OREANDA-NEWS.  July 25, 2014. Saudi Aramco is partnering with Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives for a traffic safety program in the Western region.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was recently signed by Khalid A. Al-Falih, Saudi Aramco president and CEO, and Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, chairman of the Abdul Latif Jameel Group.

 “We chose to partner with Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives because it is a highly acclaimed social foundation that provides unique social responsibility programs around the Kingdom,” said Al-Falih.

The high rate of traffic accidents is one of the biggest challenges the Kingdom faces. It is also one that Saudi Aramco hopes to amend through its social responsibility programs. This includes the Traffic Safety Signature Program launched by the company five years ago  to reduce damage and fatalities caused by accidents.

 “The success that Saudi Aramco was able to achieve through its initiative for traffic safety and the support that it received from the Ministry of the Interior motivated us to seek partnerships that can help in promoting safe driving,” said Al-Falih.

The partnership will help establish sustainable programs in the Western Region’s schools to promote safe driving practices through awareness campaigns, academic programs that will act as a test-run for all levels and a traffic safety committee to represent stakeholders in the Western Region.

“The rising number of fatalities on the roads necessitates that companies fulfill their national and social duty in dedicating all resources to educate the community on road safety and protect them from accidents,” said Jameel.

Saudi Aramco will let the social foundation tap into its resources on traffic safety education and awareness. The companies will also collaborate in the creation of short videos and safety messages to raise awareness on traffic safety in the community.

The initiative reflects the company’s commitment to sharing its expertise in the area of community services with the private sector. By doing so corporate social responsibility programs are leveraged across the Kingdom for the benefit of society at large.