Shura Trade, Investment Committee Mull Increasing Local Content Effectiveness

The Trade and Investment Committee – one of the specialized committees – of the Shura Council, held a meeting headed by its chairman Dr. Fahd Al-Tikhaifi.

During the meeting, it extensively studied the annual report of the authority, focusing on increasing the effectiveness of the authority’s performance, by raising the percentages of local content in government procurement, and supporting it to overcome any challenges or obstacles hindering it.

The members also discussed the most prominent observations and suggestions made on the authority’s performance, in the last period.

The members of the committee agreed on the importance of emphasizing the ability of the authority, to examine government procurement offers, to facilitate follow-up of compliance with local content, in those procurements, whether in terms of procedural or technical mechanisms, or any other tools, in addition to examining the possibility of the authority building an indicator, to measure the level of local content.

However, such a move, shall be in coordination with the relevant authorities, as the authority should adopt development of clear policies and working mechanisms, to determine the mandatory lists of national products, in a manner based on the financial, economic, social and health regards and reflection, on national development, to achieve the desired gains.

In an effort to invest in this field to enhance the role of the non-profit sector and double its contribution to the goals set for it in Vision 2030, the committee examined, in the context of the annual report, the importance of the authority developing policies and work mechanisms that would further enable the non-profit sector, to participate in government competitions, in addition to preparing a study to determine Percentages of local content, in the products of private sector enterprises, in general and small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular, according to the national set up of economic activities.

Setting annual targets until the Year 2030, with the aim of strategic planning for the sustainability of local content, in procurement, was also highly recommended.