Eleven agreements and memorandum of understanding (MoUs) were signed at the 2017 iktva SMEs Forum and Exhibition, organised by Saudi Aramco, in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

The event was inaugurated by Prince Saud Bin Nayef Al Saud, Governor of the Eastern Province and he witnessed the signing of the agreements.

The forum aims to implement the five-year iktva Program which emphasises compliance with its  standards to enhance the in-kingdom total added value of local content, said a statement.

The inauguration was attended by Prince Ahmed bin Fahad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, deputy governor of the Eastern Province; Khalid Al Falih, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources and chairman of Saudi Aramco; and Amin H Nasser, Saudi Aramco president and CEO; and several executives from major international companies, investors, and business leaders.

The MoUs were signed with Taqa, Tecnicas Reunidas, SNC Lavalin, Zamil Offshore, Schlumberger (two contracts), Advanced Electronics Company, Saudi Oilfield Processing Company, Baker Hughes, JESCO and the Eastern Province Young Businessmen Council, it added.

Prince Saud then awarded excellence awards to several manufacturers and energy service providers for their efforts and commitment to apply iktva principles.

The iktva Excellence Awards went to Schlumberger for ‘Best Overall iktva Performance’, Al Zamil Contracting Company for ‘Most Improved iktva Performance’, Arabian Drilling Company for ‘Best in Training & Development’, Halliburton for ‘Best in SME Development’, and winners of the ‘Best SMEs’ award were Global Company for Downstream Industries (GDI), Innosoft, and AZR Technologies.

The forum highlighted the central and vital role of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) Sector within iktva program, which aims to establish a supply system that relies on local resources in line with international standards to maximise local content to reach 70 per cent by 2021, it added. -  TradeArabia News Service