CAIRO: Riyadh Air, owned by Saudi Arabia's ‍PIF sovereign ‍wealth fund, on Wednesday ​launched Riyadh Cargo operations, as the kingdom ⁠seeks to advance its plan to diversify ⁠its economy, reduce ‌its dependence on oil revenue, and become a global logistics ⁠hub. Saudi Arabia, the world's leading oil exporter, is more than halfway through its Vision 2030 ⁠plan, which calls ​for hundreds of billions of dollars in government investment ‍in sectors, including tourism and logistics.

Riyadh Cargo ​will use capacity on more than 120 wide-body aircraft on order by Riyadh Air, connecting global markets through the airline's Riyadh hub, the company said in a statement.

Riyadh Air has said it expects to operate a network of ⁠more than 100 destinations ‌by 2030 and contribute around $20 billion to Saudi Arabia’s non-oil GDP, ‌the ⁠statement added. (Reporting by Yomna Ehab and Ahmed ⁠Elimam; editing by Barbara Lewis)