The Saudi capital receives on Thursday a delegation of 60 firms including Lukoil and Gazprom to discuss economic cooperation ties and development mechanisms, with the participation of Minister of Commerce and Investment Majid al-Qasabi, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Governor of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority Engineer Ibrahim bin Abdul Rahman al-Omar.
The forum, which comes amid meetings held by the joint Saudi-Russian government committee, showcases investment opportunities in various fields and possible cooperation between the Saudi Public Investment Fund and its Russian counterpart in sectors of energy, geological drilling, mining, petrochemicals, building oil carriers, railways and others.
Abdulaziz al-Karidis, vice-chairman of the Saudi-Russian Committee, stated to Asharq Al-Awsat that the visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to Moscow set a new stage for Saudi-Russian ties and launched comprehensive cooperation with Russia in various economic, investment, commercial and cultural fields.
Karidis added that the joint cooperation will have several purposes including nationalizing the industry and removing obstacles facing businessmen in both countries. He expected the upcoming period to witness an increase in joint investment and trade exchange that doesn’t exceed USD2 billion and doesn’t reflect the actual economic size of the two G20 countries.
Karidis saw the meeting as an opportunity to reinforce trade cooperation and investment opportunities based on the Saudi Vision 2030. The meeting will be attended by a number of Saudi and Russian companies representing many economic sectors, knowing that it is organized by Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC) in Riyadh on Thursday.
The kingdom and Russia signed earlier a number of agreements to boost cooperation in diverse sectors.
