RIYADH: Airports Council International Asia-Pacific will open an office in Riyadh, which will work closely with its headquarters in Hong Kong to serve member airports in the Middle East, Matarat Holding Co. said in a press release issued on Tuesday. ACI Asia-Pacific is the largest civil aviation market in the world in terms of traffic volumes. It serves as the voice of 127 airport members, operating 618 airports across 46 countries in Asia-Pacific, and Middle East. Its mission is to advocate for policies and provide services that strengthen its members’ ability to serve their passengers, employees and stakeholders. It also promotes environmental best practices to minimize aviation’s impact on the environment and to recognize airport members who have outstanding accomplishments in their environmental projects. Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Alduailej, General Authority of Civil Aviation president and Matarat chairman, said: “Today’s announcement of a regional ACI headquarters in Riyadh reflects Saudi Arabia’s leadership on the world stage of global aviation, in line with Vision 2030 and the National Transport and Logistics Strategy.” ACI Asia-Pacific also collaborates with other regional offices, including ACI Europe, ACI North America, ACI Africa, ACI Latin America and the ACI World. Founded in 1991 to cater to Asian airports, ACI Asia was merged with ACI Pacific in 2006 and renamed as ACI Asia-Pacific. Suliman Albassam, acting CEO of Matarat Holding Co., said: “We are pleased to host a new office of the ACI Asia, Pacific, and Middle East in Riyadh. This step comes in continuation of our efforts to achieve the objectives of the Vision 2030 by attracting international companies and institutions to set up their headquarters in Saudi Arabia,” and stressed that this will contribute to improving the passenger experience by replication of the global best practices.