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Intensive Meetings to Assess Riyadh’s Readiness to Host Expo 2030

Members of the BIE Enquiry Mission were briefed on Saudi Arabia’s candidature plan. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Members of the BIE Enquiry Mission were briefed on Saudi Arabia’s candidature plan. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Intensive Meetings to Assess Riyadh’s Readiness to Host Expo 2030

Members of the BIE Enquiry Mission were briefed on Saudi Arabia’s candidature plan. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Members of the BIE Enquiry Mission were briefed on Saudi Arabia’s candidature plan. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The mission of the International Bureau of Exhibitions (BIE), the authority concerned with evaluating the ability of the candidate cities to host Expo 2030, has intensified its ministerial-level meetings, to assess the infrastructure of the Saudi capital, which is seeking to host the major global event.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, met in Riyadh on Tuesday the president of the BIE’s Administration and Budget Committee, Patrick Specht, and his accompanying delegation, to review Saudi Arabia’s candidature to organize World Expo 2030 in Riyadh, under the theme “The Era of Change: Together for a Foresighted Tomorrow”.

The delegation also held a number of meetings and dialogue sessions with Saudi ministers, over the course of the week, to learn about the Kingdom’s development plans for the proposed site to host the global exhibition.

“We continue our efforts to develop a sustainable tourism sector, and the development of tourism and promising projects that will make the Kingdom and Riyadh in particular one of the most important tourist destinations in the world, which will contribute to achieving the goal of receiving 100 million tourists by 2030,” Tourism Minister Ahmad All-Khatib said following his meeting with the BIE mission.

For his part, Minister of Economy and Planning, Faisal Al-Ibrahim, pointed to Saudi Arabia’s efforts to diversify its economy and increase the share and contribution of non-oil activities and the private sector to the gross domestic product.

In a statement on Friday, he said: “Riyadh plays a pivotal role in the Kingdom’s economic diversification strategy, given its growing regional status for large multinational companies operating in various strategic sectors.”

Eng. Abdullah Alswaha, Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology, drew attention to his country’s aspirations to host Expo 2030 in Riyadh, stressing that it reflected its willingness to assume a leading role on the global stage.

A statement by the BIE said that over the course of five days, members of the Enquiry Mission received detailed presentations of the candidature project, visited the proposed Expo site, and met with officials, as well as representatives of the business community and members of civil society.

In the event that the Kingdom is awarded the Expo 2030 hosting, the global exhibition is scheduled be held from October 2030 to April 2031.

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Saudi Arabia Makes History with Adoption of Riyadh Treaty on Design Law

Photo of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Photo of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Makes History with Adoption of Riyadh Treaty on Design Law

Photo of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Photo of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia has made history by uniting the 193 member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to adopt the Riyadh Treaty on Design Law. This landmark achievement, realized after two decades of deliberation, underscores the Kingdom’s leadership in enhancing the global intellectual property system.

The announcement came at the conclusion of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty, a rare event for WIPO, which has not held a diplomatic conference outside Geneva for more than a decade. It was also the first such event hosted in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, representing the final stage of negotiations to establish an agreement aimed at simplifying and standardizing design protection procedures across member states.

Over the past two weeks, intensive discussions and negotiations among member states culminated in the adoption of the Riyadh Treaty, which commits signatory nations to a unified set of requirements for registering designs, ensuring consistent and streamlined procedures worldwide. The agreement is expected to have a significant positive impact on designers, enabling them to protect their creations more effectively and uniformly across international markets.

At a press conference held on Friday to mark the event’s conclusion, CEO of the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property Abdulaziz Al-Suwailem highlighted the economic potential of the new protocol.

Responding to a question from Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Suwailem noted the substantial contributions of young Saudi men and women in creative design. He explained that the agreement will enable their designs to be formally protected, allowing them to enter markets as valuable, tradable assets.

He also emphasized the symbolic importance of naming the convention the Riyadh Treaty, stating that it reflects Saudi Arabia’s growing influence as a bridge between cultures and a global center for innovative initiatives.

The treaty lays critical legal foundations to support designers and drive innovation worldwide, aligning with Saudi Arabia’s vision of promoting international collaboration in the creative industries and underscoring its leadership in building a sustainable future for innovators.

The agreement also advances global efforts to enhance creativity, protect intellectual property, and stimulate innovation on a broader scale.

This achievement further strengthens Saudi Arabia’s position as a global hub for groundbreaking initiatives, demonstrating its commitment to nurturing creativity, safeguarding designers’ rights, and driving the development of creative industries on an international scale.

The Riyadh Diplomatic Conference, held from November 11 to 22, was hosted by the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property and attracted high-ranking officials and decision-makers from WIPO member states.