Saudi Arabia Signs Coordination Agreement to Boost Exports, Foreign Trade

SEDA and GAFT sign the strategic coordination agreement on Tuesday (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat).
SEDA and GAFT sign the strategic coordination agreement on Tuesday (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat).
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Saudi Arabia Signs Coordination Agreement to Boost Exports, Foreign Trade

SEDA and GAFT sign the strategic coordination agreement on Tuesday (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat).
SEDA and GAFT sign the strategic coordination agreement on Tuesday (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat).

The Saudi Export Development Authority (SEDA) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi General Authority for Foreign Trade (GAFT), with the aim of coordinating cooperation and enhancing communication between the two parties at the strategic and executive levels, and in support of achieving the strategic objectives of the Made in Saudi program.

Signed by the Secretary-General of SEDA, Faisal Al-Bedah, and GAFT Governor, Abdul Rahman bin Ahmed Al-Harbi, the MoU aims to provide multiple aspects of cooperation between the two bodies, in support of the Made in Saudi Arabia program, to achieve diversity in foreign trade, enhance the Kingdom’s commercial gains in international organizations, in addition to enabling access to the target markets for non-oil exports.

The Made in Saudi program seeks to increase domestic consumption and market share of local goods and services, support Saudi non-oil exports in priority export markets, and contribute to enhancing the attractiveness of the Saudi industrial sector for local and foreign investment.

Meanwhile, the CEO of the Saudi Export-Import Bank, Eng. Saad Alkhalb, held a joint open meeting on Tuesday with the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jeddah Chamber, Mohammed Yousuf Naghi, and a number of businessmen in the Makkah region.

The meeting focused on introducing products, services, financing and credit opportunities dedicated to developing the export of Saudi non-oil products and strengthening its presence in global markets.

The meeting comes after the bank approved financing requests worth 8.95 billion riyals (USD 2.3 billion) for Saudi products and services that were exported to more than 50 countries around the world.

Approvals for financing requests covered vital sectors such as plastics, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals and other products, such as paper, rubber, food products, as well as construction and agricultural materials.



Faisal bin Farhan, Séjourné Discuss Gaza

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah. Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Faisal bin Farhan, Séjourné Discuss Gaza

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah. Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah. Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah made a phone call on Wednesday to French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Stéphane Séjourné.

During the call, the two ministers discussed strengthening relations and exchanged views on regional developments focusing on the developments in the Gaza Strip and the efforts being exerted to address the situation.

Prince Faisal also spoke by telephone on Wednesday with advisor to the French president Anne-Claire Legendre.

During the conversation, they discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations and exchanged views on regional developments, particularly the situation in Gaza.