Sheikh Ahmed bin Nasser bin Abdulrahman Al-Obeikan, President of Ahmed Al-Obeikan Real Estate Investment and Development Company in Taif and Jeddah is one of the businessmen specialized in investments and real estate development and his name has been associated with charity work, he is one of those who loved doing good for the face of God, he does not talk much about his charity work but this work speaks for itself.
Sheikh Ahmed Al-Obeikan is one of the young businessmen who carry the concerns of the homeland as he participated in a number of committees and events that work to raise the name of the homeland, and he also contributes greatly through his membership in a number of committees and councils a great deal in the great national works that are in the interest of the homeland.
Amlak newspaper met him at one of the real estate exhibitions in Jeddah, and conducted an interview with him through which he talked about the plans and projects of his ambitious group, addressing its achievements over the past years, and Sheikh Ahmed Al-Obeikan also shed light on his estimated contributions in public work and charitable work ... Here is the text of the interview.

Dialogue - Editor-in-Chief

[Sheikh Ahmed Al-Obeikan, please tell us about your most important charitable and national contributions and achievements? Praise and thanks be to God, God Almighty has enabled me to participate and contribute in several charitable fields to serve this country and its citizens, and among the most prominent participants, I supported and contributed to the opening of the exhibition Waste is a Fatak disease under the supervision of the International Islamic Relief Organization in Taif, and I also participated in supporting and opening the exhibition Smoking is a Fatak disease, which was held in Al-Obeikan Mall (the heart of Taif), in addition to my participation in providing an entertainment program for orphans. I also participated and supported the group marriage ceremony (first, second, third, fourth, and fifth). I contributed to supporting the Charity Association for Orphan Care. I have also been interested in participating in the anti-smoking exhibition at Al-Salam Hall in Taif in order to limit the spread of the phenomenon of smoking, which unfortunately spreads among young people of both sexes. I also participated in a large number of television and radio interviews, as well as contributed to supporting and sponsoring the Women's Vigilance Association in Taif, and I have contributions to the establishment of a kidney dialysis hospital in Taif. I also participated in the National Dialogue for a number of years, which I am very proud of. I also participated in the tourism media workshop organized by the General Authority for Tourism and Antiquities. I do not mention here my charitable contributions for the sake of bragging and boasting, but for the sake of Allah's pleasure.

[What are your participation and national contributions in general in the field of real estate? As you know I have companies in various fields of investments but from my public contributions, I was greatly honored when I was selected by His Royal Highness Prince Khalid Al-Faisal to participate in periodic meetings held with a group of businessmen to discuss topics of interest to the region and the citizen.

From public participation, I participated in the second real estate conference (CIRC 2) at the Intercontinental Hotel in Riyadh, and I also actively participated in the opening of the first festival exhibition of the Kingdom's urban heritage at the historic Shubra Palace in Taif.
I have participated in a forum entitled “Capacity Building in Board Management” in the Kingdom of Bahrain. I am a member of a number of investment and charitable boards inside and outside the Kingdom. By the way, I am a member of the committee that speaks to government agencies to present investment projects, select topics for discussion and prepare the themes.

[What are the most prominent investment companies within your group? Ahmed Al-Obeikan Real Estate Investment Group, whose board of directors I chair, consists of a group of specialized companies and institutions, most notably companies working in the fields of real estate and real estate development, commercial, tourism, consulting, maintenance, and operation.

[Any advice you would like to give to Saudi businessmen? The truth is that there are good businessmen who do good out of faith and patriotism, and these preferred to invest in their dear homeland and did not flee as others fled, and I am honored to be one of those who preferred to invest in the homeland in order to contribute as much as we can to the development and progress of our dear homeland, as all of us as citizens are partners in the development and prosperity of the homeland On this occasion, I would like to raise the highest expressions of thanks and appreciation for the moral support of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, who has always encouraged us to give, exertion and hard work, and he represents the symbol of the country in giving and exertion and we were greatly honored by his opening the “Al-Obeikan” market in Taif, and this is a great honor for us and the people of Taif.

[What are the most prominent projects of your group that have achieved great success? [We have implemented, thank God, many successful housing and real estate projects over several years and I believe that the most wonderful and greatest project we have implemented so far is the “Heart of Taif” project, which I consider one of the greatest projects in the Kingdom, as the project is located in the heart of Taif city and in a privileged location on a total area of 50,453 m2 and the project consists of two parts (commercial market) and (residential and administrative tower) with a height of 30 floors.

One of the most prominent successful projects is a large and ambitious project that has met with great success in the Chahar area in Taif, which is the project supervised by Obeikan Company “Tamleek”, and thanks to God and our professional work, this project was able to contribute significantly to alleviating housing pressure in the region, and the housing issue is a crisis that is still looking for a solution. In addition, we have a future vision and an integrated strategy related to the establishment of recreational, tourism and residential projects that will see the light of day soon, God willing.

[What about the employment of Saudi youth in your projects and institutions? - Obeikan Group is one of the groups that are interested in employing national labor instead of foreigners because the sons of the homeland are the most deserving of its good, one of the most important projects in which we have been partners with our country, may God support it, is the employment center project attached to the Heart of Taif project, through which we have been able to employ more than 1500 Saudi youth in addition to the large numbers that we have already employed in previous projects, and we have Saudi cadres in all institutions of the group.

What about employing Saudi youth in your projects and institutions?

[You have bold opinions about Saudi women, whether it is related to driving or women's markets? The woman is the sister of the man and our Holy Prophet recommended us to take care of her and preserve her, and the rights of women in the Kingdom are protected in accordance with the Sharia and the law and I do not call for the liberation of women and mixing with men in places of suspicion, the Sharia is clear in this door.

As for women driving, I personally do not see anything wrong with it, and it is better for a woman to drive her own car than to sit in it with a foreign driver to take over the driving, but of course women driving requires arrangements and legal controls and must be done in a way that preserves the privacy and status of women.
As for the idea of closed markets for women only, I believe that it did not achieve the desired success because some designed these markets to be like cages or a large prison for women, and this is morally unacceptable, because the nature of markets is to be open and available to women in accordance with Sharia regulations. Saudi women are respected and appreciated and there is no reason to isolate them in markets like closed cages.

[A word at the end of this interview? I would like to thank the family of ”Amlak” for this hosting, as the media is a partner of success in everything that would elevate and promote our dear homeland, greetings and appreciation to all of you.