The National Exhibitions and Conferences Program, launched in September 2013 with the direct support of HRH Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage and Chairman of the Program's Supervisory Committee, is considered an important tributary to the national economy and investment, by supporting tourism and localizing it to provide job opportunities for citizens, thus promoting balanced development in all regions of the Kingdom.

National Exhibitions and Conferences Program.

Partnerships with the two sectors (public and private)

The program was able to achieve many achievements at various levels, and accomplish a series of developmental and economic projects that are in line with the state's vision for the exhibitions and conferences sector, as it was able to build a distinguished partnership with a large number of development institutions in the public and private sectors, as this partnership formed a bridge for communication and cooperation between the program and institutions and companies related to organizing conferences and exhibitions held inside the Kingdom, which promotes this sector and highlights the bright face of the Kingdom internationally.

The program has been able to achieve many achievements at various levels, and to accomplish a series of developmental and economic projects that are in line with the state's vision for the exhibitions and conferences sector.

Program achievements in two years

As a result of the sound and thoughtful directions set by the program's strategic directions, the program was able to achieve many achievements during its two-year life span, which can be summarized as follows:

• The activation of the role of the program's supervisory committee and the regularity of its meetings, which held three meetings during this period, which resulted in a number of important decisions.
• Adopting the policies and procedures of consumer goods fairs and applying them starting from the first Friday of Ramadan 1436H. Approving the collection of a financial fee for the service of canceling or modifying the dates and locations of trade fairs.
• Adoption of the trade fairs plan for 2015.
• Building and operating the electronic portal of the program with funding from the Yesser program at a cost of 11.6 million riyals for three years, to be launched on November 8, 2015.
• Reconstituting its advisory group and increasing its members to 24 members, and forming another advisory group of 17 members to develop the meetings of professional, scientific and health societies.
• The program adopted the support and backing of the Saudi Academy for Events, Exhibitions and Conferences, and the policies for the development of exhibition and conference facilities in the Kingdom.
• Activating the memorandum of cooperation signed between the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage and the program on 29/9/2013.
• The program succeeded in cooperating with Saudi Customs and the Council of Saudi Chambers in applying the controls and procedures for the temporary entry of goods as of 1/1/2015.
• The program was able to develop mechanisms to work with the Ministry of Interior regarding the licensing of exhibitions and conferences held in the Kingdom, and approved and circulated to all regional emirates to work accordingly starting from Rabi'I 15, 1436 AH, and held educational workshops to introduce this mechanism.
• Preparing mechanisms to work between the program and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate the procedures for granting visas for visiting exhibitors and speakers, and starting the optional phase of implementation.
• The program succeeded in establishing mechanisms to work with the General Organization for Vocational and Technical Training and the program to regulate the licensing of training courses and apply them starting from the ninth of Shaaban 1436 A.H.
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• The program has also made great strides in cooperating with the National Program for Crafts and Handicrafts “Barea” in terms of granting free land spaces for craftsmen to participate in consumer goods exhibitions, and encouraging organizers of exhibitions and conferences to purchase craft gifts.
• The program was able to work with the Council of Saudi Chambers and the National Committee for Exhibition and Conference Companies, and succeeded in preparing the organization of the Saudi Association for Exhibitions and Conferences and submitting it to the Supreme Council, and participating in the working group formed in the Board of Experts to study the organization
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• He succeeded in preparing working mechanisms for the licensing of exhibitions and conferences held by the Chambers of Commerce and Industry in cooperation with the Council.
• The National Conference Exhibitions Program has prepared working mechanisms with the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties regarding the licensing of health conferences held in the Kingdom.
• The program was able, in cooperation with the General Investment Authority, to facilitate the procedures for the entry of international exhibition and conference companies to work in the Kingdom.
• The program was able to coordinate with regional emirates, branches of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, secretariats and municipalities in monitoring exhibitions and conferences held in all regions of the Kingdom, and was able to issue penalty decisions against violators.
<The heads of the Tourism Development Councils in Riyadh, Najran, Jeddah and Taif have issued decisions to form working teams in their regions this year to add to the Asir and Qassim teams that were formed in the first year of the program's launch. <The program's temporary website, which has an average monthly traffic of about 12,800 visits, was updated, and the program coordinated with the Information Technology Department at the General Authority for Tourism and National Heritage and the Arabian Domain Company to establish the new portal and formed a steering committee for the project.