Vice Admiral Awwad Eid Al-Balawi has been the director-general of the Saudi Arabian Border Guards since January 2014. 

The Saudi Ministry of the Interior launched the 9th International Training Course on Combating Insecurity in Maritime Domains at the Mohammed bin Naif Arab University for Security Sciences in Jeddah this week, hosting experts, instructors and trainees from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Interpol, and the Saudi Arabian Border Guards.

Al-Balawi said that the course would be the first of three events this year, with programs on maritime crime information sharing and border security scheduled for April and June.

Al-Balawi holds a bachelor’s degree from the Pakistan Naval Academy and a master’s degree from the World Maritime University in Sweden.

Al-Balawi previously held various other positions, completed several advanced training courses and attended local and international conferences on conflict management, negotiation skills, problem analysis, crisis environmental management, decision-making and piracy.

The Border Guards, based in Riyadh, maintain security on the Kingdom’s land and sea borders.