The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has signed separate civil aviation deals with Pakistan and Bangladesh as part of the Saudi aviation sector strategy aimed at building international partnerships.

The signing of the deals came as President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Duailej met civil aviation officials and specialists in both Pakistan and Bangladesh.

As part of a Saudi delegation headed by Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah, Al-Duailej separately met Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) Director General Khaqan Murtaza and Bangladeshi Minister of Civil Aviation and Tourism Mahbub Ali.

Air transportation officials and CEOs of air carriers attended the meetings.

Officials at the meetings discussed ways to increase seating capacity for transporting religious visitors to the kingdom as well as the best solutions to overcome current and future challenges. They also reviewed cooperation and ways of providing more facilities for air carriers.

On the sidelines of the Pakistan meeting, Al-Duailej signed an agreement with his Pakistani counterpart on the provision of air transportation services.

The agreement aims to enhance cooperation between the two sides regarding air services and develop regulatory frameworks for air transport between the two countries in a safe and orderly manner.

The GACA President signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Minister Ali in the field of air transport to boost the number of flights between the Kingdom and Bangladesh, increase seating capacity, facilitate the arrival of the religious visitors to the Kingdom, and boost air cargo flights.

The Saudi aviation sector strategy aims to foster the kingdom's air connectivity with the world to include 250 destinations and triple the number of passengers to 330 million passengers. The strategy also seeks to up air cargo capacity to 4.5 million tonnes annually by 2030. - TradeArabia News Service