Saudi changes working week to Sun-Thurs

Saudi Arabia on Sunday said it was switching its official weekend to Friday and Saturday, bringing the kingdom's working week in line with other members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.

Saudi Arabia, the biggest Arab economy, had been the only Gulf Arab state to have a Thursday-Friday weekend after Oman shifted to a Friday-Saturday weekend last month.

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A statement on national Saudi news agency SPA said the change, decreed by King Abdullah, will take effect as of this weekend, "for the sake of putting an end to the negative effects and the lost economic opportunities consistently associated with variation based on work days between local departments, ministries and institutions and the regional and international counterparts."

King Abdullah issued the decree following a recommendation in April by the Kingdom's Shura Council, which advises the government on new laws, to change the country's official weekend from the current Thursday and Friday.