Eng. Amr bin Saleh Al-Madani, CEO of the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), signed with Dr. Fahd bin Hassan Al Aqran, Acting President of the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), and Mohammed Al-Harthi, President of the Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA), a cooperation agreement in the field of media cooperation. The agreement, signed on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative (FII), includes the inauguration of branches of the SBA and SPA in AlUla to raise awareness and introduce the governorate's initiatives and programs as well as its unique tourism capabilities. SPA broadcasts news in six languages, and in addition it has existing cooperation agreements with several international news agencies, which promote content targeting main markets of AlUla. The agreement also seeks to provide a training and development program for media cadres in AlUla, as part of the commission's strategy to empower locals in various fields, including scholarship programs. In addition, it will cover a program to develop the capabilities of chefs in collaboration with FERRANDI. The upcoming steps of the partnership include granting scholarships for a number of young people in AlUla to hone their talents in the specialized media and modern media technologies with the aim of developing media cadres specialized in the fields of antiquities, tourism and agricultural technologies. The partnership consolidates AlUla's capability as an attractive environment for business. Several companies have begun to establish headquarters in AlUla, in light of the growth witnessed by the city at the level of services and infrastructure. The capacity of AlUla Airport has been raised to 400,000 passengers annually. The airport is ready to receive the international flights during the next few weeks. The partnership among the Royal Commission for AlUla, the Saudi Broadcasting Authority, and the Saudi Press Agency comes to enhance the steps of integration among the national institutions, which contribute to concerted efforts to achieve the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030. — SPA
