The Minister of Commerce and Industry announced that the Saudi Export Development Authority will be inaugurated soon and will start operating during this year. Dr. Tawfig Alrabiah stated that the recruitment and attraction of distinguished calibers has already started, pointing out that they are holding interviews now to select and appoint a secretary-general for the authority. This statement was included in Dr. Alrabiah’s speech at a workshop for export development aiming at listening to the industrialists opinions on the impediments facing exports and means of eliminating them. The workshop was held by the Export Development Committee affiliated to Riyadh Chamber, and organized by the Saudi Industrial Property Authority (MODON) at its headquarters in Riyadh. The workshop was attended by MODON Director General Saleh Al-Rasheed, Head of the Chamber’s Export Committee Fahd Althanyan and a number of officials from the Saudi Fund for Development and Customs. Eng. Al-Rasheed asserted that KSA has reached advanced stages in the global market, outlining that through this workshop they pursue the introduction of export procedures and incentives, as well as the support offered by the governmental bodies to promote exports. Al-Rasheed added that there are 14 existing industrial cities at the meantime, in addition to 9 cities having many factories that are under construction. Meanwhile, Al-Rasheed affirmed that the number of industrial cities will mount to 29 cities comprising more than 4700 factories, and stated that the real problem facing these cities is the transport sector, represented in the train network, which is under construction; affirming that this network will help a lot in the transport issue. The Minister also stated that any individual can have a piece of industrial land, and that the online application procedures via MODON website are easy and simple. The application is based on the industrial license and commercial register, and is followed by an interview with the applicant, then the industrial land is allocated to the applicant. Meanwhile, the Minister affirmed that the idea, finance and management should be ready to allocate the land. Head of the Chamber’s Export Committee Fahd Althanyan also confirmed that the objective of the workshop is increasing and supporting the exports of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and familiarizing with the support mechanisms and supporting bodies, as well as eliminating all obstacles and impediments facing them. Mr.Althanyan also asserted that this is the first of the meetings and workshops between officials and factories to converge viewpoints, introduce the support offered by the governmental bodies to the factories, and encourage them to export. Mr.Althanyan also announced that the Minister of Commerce and Industry promised them to harness all potentials for their service, and underlined that they seek the activation of exhibitions abroad and resolving all the problems facing them on the spot. Export Financing Specialist at the Saudi Industrial Development Fund Abdulmohsen Almotawa presented a work sheet on financing and guaranteeing export and explained the needed procedures and conditions for industrial projects finance; then the Director of King Khaled Airport Customs presented a worksheet about the approved export procedures and facilities. At the end of the celebration, an open seminar with the factories was held to highlight the problems and impediments facing export.