On behalf of Prince Abdulmajeed bin Abdulaziz, the Governor of Makkah region, Prince Misha'al bin Majed bin Abdulaziz, the Governor of Jeddah, opened here on Sunday evening the ninth international forum on "Intra-OIC Trade: Challenges and Opportunities." The forum was organized by Jeddah's Chamber of Commerce and Industry in cooperation with the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the International Business Forum, and the Association of the Independent Industrialists in Turkey. More than 700 delegates including businessmen, senior officials and pressmen from several Muslim countries are participating in the forum. Speaking on the occasion, Amr Al-Dabbagh, the Governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) reiterated the keenness of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on boosting the investment sector. He noted that the value of the investment licenses issued by SAGIA increased from SR 22.4 billion in 2004 to SR 65.4 billion up to the second half of 2005. Al-Dabbagh pointed out that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia topped the list of the Arab countries hosting direct investment in 2004 with investments amounting to $3.8 billion, which is equivalent to 23.1 percent of the total direct foreign investments in the Arab countries. On his part, Minister of Commerce and Industry Dr Hashim Yamani hoped that the forum would yield positive results.
