RIYADH — The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been elected president of the 36th session of the Committee on Fisheries of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which will be held in the third quarter of 2024 in Rome, Italy.

The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) said that this election was made unanimously by the committee that comprises 126 members for the pioneering role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in supporting international efforts to enhance the fishery and sustainable aquaculture to contribute to realizing food security.

The ministry said that Saudi Arabia over the past years has realized big successes in empowering and developing the fishery sector, starting with the establishment of the National Livestock and Fisheries Development Program, preserving fishing, offering support to minor fishermen through soft loans to buy fishing boats, and working on building a modern network of ports on the coasts of the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf.

The ministry also stressed its success through the program in developing the exports of products to more than 35 countries around the world according to the highest quality standards and encouraging the investors in the private sector to enter aquaculture to reach the targets of the ministry to produce 600,000 tons by 2030.

It also noted that Saudi Arabia's Permanent Representative at FAO Dr. Mohammed Al-Ghamdi will assume the presidency of the 36th session and James Brown of New Zealand will be vice president, while membership of other vice presidents will be represented by the USA, Norway, Chile, Malaysia, and Senegal. — SPA