Saudi Arabia jumped to rank 16 on the maritime connectivity index issued by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for the second quarter of 2023.
Saudi Arabia scored 76.16 points within 187 countries this quarter, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development Liner Shipping Connectivity Index.
The report said that 97 Saudi ports linked the Kingdom with approximately 348 ports around the world.
The Saudi Minister of Transport and Logistics Services, Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, who is also chairman of Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) board of directors, said that this qualitative national achievement comes in light of the great support offered by The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the transport and logistics system and the ports sector.
It also helps consolidate Saudi Arabia’s position on the global maritime map, added Al-Jasser.
He also noted that this leap contributes to promoting economic growth, by reducing the time required for import and export as well as cutting the cost of shipping to and from the Kingdom's ports.
The Minister said Mawani increased the number of shipping services with major international shipping lines. The Ports Authority added 20 new shipping services during the first half of 2023, a move that significantly contributed to consolidating the attractiveness and competitiveness of Saudi ports and raising their operational efficiency, he added.
Lately, the Kingdom has advanced 17 places in the global Logistics Performance Index (LPI) issued by the World Bank. Among 160 countries, the Kingdom has advanced to the rank 38th in the World Bank's Logistics Performance Index after achieving wide leaps in performance efficiency through several sub-indicators.