Prince Abdullah bin Saud bin Mohammed Al-Saud

:: There is a large European presence at Saudi Arabia’s leading international food and drink trade exhibition, Saudi Foodex 2017, which was opened on Sunday at the Jeddah Center for Forums and Events.

Held under the patronage of Prince Abdullah bin Saud bin Mohammed Al-Saud, chairman of the tourism and entertainment committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce, the event continues until Nov. 15.

The inauguration of Foodex Saudi 2017 has a European presence of around 600 brands, representing 32 countries competing to attract Saudi importers.

Haya Al-Sunaidi, chairwoman of the organizing committee, said: “The remarkable European participation from countries such as Spain, Italy, England, France, Portugal and Greece, presenting advanced and luxurious products in the food and beverage sector, are competing to have their share in the Saudi market as the largest Arab market.”

The event also includes an international cooking competition under the title “Salon Culinaire 2017,” with 158 chefs competing from different countries in 16 professional sections. It is supervised by the World Association of Chefs’ Societies and the Saudi Arabian Chefs Table Circle.

Prince Abdullah said that the hospitality sector, represented by restaurants and hotels, are a key element in the success of Saudi tourism.

Following his inauguration of the event, the prince took a tour of the exhibition and reviewed participating countries’ pavilions, Saudi producers and different traders.

Naif Al-Sharif, chairman of the food and beverage committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce, said: “Many traders working in the food sector have interacted with the vision of the country in the past. The sector has provided many job opportunities in line with the many advantages offered by the Human Resources Development Fund, where the goal of employing a million Saudis developed from a dream and into reality.”