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Saudi Industry Minister Strengthens Strategic Partnership with Senior Chinese Officials 

The Saudi and Chinese delegations meet. (SPA)
The Saudi and Chinese delegations meet. (SPA)
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Saudi Industry Minister Strengthens Strategic Partnership with Senior Chinese Officials 

The Saudi and Chinese delegations meet. (SPA)
The Saudi and Chinese delegations meet. (SPA)

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef held separate meetings in China with Minister of Natural Resources Guan Zhi’ou and Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission Zhou Haibing on expanding the strategic partnership between their countries in the industrial and mining sectors, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday.

The first meeting addressed developing cooperation in mining, mineral industries, and geological surveying, in addition to opportunities for exchanging expertise and knowledge and developing specialized human capacities in the mining sector.

Talks also covered expansion plans for Chinese investments in Saudi Arabia’s mining sector.

Alkhorayef invited Minister Guan to participate in the fifth annual Future Minerals Forum scheduled to be held in Riyadh in January.

Discussions between Alkhorayef and Vice Chairman Zhou focused on boosting cooperation in the industrial and mining sectors, investment opportunities in the automotive industry, and the transfer of advanced technologies and innovative solutions to the Kingdom, in line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.

The meetings were attended by National Industrial Development Center Chief Executive Eng. Saleh Al-Solami, Saudi Ambassador to China Abdulrahman Al-Harbi, ACWA Power board chairman Mohammed Abunayyan, and leaders from the Kingdom’s industry and mining ecosystem.

Alkhorayef also held a series of meetings with leaders of major Chinese companies, including Tsinghua Unigroup, BOE Technology Group, and Kyland Technology, during his official visit to China.

The meetings focused on industrial cooperation and the localization of advanced manufacturing technologies in the Kingdom.

Discussions covered opportunities in developing the industrial digital infrastructure, intelligent industrial control technologies, and the semiconductor industry, in addition to highlighting the Kingdom’s enablers that attract quality industrial investments and facilitate the investor journey.

The officials reviewed the Kingdom’s strategic advantages, including its geographic position connecting three continents, abundant natural resources, competitive energy pricing, advanced infrastructure and industrial cities, and streamlined government procedures.

On the sidelines of the meetings, Alkhorayef witnessed the signing of three memoranda of understanding between the National Industrial Development Center and the Chinese companies: the first with BOE Technology Group in advanced display technologies, the second with Kyland Technology in intelligent industrial control technologies, and the third with Tsinghua Unigroup in the semiconductor industry, with the aim of localizing these advanced industrial technologies in the Kingdom.

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Business

Pakistan’s Mango Exports Shrink as Middle East War Impacts Linger

This photograph taken on June 4, 2026 shows a worker checking the quality of mangoes at an orchard in Hyderabad City, in Pakistan's Sindh province. (AFP)
This photograph taken on June 4, 2026 shows a worker checking the quality of mangoes at an orchard in Hyderabad City, in Pakistan's Sindh province. (AFP)
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Pakistan’s Mango Exports Shrink as Middle East War Impacts Linger

This photograph taken on June 4, 2026 shows a worker checking the quality of mangoes at an orchard in Hyderabad City, in Pakistan's Sindh province. (AFP)
This photograph taken on June 4, 2026 shows a worker checking the quality of mangoes at an orchard in Hyderabad City, in Pakistan's Sindh province. (AFP)

Beneath the scorching sun in Pakistan's southern mango belt, laborers balance on tree branches, working at a swift pace to throw the freshly picked fruit into sacks held ready by farmhands waiting below.

Though mango season is well underway, far less of the fruit will be bound for the lucrative export market than usual, with Pakistan's agriculturally dependent economy caught in the crosshairs of the Middle East crisis that its government has helped mediate.

An initial deal between the warring sides announced by Pakistan this week has come too late for this mango season, which began in June in southern Sindh province.

Mango traders told AFP they expect export sales to fall at least 30 percent this year due to dampened demand in key markets, including the Gulf, and soaring shipping costs.

Adding to the financial pain, local households struggling with a spike in inflation emanating from the regional crisis are holding off on buying the fruit, depressing domestic sales.

In the mango-growing heartland of Tando Allahyar, Mohammad Shakeel manages orchards that grow the golden-yellow Sindhri variety, named after the province where it flourishes and famous for its rich flavor and juicy pulp.

He feared his business would fall short of generating the income needed to cover the upfront cost of the orchard leases, noting some had abandoned their contracts entirely.

"So many losses have been incurred, the contractors have even left their advance money," Shakeel said.

This photograph taken on June 5, 2026 shows workers packing mangoes at a market in Karachi. (AFP)

- King of fruits -

Known in South Asia as the "king of fruits", Pakistan grows over two dozen varieties of mango that normally earn around $110 million in international sales a year -- making the country the world's fourth-largest exporter.

The challenges sparked by the Middle East war underscore the geopolitical vulnerability of Pakistan's economy, heavily dependent on an agriculture sector already struggling with the impacts of climate change.

"Almost 80 percent of mango export is to the Gulf region, Iran and Afghanistan," Waheed Ahmed, Chief Patron of the All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporter Association, told AFP, noting conflict had gripped all of those countries in recent months.

Total mango exports were expected to shrink by around 30,000 tons since last season to 80,000 tons this year, Ahmed said.

