DAMMAM: As part of its campaign to reduce high numbers of road fatalities, Saudi Arabia hosted on Monday the 5th International Traffic Safety Forum and Exhibition at the Sheraton Dammam Hotel & Convention Centre. The three-day forum is organized by the Saudi Traffic Safety Society (SALAMH) and held under the patronage of Eastern Province Gov. Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz. The governor stressed the importance of reducing traffic accidents and ensuring the safety of road users. The accompanying exhibition witnessed the participation of more than 30 agencies and the signing of five agreements in the field of traffic safety. Prince Saud said that the Saudi Traffic Safety Committee had achieved positive results and contributed to reducing road fatalities, but that society needed to work collectively in order to continue reducing road accidents. The president of Imam Abdul Rahman bin Faisal University, Abdullah bin Muhammad Al-Rubaish, said that the forum demonstrated the need fot integration in the roles between all authorities in various security, academic and service sectors to achieve the highest standards of security and safety. Approximately 1.35 million people die each year as a result of road accidents, according to the World Health Organization. Given that the Kingdom has one of the highest rates of road deaths in the world, the government is looking to reduce the number of traffic casualties by 50 percent under the National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020.