Despite a significant fall in revenue arising as a result of the slide in oil prices, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia yesterday (December 22nd) announced a budget that will invest heavily in training and development.

According to Arab News, the move comes as part of the largest budget ever announced for the country, with investment in public services increasing 15.8 per cent in 2009.

"The amount is three times more than the allocations made for new projects in the beginning of the 8th Five-Year Development Plan four years ago," the king said.

Among the major new training and development investment projects will be the construction of the Princess Noura bint Abdul Rahman University, which will be the largest women-only university in the world, in addition to King Saud University for Health Sciences.

Saudi Arabia also commits to Saudization programs which encourage investment in the training of domestic workers to serve companies operating in sectors such as the oil and gas industry.

Oil and Gas Directory: Training and Development