By Syed Mussarat Khalil

Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — Pakistan Consulate in Jeddah held Pakistani Rice Tasting Dinner (Biryani Night)’ organized at the Park Hyatt Hotel (Al Andalusia Restaurant) Al Hamra area. The event coincided with the visit of a 17-member Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) delegation to Saudi Arabia as part of trade promotion activities to increase the export of rice to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The delegation is headed by Ali Hussam Asghar, Senior Vice Chairman of REAP.

Sheikh Mahzen Batterjie, Vice Chairman, Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), who was chief guest at the occasion, welcomed the delegation to Jeddah. He also appreciated the efforts of the consulate in developing a good relationship between business communities of both countries. He said Jeddah Chamber is playing a pivotal role in increasing the bilateral trade, commerce and investment between the countries

Shehryar Akbar Khan, Consul General of Pakistan, said the consulate appreciates the initiatives taken by the Rice Exporters of Pakistan, which would support our efforts to increase the exports of rice to the Kingdom. He shared that the consulate has made an extensive program for the delegation which includes meetings, business to business networking session and meetings/visits to the leading supermarkets and hypermarkets in the Western Region.

Asghar, Senior Vice Chairman REAP, said this visit is under the vision of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and defense minister, and Prime Minister Imran Khan which they underlined during their recent bilateral visits. He expressed satisfaction and appreciated the arrangements of the visit by the Pakistan Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Embassy in Pakistan and Pakistan Consulate and commercial section in Jeddah. He said Pakistan basmati rice has already a very good market in Saudi Arabia due to its good quality while pesticide issue with rice of other regional producers provides it more space. We need to grab that space, he added. He told that Saudi Arabia imports over $1 billion worth of rice every year making a great opportunity for REAP to further increase the export of rice. The delegation had a quite good response in Riyadh and hope to have good interaction with rice leading Importers in Jeddah as well, he added.

After their interaction with their Saudi counterparts, the members of the delegation were very confident that they will meet their objective and the visit will be successful. They were hopeful of tremendous scope for the export of Pakistani basmati rice to Saudi Arabia, because of its supreme quality, unique aroma and taste.