Abdullah Kamel: Investing in Mecca and Medina is a tributary for the economic advancement of the Islamic world

The Emir of Medina, Prince Salman bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, witnessed the opening of the work of the “benefits” forum under the slogan “Sustainability in the service of the guests of Rahman”, which is organized by the Medina Chamber, in its third edition in partnership with the Makkah Al -Mukarramah Chamber and the Islamic Chamber of Trade and Development, at the headquarters of the Medina Chamber.

In his speech, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce in Makkah Al -Mukarramah, Chairman of the Islamic Chamber of Trade and Development, and Chairman of the Board of Initiative of Abdullah Saleh Kamel, in his speech, stressed that the “Benefits” initiative is its third year with determination and continuity, in line with the great economic and development movement witnessed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and a contribution to enhancing the status of Makkah Al -Mukarramah and Medina as a global center for Islamic business and knowledge.

He said: «We believe that investing in the holy position of Mecca and Medina can be an important tributary of the economic and cognitive advancement, not only for the Kingdom, but for the entire Islamic world; Therefore, every year we are keen to launch new projects that contribute to achieving this vision, and we seek to attract entrepreneurs and investors from all over the world to participate in these qualitative activities.

He pointed out that the benefits initiative will continue to expand, with plans to launch new events in Medina, especially in the field of advanced leadership qualification for Muslims in the world, in order to enhance the Kingdom’s role in supporting innovation and leadership in the Islamic world.

For his part, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Medina Chamber, Mazen bin Ibrahim Rajab, stressed that the forum embodies a new stage of investing in the service of the Two Holy Mosques and their guests, as the service is no longer just a religious and humanitarian duty, but also has become an economic and investment pillar that contributes to achieving sustainable development according to the Kingdom’s 2030 vision.

He explained that the participation of the Islamic rooms in the forum represents a qualitative shift in overcoming geographical boundaries, and made Medina a center for their main and subsidiary meetings, noting that this year the forum adopted the system of round tables to maximize the benefit of attendance and participants.

He pointed out that the exhibition and conference sector is one of the most promising sectors, with a global size of 28.5 billion dollars, and the Kingdom ranks second in East Asia and Africa in terms of the area allocated to exhibitions with 240 thousand square meters distributed over 14 regions and city, and the size of the events market in the Kingdom reached 664 million dollars, exhibitions and conferences constitute 9% of them, equivalent to 60 million dollars, with a total of 1078 exhibitions And 421 conferences, 73% of which are for the private sector and 27% for the public sector, while the Halal sector has reached its global size to 7 trillion dollars in 2024, with an expected annual growth rate of 5.5%; Which opens broad horizons for investment in this field.

The President of the Medina Chamber touched on the economies of Makkah Al -Mukarramah and Al -Madinah Al -Munawwarah, which represents 28% of the Kingdom’s gross domestic product, of $ 1.067 trillion, explaining that this economy depends on several main factors, most notably religious tourism, as the Kingdom received 18.5 million pilgrims in 2024 with expectations of a number of the number to 30 million pilgrims, along with the infrastructure that includes airports, trains, and trains, The roads, which contribute to enhancing the economic movement.

He pointed to the growth of the trade sector in the two holy cities, which is reflected in the continuous increase in commercial records, in addition to the services sector that includes health, education, and transportation, as basic factors that support sustainable development.

The President of the Chamber announced the new “benefits” for the year 2025, which includes the creative economy chain – May 2025 and the weeks of national benefits in Islamic countries – June 2025 and the Entrepreneurship Forum – November 2025.

Within the activities of the forum, an agreement was signed between the Medina Chamber and the Social Development Bank; To support and finance small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs, by providing financing solutions compatible with Islamic law, and training programs to enable emerging projects.

The forum witnessed the honoring of the winners of the Medina Prize for the Environment in its second session, which aims to enhance sustainable environmental practices and support innovation in this field, as he won the first place in the first branch “Development of Vegetable Cover and Combating Desertification” the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones, while he won the first place in the second branch “Sustainable use of plastic” Alfa Plastic Industries Company, and won the first place in the branch The third “Production of Environmental Awareness Business” Sharjah Environment Company, while he won the first place in the fourth branch, “Protection of the Marine Environment”, the Royal Commission in Yanbu.

The Emir of the city region honored the shepherds and success partners to the “benefits” forum.