industries with the aim of localising 70% of total expenditures and creating jobs through the export of local products.

The IKTVA initiative includes Saudi workforce development, enhancing R&D capabilities, creating opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises and upping exports.

Since its launch, the programme has increased spending on domestic suppliers from 35% in 2015 to 59% in 2021, contributed more than USD 130 billion to Saudi Arabia’s economy and created more than 100,000 supply chain jobs.

In November 2022, Saudi Aramco signed 59 corporate procurement contracts with 51 international manufacturers valued at USD 11 billion linked to the IKTVA initiative.