Baghdad, The first day of the Future Aviation Forum 2024, held in Riyadh on May 20-22, witnessed the announcement of 47 memoranda of understanding (MoUs), agreements, and deals worth $19 billion. Saudi Press Agency said that "The third annual forum is being held with the participation of over 30 ministers, 77 leaders of civil aviation authorities, CEOs of airlines worldwide, 5,000 aviation industry experts, and leaders from more than 120 countries, and will last until tomorrow, Wednesday" The forum discusses issues related to growth, investment, airports, air connectivity, supply-chain management, resilience, human capital, and sustainability. In conjunction with the conference, the General Authority of Civil Aviation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia launched the state of the aviation sector report in the Kingdom in its first edition, which showed the civil aviation sector's contribution to the Kingdom's economy at $53 billion, and the provision of 958,000 jobs in various Saudi regions. The Authority issued a 'General Aviation Roadmap' with the aim of developing the business and private aircraft sector in the Kingdom, and increasing its size tenfold by 2030, by allocating 6 airports for general aviation, and 9 lounges in commercial airports. The map is expected to contribute to Providing 35 thousand new jobs.' Source: National Iraqi News Agency