RIYADH — Minister of Media Turki Al-Shabanah stated that there will be a media city and television channel for each region of the Kingdom, the announcement of which will be made within the coming few weeks. He made this announcement while taking part in a panel discussion titled "Saudi media and the new phase" as part of the first edition of the Saudi Media Forum, which started on Monday here. Several eminent media figures, experts, intellectuals and decision makers in the media industry from within the Kingdom and outside are among those addressing the forum. More than 1,000 media delegates representing the Arab and international media are taking part in the two-day event. The conference will focus on "opportunities and challenges" in the industry, organizers said. The ministry, being one of the most important pillars of the media work, supports media institutions that promote and support media talents throughout the Kingdom based on an integrated advertising market, Al-Shabanah said while pointing out that the newspapers have gone beyond the stage of financial support for paper printing. Fahd Al-Mubarak, minister of state, member of the Supreme Committee and the Preparatory Committee for the Kingdom's hosting of the G20 Summit, affirmed that the Kingdom is leading the world through the G20 Summit after its successes over the past three years in achieving its Vision 2030 programs, in order to achieve the goals of the G20 Summit. He said this while addressing a session, titled "G20 Summit", moderated by Talaat Hafez, secretary general of the Media and Banking Awareness Committee for Saudi Banks. Al-Mubarak stressed that there is a perfect alignment between the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 and the goals of the G20 Summit by up to 85 percent. The minister reviewed the programs of the forthcoming G20 Summit to be hosted by Riyadh in November 2020, noting that since the announcement of the next G20 Summit, the Kingdom has started its arrangements, and conducted a comprehensive review of all the topics and results of the previous summits. Minister of Commerce and Investment Dr. Majed Al-Qasabi said that the Kingdom has emerged in the forefront of countries thanks to its new and advanced projects. During a panel discussion titled "Saudi Arabia: Important presence in the international investment map" at the forum, Al-Qasabi noted that the Kingdom's presence in the international investment map is significant. "The Kingdom has made several achievements according to the World Bank report; it is the first in the world and the most advanced and reformed, and this has been achieved thanks to God and then the guidance of the Crown Prince and the efforts of the ministers," he said while stressing the importance of e-commerce and its role in boosting the national economy in light of the great growth witnessed in Saudi Arabia. Al-Qasabi pointed out that there is an economic Vision of 2030 for the Kingdom, and the media needs a similar vision under the leadership of the minister of media. The forum will also host a media award ceremony. "We believe in the important role media plays today, as well as freedom and independence of the press," Mohammed Al-Harthi, president of the forum, said in a statement.
