RIYADH: Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), stressed the importance of cooperation in areas of tourism between the Kingdom and South Africa, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said.
Prince Sultan’s remarks came during his talks with South African Minister of Tourism Tokozile Xasa in Johannesburg on Wednesday during his official visit to South Africa.
For her part, the minister expressed her thanks to Prince Sultan for responding to an invitation to visit her country. She stressed a desire to activate a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two countries, and lauded Saudi potentials in areas related to tourism, economic development, cultural and environmental diversity, and heritage.
Later, Prince Sultan met with Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana Mashabane, who appreciated the distinguished relations linking her country with the Kingdom, and expressed hope of seeing further cooperation.
She also lauded the Kingdom’s leading regional and global roles, adding that South Africa views this role with due respect and appreciation.
SCTH chief pushes for greater tourism cooperation with South Africa
SCTH chief pushes for greater tourism cooperation with South Africa
Saudi Arabia launches initiative to reroute Gulf cargo to Red Sea ports
- The initiative comes as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted by the widening conflict in the region
- Since the US and Israel struck Iran last month, Tehran has moved to restrict passage through the waterway
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has launched an initiative to redirect shipping from ports in the Arabian Gulf to its Red Sea ports amid the ongoing US-Israel-Iran war.
Transport Minister Saleh Al-Jasser, who also chairs the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), launched the Logistics Corridors Initiative alongside Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority Governor Suhail Abanmi, Mawani President Suliman Al-Mazroua, and other officials, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The initiative will establish dedicated operational corridors to receive containers and cargo redirected from ports in the Kingdom's Eastern Region and other Gulf Cooperation Council states to Jeddah Islamic Port and other Red Sea coast ports.
Al-Jasser said the Kingdom was committed to ensuring supply-chain stability and the smooth flow of goods through global trade routes. Jeddah Islamic Port and other west coast ports, he added, were already playing a key role in accommodating shipments redirected from the east, while also linking Gulf cargo to regional and international markets.
The initiative comes as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted by the widening conflict in the region. Iran has long threatened to close the strait — the world's most critical oil and gas chokepoint, through which roughly a fifth of global oil supplies pass — in the event of a war.
Since the US and Israel struck Iran last month, Tehran has moved to restrict passage through the waterway, sending freight rates soaring and forcing shipping companies to seek alternative routes.
Saudi Arabia's Red Sea ports offer a viable bypass, connecting Gulf cargo to global markets without passing through the strait.