"The border to Afghanistan is closed, there is war in Iran... there is war in the entire Middle East."

Though he welcomed a preliminary agreement to halt fighting between the United States and Iran this week, the outlook looks shaky and it has come too late for this year's roughly three-month-long mango season.

"The main challenges still remain," he said.

Conflict with neighboring Afghanistan has also led to a stall in trade, with hundreds of trucks laden with goods sitting stuck at closed border crossings for months.

Competing blockades around the Strait of Hormuz maritime oil trade route pushed up energy prices, sending shipping costs soaring.

Ahmed estimated that shipping a container of 25 tons of mangoes cost around $1,400 last year.

"The same freight has increased to $6,000 to $7,000 this year," he said.

This photograph taken on June 4, 2026 shows an aerial view of a mango farm in Tando Allahyar district, in Pakistan's Sindh province. (AFP)

- 'Bread or mangoes'? -

Any hopes that the glut of mangoes into local markets could help offset lost export earnings were dashed by households' struggles with soaring prices for many goods, driven up during the Middle East war.

In a bustling outdoor market in Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, customer Muhammad Ashad eyes the surprisingly cheap mangoes on offer -- now around 200 Pakistani rupees ($0.72) per kilogram, half last year's price.

"Mangoes are very cheap this time compared to the last few years... because our export has stopped," he said.

"I am seeing everywhere that there are very good mangoes, but people are still not able to buy them," he said.

Pakistan's inflation rate leapt to 10 percent in the three months after the conflict began, from 5.5 percent in the July-February period, according to a government survey.

Shakeel, from the fruit export association, confirmed the hit to local sales.

"In the local market the price is low. But not everyone can afford to buy mangoes. Look at the state of the country: expenses are rising... income is low. Should they buy their bread first or our mangoes?"

Business

Iran Minister Says Oil Industry to Be Testing Ground for Any Final US-Iran Deal

Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad makes a statement following a signing ceremony attended by Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev in Moscow, Russia, April 25, 2025. REUTERS/Olesya Astakhova
Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad makes a statement following a signing ceremony attended by Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev in Moscow, Russia, April 25, 2025. REUTERS/Olesya Astakhova
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Iran Minister Says Oil Industry to Be Testing Ground for Any Final US-Iran Deal

Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad makes a statement following a signing ceremony attended by Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev in Moscow, Russia, April 25, 2025. REUTERS/Olesya Astakhova
Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad makes a statement following a signing ceremony attended by Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev in Moscow, Russia, April 25, 2025. REUTERS/Olesya Astakhova

Iran's oil industry will be a key testing ground for any final peace agreement with the ‌US ‌if Western parties ‌remain ⁠committed to its ⁠spirit, Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said on Sunday.

The ministry's news ⁠outlet, Shana, ‌quoted Paknejad ‌as saying that ‌in a ‌post-agreement era, Iran's oil sector would offer ‌the global economy major investment opportunities and ⁠has ⁠hundreds of investment projects, as well as technical and operational partnership contracts ready to be signed, according to Reuters.

A new round of negotiations over the Middle East war was set to kick off Sunday, with Iranian negotiators arriving in the Swiss host city hours ahead of US Vice President JD Vance, even as Tehran said it was closing the Strait of Hormuz again over Israeli attacks in Lebanon.

Follow-up talks had been planned in Switzerland on Friday but were postponed at the last minute after Israel launched deadly strikes in Lebanon following the deaths of four of its soldiers in combat.

Hormuz, a key conduit for oil and gas shipments, was blockaded by Iran for much of the war, sending shockwaves through global energy markets.

Business

Riyadh International Industry Week 2026 to Kick Off on Sunday

Riyadh International Industry Week 2026 to Kick Off on Sunday
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Riyadh International Industry Week 2026 to Kick Off on Sunday

Riyadh International Industry Week 2026 to Kick Off on Sunday

Riyadh International Industry Week 2026 will open Sunday at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center (RICEC), under the patronage of the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources.

The event will showcase the development of Saudi Arabia’s industrial capabilities and explore opportunities for international partnerships across several industrial sectors, bringing together more than 337 exhibitors from 17 countries, SPA reported.

It also serves as a key platform for showcasing the latest industrial technologies and products from leading local and international industrial companies. The event brings together three specialized exhibitions under one roof: Saudi Plastics and Petrochem and Saudi Print and Pack, both in their 21st editions, and the 4th edition of Saudi Smart Logistics.

The week, which runs until June 24, is organized through a strategic partnership between Riyadh Exhibitions Company Ltd. and Germany’s Messe Düsseldorf. The partnership marks an important step toward strengthening links between specialized Saudi exhibitions and their global counterparts, connecting the event with three of the leading international trade fairs in plastics, packaging, and printing: K, interpack, and drupa.

Several entities from the industry and mineral resources ecosystem will take part in the exhibition and its accompanying events. The week will feature several panel discussions and specialized workshops with senior officials and local and international experts.

Key topics include industrial transformation, innovation and localization, advanced packaging solutions for the food industry, industrial enablers and their role in promoting investment and strengthening competitiveness, the latest industrial practices in plastics, packaging and printing, and plastic recycling.

Riyadh International Industry Week contributes to strengthening international industrial partnerships and drawing on the experiences of leading countries. It comes as Saudi Arabia’s industrial sector continues to grow and develop under Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to position the Kingdom as a leading regional and global industrial power.