RIYADH: Visiting European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan said on Wednesday that there is a positive trend to develop businesses with the Kingdom since it is a growing and dynamic country, which has recorded a high volume of trade with the EU.
Hogan was speaking to Saudi businessmen on “Doing Business in the Saudi Arabian Agri-food sector” at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry during a business event chaired by its chairman, Ahmed Al-Rajhi.
The visiting minister met GCC Secretary-General Abdul Latif bin Rashid and Minister of Water, Environment and Agriculture, Abdul Rahman Al-Fadli on Wednesday. The meeting was also attended by EU Ambassador to the Kingdom Michele Cervone D’urso.
Hogan is currently leading a 40-member EU delegation to promote quality food and beverage products from Europe.
Speaking on the occasion, Hogan said that Saudi Arabia is a dynamic country whose population is 32 million and many of them are young and urban. “We believe that this growing generation of consumers will be happy to choose our high-quality EU food and agricultural products,” he said, pointing out that EU agri-food exports to Saudi Arabia had increased from €1.5 billion to €4.6 billion between 2009 and 2016.
Describing Saudi consumers, Hogan said they are well informed and demanding, and the delegation wants to tell them how safe and healthy EU products and the raw materials that are supplied to the Kingdom from EU countries are.
“From farm to fork, at each stage of the food production chain, the EU sets a series of rules to ensure that our 500 million citizens enjoy the safest food in the world.”
Saudi Arabia is a dynamic country with a high volume of trade with EU
Saudi Arabia is a dynamic country with a high volume of trade with EU
Saudi deputy FM attends OIC ministers’ meeting on Somalia situation
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed Elkhereiji has reaffirmed the Kingdom’s full support for Somalia’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, while strongly rejecting any actions that undermine the country’s stability.
Speaking at an extraordinary meeting of foreign ministers from member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Elkhereiji condemned the declaration of mutual recognition between Israeli occupation authorities and the Somaliland region, describing it as a unilateral separatist move that violated international law, the UN Charter and the OIC Charter.
He stressed the Kingdom’s categorical rejection of any attempts to impose parallel entities that contradict Somalia’s unity and territorial integrity, or that seek to divide or diminish its sovereignty. Elkhereiji also reiterated Saudi Arabia’s support for Somalia’s legitimate state institutions and its commitment to preserving the country’s stability and the security of its people.
Elkhereiji called on the OIC and its member states to adopt a firm and unified Islamic position rejecting any recognition of, or engagement with, separatist entities in Somalia. He urged coordinated action in international forums to affirm Somalia’s unity and prevent what he described as dangerous precedents that could threaten the sovereignty of OIC member states.
He further called for holding the Israeli entity fully responsible for any political or security consequences resulting from such actions, and for rejecting any cooperation arising from the declaration of mutual recognition.
During the meeting, he also reiterated the Kingdom’s position on the Palestinian cause, emphasizing its centrality and Saudi Arabia’s support for efforts to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. He said this would enable the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination and establish an independent state along the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
