World festival to highlight Kingdom’s maritime strength

The World Maritime Festival will be held in September at the Maritime Front at Alkhobar City under the patronage of EP Gov. Prince Saud bin Naif.

Musaed bin Abdulrahman Al-Drees, director of Ports Authority and deputy chief of the festival committee signed an agreement with the founding partner of Exhibition Horizon Company (Expo Horizon), a specialized company for exhibition and conference organizing, Mohammed Abdulaziz Al-Mohammed, to carry out the functions of the event.
Al-Drees said the agreement is to get ready for carrying out all the works and arrangements of the festival that will be attended by the secretary-general of the World Maritime Organization and representatives from various sister and friendly countries.
The event reflects the Kingdom’s vital role in the field of maritime transportation at both international and regional levels.
He said the celebration coincides with efforts of the maritime transportation matrix in the country to achieve a main strategic objective for transportation sectors within the framework of Vision 2030 to make Saudi Arabia a first-class international logistics center.
The Kingdom’s potentials in trading and industrial ports with huge infrastructure in addition to the matrix that includes the latest equipment and best services as per international standards and specifications, according to Al-Drees.
Underlining Saudi Arabia’s geo-strategic significance, Al-Drees said it links three continents — Asia, Africa and Europe — where 30 percent of the international trade passes, through the Red Sea. This signifies Kingdom’s potential in marine navigation, he said.
This event, Al-Drees said, will witness a great national summit at the conference center in the Eastern Province Chamber on the first day coinciding with the festival, which will last for five days.
The festival will include maritime exhibitions from government agencies as well as a fair where ministries, key government agencies, major companies and organizations interested in maritime transport industry will participate.
It will also include a theater for presentation of folklore and art bands, as well as competitions, cultural and historical presentations related to the maritime transportation sector.
Al-Mohammed said: “Such partnership is represented through executing all the works of the event that will be considered one of the largest specialized festivals in the maritime sector in the Kingdom and one of the most successful.
The festival is expected to achieve its set objectives that will benefit all the participants and visitors of the festival.”