JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s aviation regulator is in talks with government agencies to set up free zones at Jeddah and Riyadh airports as part of a long-term plan to diversify the Kingdom’s economy away from oil, its chairman said.
“This is not a simple development of a free zone; there’s a lot of agencies involved. The starting point would be one in Jeddah Airport and one in Riyadh Airport,” said Faisal Al-Sugair, vice chairman of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).
The free zones would aim to attract foreign businesses through relaxed licenses, visa and taxation rules, available to various industries and services. They would be large enough to include manufacturing facilities, Al-Sugair said.
The authority, which oversees all the country’s 27 airports, announced plans in November to privatize Saudi Arabia’s international and domestic airports by 2020 as the Kingdom seeks foreign investment to support state finances.
Al-Sugair said the Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA) and Public Investment Fund (PIF) were working on the free zones as part of the National Transformation Plan, a package of reforms meant to boost the non-oil private sector.
“It’s led by CEDA and the PIF, working together with the Ministry of Commerce and obviously GACA to develop the right concept for these free zones, but that’s going to take some time,” he said.
Al-Sugair said he expected bids for Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport by the end of April.
Airport free zones aim to attract foreign firms
Airport free zones aim to attract foreign firms
‘Cake not hate’ campaign becomes ‘Dates not hate’ in Madinah
- Dan said he was very impressed by Saudi hospitality and that his family was warmly welcomed
- He said being in Madinah exposed him to the true diversity of Islam
LONDON: A British autistic and non-verbal boy who has been visiting UK mosques and distributing cakes to promote solidarity amid an increase in far-right support in the country has taken his message of love to Madinah.
Joshua Harris, or “The Joshie-Man” as the 12-year-old is known to his social media fans, has handed out hundreds of his baked goods to worshipers at mosques in major British cities over the last few months.
The “Cake not hate” campaign came about after an Islamophobic attack on a mosque in his home city of Peterborough in October 2025.
Harris and his father visited Masjid Darassalaam, the mosque that was targeted, with cakes that the boy had baked and distributed them to the congregation soon after the attack. Since then, Harris has visited dozens of mosques in the UK.
On a recent trip to the Middle East, he and his father visited Madinah. In a local twist that pays tribute to the holy city’s famous date varieties including ajwa and ambar, Harris handed out dates to people in the courtyard of the Prophet’s Mosque. The “Cake not hate” campaign became “Dates not hate” for Saudi Arabia.
“He was greeted really, really warmly. There were some really touching moments where people were kissing his hands and his head. It was really lovely,” his father, Dan Harris, said.
Dan, the founder of global charity Neurodiversity in Business, said being in Madinah exposed him to the true diversity of Islam.
“We met people from all around the world. It was amazing. It’s like the United Nations there, you get people from different countries and it just goes to show you that the Muslim community, or the Ummah more generally, is not a homogeneous group,” he said.
“We saw people from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and it was really interesting for us.”
Dan said his visit to Madinah, considered the second holiest city in Islam after Makkah for Muslims, was “profound and life-changing.”
He added: “I would say it’s my favourite city in the world due to the peace and tranquillity I felt there.”
Dan added that he was very impressed by Saudi hospitality: “Everywhere we went, people were taking down my number and insisting that we come for dinner, insisting they pick us up from the location. They were extremely attentive to Joshie as well, making sure his needs were met. We felt a great sense of welcome, something Saudi Arabia is known for.”
