The meeting was held on Wednesday, 16 Sha'ban 1439H corresponding to May 2nd , 2018, at the MEWA in Riyadh under the chairmanship of the Director General of the General Directorate of Fisheries & the CEO of the National Fisheries Development Program, Dr. Ali Bin Mohammed Al Shaikhi. The meeting was including some representatives from the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, the Saudi Aquaculture Society and representatives from official and private Dutch authorities to discuss ways of cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands on the development and transferring new techniques in manufacturing and producing seaweed.

The two sides agreed during the meeting that the Dutch side would present a proposal for a scope of work focusing on two aspects. The first is development of research base in cooperation with the Fisheries Research Center in Jeddah, which is one of the first authorities to cultivate algae and seaweed in the Kingdom for a long time. The other side is representing work and production, which should be provided on 1st July 2018.

From his side, the Director General of the General Directorate of Fisheries and the CEO of the national Fisheries Development Program, Dr. Ali Bin Mohammed Al Shaikhi, expressed his great optimism for the success of this partnership with the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the positive results achieved so far. He also added that the project would be launched on 1st September 2018 in Jeddah including a number of aspects such as scientific research, projects operation and production.

The project will target production and manufacture of a number of key products, including proteins for food and feed, plastics, bioplastics, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

In a step to strengthen the role of partnership between the two sides and according to the great desire of the Dutch side to cooperate in the cultivation and production of seaweed, 6 Dutch companies expressed their desire to invest in Saudi Arabia in cooperation with the private sector in the Kingdom.

A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Saudi Aquaculture Society and the Dutch Embassy in Riyadh regarding the culturing and manufacturing of seaweed in the Kingdom on the sidelines of the workshop "Contribution of Seaweed Culturing & Manufacturing in Achieving Sustainability of Water, Energy and Food in the Kingdom" Which was held in Riyadh on Tuesday 1st May 2018.