The DPGP is a collaborative genome research project among several institutions between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the People's Republic of China, including the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology of Saudi Arabia (KACST), King Faisal University of Saudi Arabia (KFU), and Beijing Institute of Genomics of Chinese Academy of Sciences (BIG, CAS). The Project aims to sequence the genomes of date palm and its major devastating pest, the red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus), to completion and to set a high standard for plant and insect genomics; it will also study gene expression, genetic variation, and biological pathways of these two organisms, paving a way for the in-depth research in genetics, biochemistry, and agricultural biotechnology. Understanding the date palm genome and its major pest not only provides crucial basic genomic information for the improvement of date palm cultivation but the process of carrying the unprecedented research project undoubtedly also helps to improve research infrastructure and strategy for both countries in the fields of genomics and bioinformatics. The studies will also be useful for comparative genomics studies among other species in the palm family, such as oil palm and coconut. The joint team will also analyze the genome of red palm weevil, an invasive insect, and develops feasible methods and strategy to control this powerful pest that kills young palm tree in an alarming rate. The project is expected to be completed within three years. Both parties are confident that the success of Saudi-Sino Date Palm Genome Project will be a solid start for the future collaborative research among scientists of the two countries.