Direct air services between Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are about to start. The first agreement in the field of transport between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was signed today in Riyadh by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Hristo Alexiev and the Minister of Transport and Logistics Services of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Saleh al-Jasser.
"The Air Services Agreement between the Governments of the two countries creates a new legal framework, harmonized with EU law, which meets the contemporary requirements and conditions in air transport. This will ensure the deepening of cooperation in the field of aviation and will give impetus to the development of new projects and joint initiatives between our two countries", Deputy Prime Minister Hristo Alexiev said. He pointed out that the next step was the launch of new direct flights Sofia-Riyadh-Sofia and Varna-Dammam-Varna, which were expected to happen at the beginning of the following year. On the Bulgarian side, the aviation operator designated to operate the air route is Bulgaria Air, and on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's side, the flights will be operated by Flynas airline.
During the official visit to Riyadh, Deputy Prime Minister Hristo Alexiev and Minister of Innovation and Growth Alexander Pulev emphasized that Bulgaria accepted the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a strategic partner in the Middle East region. They presented to Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef, both public and private projects in robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology and drone logistics services. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expressed interest in cooperation in the field of mining and automotive.
Working meetings were also held with the Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal bin Fadhil Alibrahim and the Governor of the Public Investment Fund Yasser al-Rumayan, which is among the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with total estimated assets of 400 billion dollars. It was founded in 1971 to invest funds on behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the founder of more than 30 companies in 10 strategic sectors with 331,000 employees. The representatives of the Public Investment Fund expressed interest in strategic partnership in the proposed infrastructure projects, as well as direct investment in high-tech Bulgarian companies.
