Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – An official source in Saudi Arabia responded to the statements of the head of the tourism sector in the city of NEOM, Andrew McAvoy, about giving the residents of the region a title that distinguishes them from others, on Monday, denying the validity of these statements and stressing that the NEOM project is under full Saudi sovereignty. and its systems.
McAvoy had told The National newspaper that the nickname “Neomians” will be given to the city’s residents who will start arriving in 2024, noting that 5 million of them will live in the city of the future, indicating that they will not be “Saudis”, according to The newspaper quoted him in a news item published on May 10.
In his statements, McAvoy indicated that NEOM will not be subject to the laws and regulations of the rest of the Saudi cities, but will follow their own regulations and laws.
The Saudi official responded to McAvoy’s statements by saying: “The NEOM project is one of the major strategic projects of the Public Investment Fund, and is completely subject to the sovereignty and regulations of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The source denied McAvoy’s statements about naming the residents of NEOM with a name distinct from the rest of the Saudis, or that they have “a special characteristic that they call them to distinguish them from others,” according to Wass.
The source continued, “The NEOM project will operate within special economic zones that are subject to the sovereignty and economy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in terms of security, defense and regulatory aspects, with the development of economic legislation specific to the project area that achieves the best concepts of governance of economic zones in the world, so that NEOM is one of the most important points of attraction.