A Saudi-South African roundtable meeting was held Sunday in the Saudi city of Jeddah.
The meeting aimed at promoting investment relations, bolstering efforts to develop economic ties and qualitative investments for entrepreneurial companies, and enabling the private sector to benefit from the opportunities available in the two countries.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Saudi Minister of Investment Eng. Khalid al-Falih, Minister of Tourism Ahmad al-Khateeb, and Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar al-Khorayef, as well as South African Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel attended the meeting.
The roundtable talks saw the participation of Saudi and South African entrepreneurship companies, the Federation of Saudi Chambers and representatives of the private sectors and companies from the two sides.
The agenda included presentations by Saudi and South African companies, opportunities to develop their businesses and means to address challenges they are facing in an attempt to enhance business and investments in the fields of energy, renewable energy, mining, agriculture, food, tourism, logistics, and ICT.
The meeting represents a step to support the outcomes of the Saudi-South African Investment Forum that was held Saturday and reviewed bilateral investment opportunities, with the participation of several officials from the two countries and representatives of the private sectors and companies.
Falih underscored the importance of Ramaphosa’s active participation in strengthening investment, trade and business ties.
He pointed out that the two countries and their commercial societies have ambitious plans for investment and economic development.
Falih indicated that the roundtable represents the next step in achieving the aspirations, with two governments working to help provide business growth opportunities for the vibrant and innovative private sector companies in both countries.
On Saturday, the Kingdom’s Ministry of Investment held the Saudi-South African Investment Forum in Jeddah. The event was attended by Ramaphosa and dozens of senior officials from the two countries.
The two countries signed 11 agreements and Memoranda of Understanding to boost investment in energy, water, green hydrogen, waste diversion, and logistics.
The agreements aimed to promote the developing investment sectors between the two nations and between the Middle East and South Africa, and transfer specialized technical knowledge and expertise.
Bilateral trade between the two countries increased from $4.6 billion in 2019 to around $4.8 billion last year, and is expected to exceed $5.3 billion this year, Falih said.
The minister praised the solid and friendly ties between the two countries, including their economic and trade cooperation which has stood for over three decades.
He stated that the priority areas of cooperation between the two countries include renewable and green energy, mining, agriculture and food processing, hydrogen and solar energy, tourism, aerospace, and information technology, among others.
