Jazan Gov. Prince Muhammad bin Nasser launched the Hareed festival in the Farsan Island yesterday. Director of International Relations at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Prince Turki bin Muhammad said the ongoing 10th Hareed Festival is a success by every standard and that it has popularized Farsan Island’s unique festival and tourism potential outside the province. “More than 5,000 visitors from different parts of the Kingdom assembled at the Hasis beach to view the fishing contest,” the prince said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency yesterday. Prince Turki hoped that the festival will grow to be an international event. He said visitors from some Gulf countries and Egypt are also participating in contests and sports events organized as part of the festival. He also viewed the presence of French Consul General Louis Blaine as a sign of growing interest in the outside world about the festival. Attempts are being made to promote the event in Europe and America through various forms of media channels, he said. “I am pleased to participate in the 10th Al-Hareed fish festival,” the French Consul General said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency yesterday. He also was impressed by the natural beauty of Farsan Island in particular and the Jazan region in general. The festival season kicks off every year when this particular kind of fish arrive in huge numbers in the warm waters for breeding in the Al-Hasis gulf close to the Farsan Island. Source: Arabnews