At the Makkah Emirate headquarters in the Holy Capital of Makkah, His Royal Highness Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, the Adviser to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Governor of the Makkah Region, launched the signing ceremony of the memoranda of understanding among Wadi Makkah Technology Company, owned by Umm Al-Qura University, the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties, and the Saudi Patient Safety Center. The memoranda aim to launch the Abjad Training Portfolio, and a standardized test for measuring Arabic language proficiency for non-native health practitioners. This falls under the initiatives of the Makkah Cultural Forum under the slogan “How to Be a Role Model in the Language of the Qur’an." The launch was held in the presence of His Excellency the President of the University, Prof. Abdullah bin Omar Bafail.

The agreements were signed for Wadi Makkah Technology by its Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Faisal Allaf, the Secretary General of the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties, Dr. Ayman Abdu, and the Director General of the Saudi Patient Safety Center, Dr. Abdul-Ilah Al-Hawsawi.

The MoUs aim to launch the Abjad Training Portfolio, and a standardized test for measuring Arabic language proficiency for non-native health practitioners of different nationalities and speaking different languages, to raise the level of conversational language with patients, to avoid and minimize medical damage caused by the inability to effectively communicate with patients, and to help develop their skills and knowledge in the field of medical services provided in health facilities to improve patient safety.

The Governor of Makkah region also launched the ‘Iqraa’ Linguistic Scale Platform, designed by Wadi Makkah Technology and owned by Umm Al-Qura University, to raise the level of Arabic language proficiency.

The project seeks to provide about 360 test centers around the world. It is an electronic platform for standardized testing. It measures the level of Arabic language proficiency for general purposes among speakers of other languages. It is designed according to the internationally accepted scientific standards and principles in the field of measurement and evaluation globally, aiming at spreading the Arabic language and determining a measure of its proficiency.