The third benefits forum enhances sustainability and investment in the service of the guests of Rahman

Prince of Al -Madinah Al -Munawwarah region, Prince Salman bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, sponsored the third edition of the “Benefits” forum under the slogan “Sustainability in the service of the guests of Rahman”, which was organized by the Medina Chamber on Wednesday evening, 12 Ramadan 1446 AH, corresponding to March 12, 2025 AD, at the headquarters of the Medina Chamber.

The Chairman of the Medina Chamber, Mazen bin Ibrahim Ragab, stressed, during his speech, 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 Saudi Vision 2030.

He explained that the participation of the Islamic rooms in the forum represents a qualitative shift in transgressing geographical borders and making 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 the attendees and the 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 area allocated to exhibitions with 240 thousand square meters distributed over 14 regions and city. The size of the events market in the Kingdom was 664 million dollars, exhibitions and conferences constitute 9% of it, equivalent to 60 million dollars, with a total of 1,078 exhibitions and 421 conferences, 73% of which are for the private sector and 27% for the public sector.

As for the Halal sector, its global size reached 7 trillion dollars in 2024, with an expected annual growth rate, which opens wide 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 also 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.

For his part, Chairman of the Makkah Chamber, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Islamic Chamber of Trade and Development, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Abdullah Saleh Kamel, during his speech, confirmed that the “benefits” forum has become a global platform that reflects the growing economic role of Makkah and Madinah, noting that the activities accompanying the forum this year strengthened the status of the two holy cities as two main centers for the economies of Hajj, Umrah and investment in serving guests Rahman.

Kamel explained that the initiatives launched by “benefits”, such as the Makkah Forum for the Halal and the Makkah Entrepreneurship Forum, emphasize the qualitative shift in investing the economic ingredients of the two cities, pointing out that global confidence in Mecca and the city made the participants spend more time than the official activities, which reflects the deep impact of them spiritually and economically.

He added: “We do not look at Mecca and Medina only as two religious sides, but as two international centers for Islamic works and knowledge, and with the continued development of a forum of benefits and the launch of new initiatives, we are working to achieve the vision of converting the two cities into a major destination for Islamic economic events.”

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

Within the activities of the forum, a number of strategic agreements were signed, the most prominent of which is the Al -Madinah Al -Munawwarah Chamber agreement with the Social Development Bank, to support and financing small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs, by providing financing solutions compatible with Islamic law, and training programs to enable emerging projects.

The forum also witnessed the honoring of the winners of the Medina Award for the Environment in its second session, which aims to enhance sustainable environmental practices and support innovation in this field.

Within the framework of the dialogue sessions, the session “Integration of efforts in the Two Holy Mosques: a partnership for sustainability and development” was held, with the participation of the Secretary -General of the Islamic Chamber, the Secretary -General of the Medina Region Council, and the CEO of the integrated support company, where they discussed the role of the various sectors in achieving sustainability in the holy cities, and the importance of encouraging the private sector to adopt sustainable practices, and enhancing partnerships between the government and private sector and civil society.

The “benefits” forum continues its role as a strategic platform to enhance sustainability and investment in serving the guests of Rahman, while emphasizing the importance of integrating efforts between various sectors to support a sustainable economic and development future in Makkah and Madinah.