Saudi Arabia formally joined the International Coffee Organisation (ICO) on 20 February when it signed the International Coffee Agreement (ICA) at the ICO headquarters in London.
“We are honoured to welcome Saudi Arabia as a signatory to the ICA 2022 [agreement] and hope that this will bring a unique new flavour to our global community,” says ICO Executive Director Vanúsia Nogueira.
“Together in the spirit of international cooperation, we celebrate the diversity of coffee traditions and jointly undertake to safeguard, promote, and sustain the sector. I am sure that our collaboration will thrive as we foster a future where we continue to savour the richness of coffee while advocating for all aspects of sustainability.”
HRH Prince Khalid Bin Bandar Bin Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United Kingdom, signed the trade treaty at the ceremony accompanied by representatives from the Saudi embassy in London.
“This is a remarkable day for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as we join the International Coffee Organization,” says HRH Prince Khalid Bin Bandar Bin Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud .
“For years, people of Saudi Arabia enjoyed the delights of traditional Arabic coffee, which has a 600-year history and is still regarded as a hallmark of Arabian hospitality today, and is inextricably linked to traditional identity.”
Under the ICA 2022, governments, in collaboration with the private sector and civil society, worked to determine initiatives that support a more prosperous and sustainable future for stakeholders within the global coffee value chain.
“The coffee sector in Saudi Arabia is growing fast and is an important part of our plans for the future and the change we wish to bring to our country as it contributes to diversifying the national economy,” HRH Prince Khalid Bin Bandar Bin Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud says.
“We see ICO, and this updated agreement, as a key to achieving our hopes and ambitions for the coffee industry locally and globally, and we look forward to working with colleagues at ICO to secure a positive and thriving future for coffee in the years and decades to come.”
