Dutch university opens Al-Babtain Centre for Arabic Culture
‘Centre sign of cultural communication’
BRUSSELS, Oct 11, (KUNA): Kuwait’s Abdulaziz Saud Al-Babtain Cultural Foundation, opened a centre specialized in Arab culture at Leiden University of the Netherlands.
This came during a ceremony held at the university on Wednesday, attended by Kuwait’s Ambassador to the Netherlands Abdulrahman AlOtaibi and a number of senior academics at the university and cultural and social figures.
During the ceremony, General Secretary of the Foundation Dr Abdulahman Al-Babtain on behalf of the President of the Foundation AlBabtain and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Professor of Social Philosophy Mark Rutgers, signed agreement for the establishment of Al-Babtain Leiden University Centre for Arabic Culture with the attendance of President of the Executive Board of Leiden University Carel Stolker and the Foundation General Director Dr Touhami Abdouli.
The center is a sign of cultural communication, as it eliminate the geopolitical boundaries and it is a move towards wider horizons of culture, Al-Babtain said in a speech.
Leiden University was founded in 1575 and is the oldest university in the Netherlands, as today it is one of the leading research universities in Europe.
Director of the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) Ahmed AlMoussa said the Cabinet is currently studying the proposed percentage of national manpower in the private sector, reports Al-Jarida daily.
Al-Mussa explained the percentage stated in the proposal will be implemented only on economic activities, not the professions as stipulated in the current decision. He said the new list of economic activities is based on the Gulf classification that includes 33 activities, unlike decision number 1028/2016 which consists of 25 activities.
He pointed out the proposal stipulates a grace period for businesspersons and employers to correct their status before its implementation.
He added the proposal is in line with the strategy of the State in increasing the number of nationals working in the private sector and finding solutions to the lopsided demographic structure.
He clarified the Cabinet reviews the decision on the percentage of national manpower in the private sector every two years to take into consideration the changes in the labor market.
In another development, Al-Mussa confirmed that PAM has completed its projected budget for the next fiscal year (2019/2020), indicating the draft was referred to the Ministry of Finance within the deadline. He affirmed the draft meets the demands of the ministry on rationalization of expenditures and increasing revenues without affecting the quality of services provided to the public.