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LONDON: Nearly 250,000 Syrian refugees living in Turkiye have returned to Syria since the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime in December, which ended more than a decade of civil strife in the country.

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Sunday that data from the Turkish Immigration Directorate showed a significant decline in the number of Syrians with temporary protection status, with nearly 250,000 making a return journey to Syria.

In May, the directorate recorded 2,723,421 Syrians living in Turkiye, compared to 3,737,369 in May 2021, according to the SANA news agency. It added that the fall of Assad’s regime in December allowed for the voluntary return of tens of thousands of Syrian refugees to their homes.

The civil war in Syria, which began in 2011, has displaced nearly 8.5 million people, almost half of the population. The majority of them have ended up in Turkiye and refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon.

RIYADH: The global industrial sector is witnessing a radical transformation toward adopting Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, prompting countries to reconsider traditional manufacturing methods and adopt smart solutions that include automation, artificial intelligence, robotics, and data-driven systems to improve production efficiency and reduce operational costs. 

According to the Saudi Press Agency, the Kingdom is not only keeping pace with the global industrial transformation but also aims to lead it through strategic initiatives and specialized programs that promote smart industry practices and accelerate the adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies.

This will enhance the competitiveness of ������Ƶ’s industrial sector both regionally and globally, aligning with the goals of Vision 2030 and the National Industrial Strategy to position the Kingdom as a leading industrial power, one that supports global supply chains and exports high-tech products globally.

The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources is undertaking this ambitious transformation by establishing an integrated and comprehensive national system to enhance advanced manufacturing, according to SPA. 

It has launched the Advanced Manufacturing and Production Center, which brings together all programs and initiatives that enable the adoption of modern manufacturing technologies and stimulate smart and innovative industrial solutions. 

This initiative is in cooperation with various government entities related to the technology, research, and innovation sectors and in partnership with several global leaders in industrial technology. 

The efforts under the Advanced Manufacturing and Production Center include the Future Factories Program Initiative, the Industrial Beacons Program, the Accelerated Manufacturing Program, the Capability Centers Network, and the Operational Excellence Program, reported SPA. 

These initiatives collectively support the center’s vision of becoming a unified national platform that accelerates the adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies. They also serve as a bridge to help local manufacturers access cutting-edge solutions that improve efficiency, enhance quality, and reduce costs across the industrial sector. 

The center aims to boost productivity and competitiveness in the manufacturing sector by localizing advanced and sustainable technologies, creating an attractive environment for industrial investment, and supporting skill development through its Capability Centers Network. It also offers experiential learning opportunities and provides advisory services to help industrial establishments adopt advanced manufacturing practices. 

The efforts of the ministry are aligned with several government entities that support the center’s vision and objectives.

In 2022, the ministry launched the Future Factories initiative to support the smart transformation journey of industrial establishments, aiming to automate 4,000 Saudi factories and increase their production efficiency, reduce reliance on unskilled labor, and promote the adoption of advanced industrial solutions and practices. 

The initiative offers numerous incentives and enablers to support the digital transformation of national factories, including financing solutions, consulting services, and the development and qualification of human resources to leverage the latest manufacturing technologies. 

It also helps industrial establishments assess their technological maturity and develop transformation plans to adopt operational excellence practices and advanced manufacturing solutions, including AI, robotics, the Internet of Things, and big data analytics. 

To support industrial transformation in the Kingdom and achieve global leadership in adopting advanced manufacturing technologies, the ministry launched the Industrial Beacons program. 

This undertaking aims to enable leading Saudi factories to adopt Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, thereby enhancing their production efficiency and qualifying them to receive international recognition within the Global Lighthouse Network, an affiliate of the World Economic Forum, by 2030. 

During the launch ceremony of the Advanced Manufacturing and Production Center, the Ministry announced 10 national industrial companies that committed to achieving the standards of the Industrial Beacons initiative. 

With the launch of the Advanced Manufacturing and Production Center and its targeted initiatives to promote advanced technologies and foster research and innovation in the industrial sector, the Kingdom signals that its ambitions extend beyond simply keeping pace with global industrial trends.