It was a joke about the Saudis hiring their work done snarky.
While it was true that Saudis hired lots of others to do the work, that is no longer true.
I had the opportunity in recent years to work in an extremely limited manner on a humongous Saudi project. On two occasions, I met young (much younger than me) Saudi engineers that not only knew their stuff but were hard at work as actual engineers. That is, the engineers did not just hold the position but were working as engineers.
Years ago, the Saudis would have the job but did not really engage.
I’ll admit, the younger of the two was not the lead engineer but came to learn how inteernational engineers work together. But, he was keen on being a part and engaging with all the various foreigners he knew as e mail addresses.