Saudi Arabia Begins Inventory of Overseas Agricultural Investments

 Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Begins Inventory of Overseas Agricultural Investments

 Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture has announced the launch of the overseas agricultural investment inventory program, which targets the segment of Saudi citizens investing outside the Kingdom, as well as producers who supply the Kingdom.

The ministry explained that the program is an extension of the programs of inventorying agricultural holdings and projects in the Kingdom through the agricultural registry development project and its desire to list and register agricultural investment abroad.

Also, it emphasized that the program highlights the development of economic relations with regard to importing and exporting agricultural commodities and agricultural investment abroad, ensuring food security, and promoting sustainable local agricultural production and agricultural investment abroad.

The agricultural investment inventory program will help diversify and stabilize external food supply sources, support the Kingdom's food security initiatives, and enhance opportunities for agricultural and animal investments abroad.

More so, the program allows the issuance of agricultural records for investment projects abroad, a matter which will benefit Saudi investors.

The program is linked to other programs launched by the Kingdom.

It backs the program for purchasing wheat and other products, financing programs provided by the Agricultural Development Fund for agricultural investment abroad, and the facilities provided by the ministry to importers of agricultural and animal products.

More so, it offers coordination through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with Saudi embassies. This will help serve Saudi agricultural investors abroad and strengthen bilateral relations and framework agreements with target countries.

The ministry confirmed that a Geospatial portal would be launched for the program.

This portal will enable investors in the field of agricultural and animal activities to register and benefit from the program.



Pakistan's Largest Airport Becomes Operational, Part of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative

Passengers wait for their boarding in the state-run Pakistan International Airlines flight to Paris after the airline resumed direct flights to Europe after the EU lifted a four-year ban, at the Islamabad International Airport, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo)
Passengers wait for their boarding in the state-run Pakistan International Airlines flight to Paris after the airline resumed direct flights to Europe after the EU lifted a four-year ban, at the Islamabad International Airport, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo)
TT

Pakistan's Largest Airport Becomes Operational, Part of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative

Passengers wait for their boarding in the state-run Pakistan International Airlines flight to Paris after the airline resumed direct flights to Europe after the EU lifted a four-year ban, at the Islamabad International Airport, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo)
Passengers wait for their boarding in the state-run Pakistan International Airlines flight to Paris after the airline resumed direct flights to Europe after the EU lifted a four-year ban, at the Islamabad International Airport, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo)

Pakistan’s largest airport, funded and built in the country's restive southwest by Beijin g, has become operational, officials said Monday.
Gwadar airport is in the province of Balochistan, which has for decades been the scene of an insurgency by separatists demanding autonomy or outright independence.
Pakistani Defense Minister, Khawaja Mohammad Asif, and Chinese officials were among those attending a ceremony at Gwadar airport and watched the arrival of the Pakistan International Airlines inaugural flight from the southern city of Karachi.
The ceremony came months after Chinese Premier Li Qiang and his Pakistani counterpart Shehbaz Sharif virtually inaugurated the airport, which has a capacity of handling 400,000 travelers annually.
Beijing has invested heavily in the coastal city of Gwadar. Besides the airport, which has an estimated cost of $230 million, China has also constructed a deep seaport in Pakistan as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative to increase trade by building infrastructure around the world.
Work started on Gawdar airport in 2019. It was supposed to be operational last year but was delayed after a surge in attacks by militants and separatists on Chinese nationals working on projects in the province.
In televised remarks, Asif thanked China for building the airport and said the airport would play a key role in improving the country's economy, attracting international investment and bringing prosperity to Balochistan.
Ethnic Baloch, who accuse the Chinese and others of economic exploitation, oppose the project and other Chinese initiatives in the province.
The Ministry of Planning and Development stated that the airport can handle a combination of ATR 72, Airbus, (A-300), Boeing (B-737), and Boeing (B-747) for domestic and international routes.
Gwadar airport is the country’s largest in terms of area, spread over 4,300 acres of land, according to Pakistan’s civil aviation.