Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — The first visit of Oman Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik to Saudi Arabia shed more light on the promising city of NEOM, located northwest of Saudi Arabia. The visit was more significant while taking into account of the fact that for the first time Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman received a foreign leader as a guest in the Kingdom since the outbreak of coronavirus. The pandemic curtailed the number of high profile state visits and meetings of leaders, and now the visits have been resumed to a certain extent after the global efforts becoming successful in containing the pandemic. The squares and roads of the "Dream City" were decorated with the flags of Saudi Arabia and Oman on the occasion of the visit of Sultan Haitham. Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman also accompanied Sultan Haitham during his tour of the NEOM Center for Knowledge Enrichment, which showcases the advancements and the latest developments in the city project and its diverse sectors. At the end of his visit to the center, Sultan Haitham wrote in the VIP register, praising the Kingdom's efforts to establish the city, which "will have an economic standing in the world as planned." NEOM, which is tipped as the jewel of giant Saudi projects, within the framework of the Kingdom's new transformations, has begun to take its real place in the headlines of news and the course of political events that were hitherto held only in major cities in the Kingdom. Riyadh, Taif, Jeddah and Makkah have long been known as venues for important political agreements and events that changed the face of the region, and left their deep impact on the political winds blowing over their territories. NEOM and other Saudi cities are linked to a series of important events in the Saudi geopolitics in the context of a decision taken within the Saudi Transformation Project to activate all capabilities that were out of consideration for long period of time, and these included tourist, investment and economic spheres that are worthy to play a major role in the future of the country and the region as well. The city of AlUla has also been another focus of attention over the past three years, ever since the launch of artistic and recreational activities and seasons in between the mountains and sandy rocks. It has gained later another political momentum, in the beginning of the year 2021, after the world's largest mirrored building "Maraya" Concert Hall hosted a historic summit to revive the integration of the Gulf community and closing their ranks at a time when the region is confronting major challenges. And before that, it is noteworthy to mention that the city of Dhahran, the main hub of the oil industry in the eastern Saudi Arabia, received the delegations of the 29th Arab Summit or "Al-Quds Summit" on April 15, 2018.
