Madinah Gov. Prince Faisal bin Salman

Madinah Gov. Prince Faisal bin Salman will open the first Saudi Aquaculture Investment Forum in Yanbu on Jan. 28.

According to Yanbu Gov. Musaad Yahya Al-Sulaim, the forum has been organized by the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the Yanbu governorate.

Al-Sulaim thanked Prince Faisal for patronizing the event and lauded his efforts to attract investment to Madinah region.

“The event will help to inform investors of promising aquaculture investment opportunities, not only in Yanbu, but also all over the Kingdom,” he said.

A representative from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ahmad bin Salih Al-Eada, said that the forum was the first of its kind to be organized by the ministry to promote aquaculture in the Kingdom. It follows Cabinet approval latest year for a national program for developing the fishery resources sector under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with businessmen in the Kingdom.

“The forum is part of the ministry’s initiative to encourage investment in aquaculture so as to give a boost to the Kingdom’s food security drive, ” he said.

“The ministry will work with other government and private agencies to educate people here on the benefits of consuming more seafood. We want the current average of 12kg per person a year to reach the global average of 19kg. Later, we would like to reach the average of 62kg per person per year as is the case in some developed countries, such as Japan,” he added.

He said the Kingdom had an ambitious strategic plan to develop its marine life products capacity to reach 60,000 tons in the coming 15 years which would create about 200,000 new jobs for both men and women.

He said that the forum aimed to explore investment opportunities in the field of aquaculture, analyze investment obstacles and how to overcome them, find out about employment opportunities for Saudis in the field in coastal cities and rural areas, and search for ways to preserve the current marine resources and how to develop it and guarantee its sustainability. This would create a strong national base for aquaculture projects as a main source of economic and social development in the country.

Around 26 local and international companies which are specialized and interested in aquaculture along with more 100 speakers from many countries are participating in the forum.

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