RIYADH: Saudi Arabian air freight flag carrier Saudia Cargo is to operate five weekly flights from Hong Kong to Liege in Belgium, with Riyadh as a connection point, in a bid to help boost e-commerce links between Europe and China. The new flights are as a result of the signing of a cargo agreement with IT and logistics operator Cainiao Network, the logistic arm of Alibaba Group. Cainiao logistic services cover more than 200 countries, while Alibaba Group is one of the largest e-commerce brands in the world. Its total revenue for the last three months of 2020 was up 37 percent to $34.2 billion. Saudia Cargo CEO Omar Hariri said: “We are excited for this strategic agreement (with Cainiao) which will enhance logistic services between the two continents through the famous Alibaba’s e-commerce platform and its high traffic of online shoppers. “This agreement is part of our framework to transform the Kingdom into an open gate for world trade and a bridge connecting East and West by leveraging its strategic location in the center of the world. Other promising partnerships will be coming up in the near future to reinforce logistic operations of Alibaba in both continents,” he added. William Xiong, Cainiao’s chief strategist and general manager of export logistics, said: “We are happy to launch a collaboration with Saudia Cargo. Both our sellers and customers from China, Saudi Arabia, and Europe will benefit from the new flights that will decrease delivery time for their parcels. “Expanding our logistics network into new regions will also help us in building efficient global exports networks. This new route will be one of the key elements to create seamless logistics and increase synergy between different regions.”