It is our pleasure to welcome all delegates to the 35th plenary and working groups meeting in Jeddah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The meeting will be held from 8 to 12 December 2012.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia comprises almost four-fifths of the Arabian Peninsula, an area approximately 2,000,000 km². Geographically, it is situated in the southwestern part of Asia. The eastern part of Saudi Arabia is a plateau begins with the great Nafud desert in the north, continues along the Arabian Gulf and culminates in the worlds largest sand desert, the Rub Al-Khali (Empty Quarter), in the south. To the west of this plateau is the Najd, the heartland of the peninsula, known for its spectacular escarpments and gravel and sand deserts.

A Saudi city located in the middle of the western coast of the Red Sea known as the 'Bride of the Red Sea' and is considered the economic and tourism capital of the country. Its population is estimated around 3.4 million and it is the second largest city after Riyadh.

The foundation of the city of Jeddah is dated back to around 3000 years when groups of fishermen used to settle in it after their fishing trips. After that, the tribe of 'Quda'ah' came to Jeddah 2500 years...
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