RIYADH - The Saudi Public Investment Fund announced today, Monday, Shawwal 26, 1442 AH, corresponding to June 07, 2021 AD, the signing of an agreement with the Electric Marine Racing Company Limited "E1 Series" to establish the first-ever world championship for electric boat racing.

The partnership constitutes an essential step in the stage of establishing the championship, and accelerating the pace of preparations for the inaugural season, which is scheduled to be held at the beginning of 2023. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be one of the sites nominated to host the race in its first edition.

The partnership was announced during a virtual inauguration ceremony attended by a number of senior officials of the "E1 Series". The ceremony also witnessed the launch of design details for the new electric racing boat called "Race Bird".

The Public Investment Fund is one of the main contributors to the global economy and the main driver of supporting the Kingdom's economic transformation efforts. This investment is in line with the Fund's strategy 2021-2025, which focuses on 13 strategic sectors, including entertainment, tourism, sports, service facilities and renewable energy. The fund’s investments are represented in future industries through many companies and projects, such as ACWA Power and Sudair Project in the renewable energy sector, and Lucid Motors in the electric car industry.

His Excellency the Governor of the Public Investment Fund, Mr. Yasser Al-Rumayyan, said: “We are proud to establish this unique partnership in sport with a new concept, as it comes within the framework of the Fund’s strategy aimed at enabling innovation globally as well as opening new horizons for future industries and building strategic economic partnerships, and we believe that our support The new technologies in the sports sector will contribute to the development of many strategic sectors at the global and local levels.”

He added, "Our partnership with the "E1 Series" will contribute to efforts to develop sustainable technology, which will enhance the Kingdom's position in the industries of the future, and enable it to provide more important development opportunities for the national economy."

In turn, the partner and Chairman of the Board of Directors of "E1 Series" Alejandro Agag, expressed his pride in partnering with the Public Investment Fund in this vital project, indicating that obtaining the Fund's support in the founding phase confirms the importance of the upcoming tournament, and embodies our ambition to revolutionize the maritime transport industry, With the new design of the Race Bird boat accelerating the pace of industry change, providing sustainable solutions for the leisure and tourism boats of the future, he looks forward to working with the Fund to move towards a new era of electric fast boat racing.

E1 Series Partner and CEO, Rudy Basu, expressed his pleasure to work alongside the Public Investment Fund to shape the future directions of the powerboat industry, stating that establishing a strong partnership with the right partner such as the Fund provides a solid foundation that opens up new possibilities for innovation in a new sport. The same, indicating that the new "Race Bird" boat posed a unique challenge to the engineering team responsible for its development, and they were able to include a number of practical solutions that qualify it strongly to participate in the upcoming races.

It is noteworthy that the Public Investment Fund contributed to the development and stimulation of the entertainment, tourism and sports sector within the Kingdom within the objectives of Vision 2030, through its support for high-level sporting events such as sponsoring the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship, and sponsoring the Diriyah Race in Formula E.