Riyadh, March 7, 2022, SPA -- Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Eng. Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadley headed the Saudi side of the eighth Saudi-New Zealand Joint Committee Meetings, which were held in Riyadh today, while the New Zealand’s side was headed by Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O'Connor, with the participation of several members of the two official delegations of the two countries. At the outset of the meetings, both sides referred to the realized achievement since the seventh edition of the meetings that were held in Auckland on August 10, 2018, including several decisions, such as approving three New Zealand institutions to grant Halal certificates in New Zealand by the Saudi Halal Center, and a visit by a delegation of New Zealand companies to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to explore investment opportunities and enhance cooperation between the ministry and New Zealand companies to provide the first phase of the Saudi national plan to improve livestock and enhance the productivity of bees. The current session’s meetings reached several recommendations in the fields of food security, Halal, quality of food, and agriculture, in addition to other cooperation fields at the commercial, investment, diplomatic and judicial levels, as well as the energy, industry, mineral resources, education, training and social development, with the aim of endorsing and accrediting them by the two sides. At the end of the meetings, both sides agreed to prepare a mechanism to follow up on the next edition of the joint ministerial committee, including the importance of focusing on the outcomes of the joint ministerial committee to ensure directing their efforts towards joint goals. The two sides also agreed to implement the recommendations and action points set in this meeting minutes through diplomatic channels, in addition to agreeing on holding the next session in New Zealand on a date to be set at the proper time. --SPA 18:52 LOCAL TIME 15:52 GMT 0022 www.spa.gov.sa/w1702131