For his part, the Regional Director of the Civil Aviation Organization in the Middle East Mohammed Rahma, delivered a speech at the Summit during which he expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its hospitality and hosting the Fourth Middle East Safety Summit Conference, pointing to the importance of the civil aviation industry which plays a key role in the global economy. He added that scheduled commercial flights in 2017 in the Middle East amounted to 36.6 million flights, while the movement of scheduled flights increased to 1.37 million departure flights compared to 2013 when reaching 1.08 million flights. The Summit to be held until October 3, 2018 in Riyadh, will discuss ways to ensure the highest levels of air safety, benefiting both passengers in particular and the civil aviation industry in the Middle East in general and the commitment of all concerned parties; Civil Aviation Authorities, air carriers and manufacturers based on recommended standards. --SPA 13:28 LOCAL TIME 10:28 GMT 0009 www.spa.gov.sa/w759378