JEDDAH: Bisha province is a rich oasis in the southwest of Saudi Arabia that has always been known for its fertile land. It joins between the valleys coming from the high mountains, called Palm Bisha, Green Bisha and Black Bisha, where another 45 sub-valleys also meet.
With the recent agricultural reawakening in Saudi Arabia, the General Directorate of Agriculture has started to rehabilitate the agricultural sector with expert farmers. It is protecting the date palm from various diseases, namely the red palm weevil and others.
The director of the Ministry of Environment in the province of Bisha, Salem Al-Qarni, said palm trees in the province are free of all pesticides and are fully organic, stressing that cooperation with the farmers and addressing all pests was one of the most important factors for the safety and productivity of the palms. He noted that Bisha is famous for the diversity of its trees spreading along the edges of its valleys.
Bisha relies on the rainwater falling on the western and southern mountains, as well as on the city’s highlands. Because of the importance of different sources of water, the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and Water worked on creating four dams to ensure the permanent existence of water to guarantee the stability of the agricultural sector.
Bisha provides the local markets with many products such as dates, citrus products and honey. However, it lacks proper marketing for external exportation, which contributes to the significant decline of the products’ value.
Within the framework of the Economic Forum for Dates in Bisha, the province worked with the partnership of Bisha University, the National Center for Palm and Dates, and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry on promoting date production to ensure a proper market value that supports the farmer and enhances the resources.
The Sufri product is known to be the best produced locally and is in high demand from many companies. The statistics center at the Sufri Bisha festival recorded that more than 1.9 million palm trees are highly productive in Bisha, producing around 40 percent of exported dates from the KSA to the world.
1.9 million Sufri palm trees in Bisha enhance economic resources
1.9 million Sufri palm trees in Bisha enhance economic resources
Kingdom key player in regional peace, EU official says
- Hana Jalloul Muro highlights Riyadh’s role in regional stability, economic growth and advancing EU-Saudi strategic ties
Riyadh: Hana Jalloul Muro, vice-chair of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, has praised Saudi Arabia’s role as a “reliable partner” to the EU.
Describing the Kingdom as a “key international actor,” she highlighted its pivotal role in regional stability, including brokering peace talks on Ukraine, promoting peace in Palestine, and supporting stable governments in Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic.
“Saudi is a reliable partner because it is a country that has demonstrated that with Vision 2030, only in the last five, six years, it has changed impressively. It has a major women’s labor force, a very low youth unemployment rate and is growing very fast,” Muro told Arab News.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, she added: “Saudi Arabia is becoming a key major player in the international arena now — for peace conversations on Ukraine, supporting the Syrian government, paying Syria’s external debt, stabilizing the government in Lebanon, promoting peace in Gaza, in Palestine and pushing for a ceasefire, too.
“So, I think it is a very key international actor, very important in the region for stability,” Muro added.
Explaining why she considers the Kingdom a reliable partner, Muro said: “It’s a country that knows how to see to the East and to the West.”
Muro also serves as the European Parliament’s rapporteur for Saudi Arabia, and is responsible for drafting reports on legislative and budgetary proposals and other key bilateral issues.
In mid-December 2025, the European Parliament endorsed a road map to elevate EU-Saudi relations into a full-fledged strategic partnership, which Saudi Ambassador to the EU Haifa Al-Jedea described as “an important milestone” in bilateral ties.
The report highlighted the possibility of Saudi-EU visa-free travel, reaffirming the EU’s commitment to advancing a safe, mutually beneficial visa-free arrangement with the five GCC countries to ensure equal treatment under the new EU visa strategy.
“One of the key hot topics is the visa waiver to Saudi Arabia, which I always support,” Muro said. “Saudi Arabia has, as you are aware, been in cascade for five years, and I think we need to work toward a visa waiver.”
The report also highlighted the economic significance of Saudi tourists to EU member states, particularly for the hospitality, retail and cultural sectors, while emphasizing that Saudi citizens do not pose a source of irregular migration pressure.
When asked about the status of the visa waiver, Muro said: “The approval, it is the recommendation to the commission to take into account its importance. We need to advance on that because we are in the framework of this strategic partnership agreement that covers many topics, so this is why the visa waiver is a central key issue.”
She added: “I think by now we recognize the international role of Saudi Arabia and how important it is to us as a neighbor — not only for security, counter-terrorism and energy, but for everything. We need to get closer to partners like the GCC, Saudi specifically.
“And I think that we need to take Saudi Arabia as a very big ally of ours,” Muro said.
During her time in Riyadh, Muro took part in a panel at the forum focused on the EU-KSA business and investment dialogue, and advancing the critical raw materials value chain.
On the sidelines, she met Saudi Vice Foreign Minister Waleed Elkhereiji to discuss ways to further strengthen Saudi-EU relations.
She also met Hala Al-Tuwaijri, chairwoman of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, saying: “I have to congratulate you and the government, your country, on doing a great job.”
