RIYADH, 14 October — Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, is expected to hold wide-ranging talks with Prince Philippe, crown prince of Belgium when he visits Saudi Arabia from Oct. 18 to 21.
Prince Philippe will be accompanied by a large, high-profile delegation of officials and businessmen.
“The objective of the Belgian mission is to re-emphasize the importance Belgium attaches to the growing bilateral ties with Saudi Arabia and to explore with Saudi officials and key private sector representatives ways of further strengthening trade and economic relations between the two great kingdoms”, said Belgian Ambassador Franz Michils here yesterday.
A series of official talks have been planned during the visit. Also, a group of Belgian businessmen specialized in oil, gas and petrochemicals will visit the Eastern Province.
Prince Philippe and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck will discuss issues of common interest with Riyadh Governor Prince Salman, Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed and Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal.
The Belgian delegation will also hold talks with SAGIA Governor Prince Abdullah ibn Faisal, Ali Al-Naimi, minister of petroleum & mineral resources and Osama Faqeeh, commerce minister.
Predicting major commercial deals including joint investment projects to be finalized during the visit of Prince Philippe, Michils said that Belgian delegation will mainly represent engineering, diamonds and jewelry, consultancy, oil & gas, medical equipment, telecommunication, building, heavy machine, storage, chemicals, security, agro-industry, water and wastewater treatment and banking sectors.
