Fahd Balghunaim

Position: Agriculture minister, Saudi Arabia

Biography: As the man responsible for ensuring food security in Saudi Arabia, Fahd Balghunaim has a challenging role in a country that lacks a suitable climate for large-scale farming operations.

Balghunaim helps safeguard Saudi food supply by promoting investment in domestic food manufacturing and processing facilities, as well as negotiating with countries such as Pakistan and Sudan to lease arable land to grow crops. A respected politician with decades of experience, he joined the Agriculture & Water Ministry as deputy minister for fisheries in 1990.

Balghunaim has worked in the food supply sector ever since, aside from a stint as governor of the Saline Water Conversion Corporation in 1991 and his appointment to the Shura Council in 2001. He was appointed to his current post in 2003. Balghunaim has a doctorate in transportation engineering from the University of Michigan in the US.

Contact Tel: (+966) 1 401 6666