Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi is the Minister of Commerce and Minister of Media of Saudi Arabia.

Early life and education

Majid Bin Abdullah Al Qasabi was born in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

in 1959. His father Abdullah bin Othman Al Qasabi was a prominent Saudi real estate owner and businessman.من هو وزير التجارة والاستثمار الجديد ماجد القصبي؟
''Almowaten.net'', 8 May 2016 Majid Al Qasabi pursued his university education in the US, receiving a bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1981 from the University of Portland. In 1982 he obtained a master's degree in civil engineering from

U.C. Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

, followed by another master's degree in engineering management, and a PhD in engineering management from the University of Missouri–Rolla (now Missouri University of Science and Technology), obtained in 1985.Lucien Zeigler

''Sustg.com'', 14 June 2016His Excellency Dr. Majid Bin Abdullah Al Qasabi
''Mci.gov.sa'' Al Qasabi taught between 1987 and 1998 as an assistant professor as the King Abdulaziz University, in the Industrial Engineering Department.

Career

In 1998, Al Qasabi left the King Abdulaziz University to become Secretary General of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry, a role which he held until 2002. In 2002, he served as director-general of the

Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Foundation Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Foundation is a non-profit charity organization in Saudi Arabia set up and funded by former Crown Prince Sultan in 1995. The foundation participates in projects ranging from large housing projects for the needy and t ...

and became an advisor at the Crown Prince's Court in 2010, and president of Special Affairs for Crown Prince Sultan and his two successors between 2011 and 2014. Al Qasabi was named minister of social affairs of Saudi Arabia by royal decree on 29 January 2015. Within the first 100 days of his appointment, a center for studies and research called ''Nama'' (''growth'' in Arabic) was set up in Riyadh, to follow up on all initiatives carried out by the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Acting minister of media

He was appointed by royal decree on 25 February 2020 as acting minister of media replacing Turki Al Shabana in the post.

Minister of commerce and investment

Al Qasabi was appointed as minister of commerce and investment on 7 May 2016 via royal decree, replacing

Tawfig Al Rabiah Tawfig F. AlRabiah (Arabic: توفيق بن فوزان الربيعة) (born 26 October 1965) is the current Minister of Hajj and Umrah for Saudi Arabia. He served as Minister of Health from May 2016 until October 2021 when he became Minister o ...

in the post. Leading the ministry Al Qasabi is in charge of implementing structural reform in line with Saudi Arabia's national plan Vision 2030. Accordingly, the nation's foreign investment license provider, The

Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority The Ministry of Investment (MISA) (), till 2020 as the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) (), is a government ministry in Saudi Arabia that oversees foreign investment in the country besides issuing licenses to foreign investors. I ...

(SAGIA) was built into the ministry of commerce and investment.Providing the tools
''Thebusinessyear.com'', 2017 In 2016, the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises was established, and held its first board of directors' meeting in November 2016. The authority was established by the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

and headed by Al Qasabi.Small And Medium Enterprises Authority Holds Its First Board Of Directors Meeting
''Mci.gov.sa'', 11 December 2016 Under his leadership, Saudi Arabia allowed full ownership by foreign investors in firms belonging to the health and education sectors in the country, as well as the engineering services companies.

Other responsibilities

*Member of the boards of several major Saudi charities *Member of the Council of the Saudi Ports Authority Management *Member of the High Commission for the Development of Ha’il *Member of the Centennial Fund *Member of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs (Saudi Arabia)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qasabi, Majid bin Abdullah Majid Majid Majid 1959 births Information ministers of Saudi Arabia Social affairs ministers of Saudi Arabia Trade ministers of Saudi Arabia King Abdulaziz University faculty Living people Missouri University of Science and Technology alumni People from Jeddah University of Portland alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni Saudi Arabian civil engineers