RIYADH — Fruitful cooperation between Tim Hortons GCC, the Royal Commission for Riyadh City and the Ministry of Investment to establish the regional headquarters of Tim Hortons (Middle East) in Riyadh. In response to what is happening in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in terms of economic and social mobility and the desire of Tim Hortons GCC to be part of the largest economy in the region, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Tim Hortons GCC, the Royal Commission for Riyadh City and the Ministry of Investment to establish the regional headquarters of Tim Hortons (Middle East) in Riyadh. The President of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC), Fahd Al-Rasheed, signed the Memorandum of Understanding to establish the regional headquarters of Tim Hortons GCC on behalf of RCRC and Niraj Tikchandani, a member of the Board of Directors, on behalf of Tim Hortons GCC. Speaking on this occasion, Tekchandani; said: “For Tim Hortons GCC, Saudi Arabia has been and will continue to be a key part of our Middle East story, and we see our regional headquarters at King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh as the perfect hub from where we intend to manage and expand into the broader MENA region and subcontinent.” “We are very excited about the transformation and the innovation that we have seen here and know that there’s a lot more still to come,” said Huda Al-Lawati, also a non-executive director at Tim Hortons GCC. “By basing ourselves in Riyadh, we strengthen our ties to this vibrant, young city. Saudi Arabia is well suited to our growth ambitions, and we are honored to play our part in developing the local economy,” she added. The move to base the regional headquarters of Tim Hortons GCC to Riyadh is significant, noting that that the RCRC has plans to make Riyadh one of the top 10 vibrant cosmopolitan cities of the world. The Kingdom has already announced an SR3 trillion ($800 billion) plan to double the size of Riyadh in a decade and transform the city into an economic, social, and cultural hub for the region. To this end, it is important to mention that Tim Hortons, the largest coffee chain in Canada, has planned and pledged to be part of the Kingdom’s success story. Tim Hortons GCC, a leader in four categories — coffee, baked items, breakfast, and lunch — is already on an expansion course with 42 coffee shops to be opened across Saudi Arabia this year. Founded in 1964, Tim Hortons is the leading coffee chain in Canada and has over 4,900 locations globally. Tim Hortons Middle East entered the GCC in 2011 and has since become the leading Tim Hortons franchise outside of North America. Tim Hortons Middle East currently operates 148 stores across the GCC and is leading an aggressive expansion of its footprint across Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, and Oman in addition to India and Egypt. The Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC), established by a royal decree in August 2019, is a government-owned and operated apex agency responsible for urban, economic, social and cultural development of Riyadh. The RCRC has also the mandate to supervise the strategic plans, policies, programs and implementation of development projects in the Saudi capital city. — SG