RIYADH, 18 April — Minister of Finance and National Economy Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf will sign an agreement for protection and promotion of investments with Belgium next week in Jeddah. The treaty, the third to be agreed by Saudi Arabia with an EU country, will be signed on Monday by Junior Minister for Foreign Affairs Neyts Uyttebroeck from Belgian side.
“This treaty will fit into the new economic priorities and the regulatory framework of the Saudi government, while encouraging the private sectors of the two countries to set up joint ventures,” Olivier Quinaux, acting head of Belgian mission, said here yesterday. He said there were only two joint venture projects, with SR50 million Belgian capital, currently operating in the Kingdom.
The signing of this investment agreement, he said, would be followed by a symposium on investment relations to be held in Brussels on April 25. It will be chaired by Prince Abdullah ibn Faisal Al-Turki, governor of the General Investment Authority, who will also hold talks with Belgian Crown Prince Philippe during the visit.
The treaty, Quinaux said, would greatly boost investment relations. The Islamic Development Bank and the Belgian Corporation for International Investment earlier signed an agreement to exchange information and to support joint initiatives to promote common commercial interests. The BMI-SBI, which seeks to forge closer alliance with the IDB, is an investment firm whose objective is to provide medium and long-term financing to foreign investments by Belgian companies.
The treaty, however, comes at a time when the Kingdom has decided to renew a ban on Belgian meat, poultry and food products. Quinaux said there were other sectors the two sides could cooperate.
