S. Arabia to grant citizenship to professionals: Report

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdul Aziz has issued a royal decree to grant nationality to distinguished foreign professionals, local media reported on Thursday.

According to news portal Sabq, the decree aims to attract distinguished professionals to live in Saudi Arabia to contribute to advancing development in the Kingdom.

It said that Riyadh targets professionals, including Islamic scholars as well as experts in nuclear and renewable energy, medicine, pharmacology, computer sciences, oil, artificial intelligence, robotics, ecology, astronautics, aviation, culture, sports and arts.

According to the Saudi news portal, the decree was issued two months ago in line with the Saudi Vision 2030 that aims to create an attractive environment for distinguished innovators and professionals to live in the Kingdom.

No official statement has been issued by the Saudi authorities on the decree yet.

* Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara