RIYADH: Commerce and Industry Minister Abdullah Zainal Alireza yesterday left for South Africa leading a 20-member trade delegation, the Saudi Council of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) announced here yesterday.
During the four-day visit, the minister is scheduled to meet businessmen in Cape Town and chair two important meetings, the first being the third session of the Saudi African Businessmen Council and the second the GCC and African Union Businessmen meeting.
A spokesman from the SCCCI said that the visit is aimed at promoting trade and investment between Saudi Arabia and South Africa and also between countries of the GCC and the African Union.
The program has been organized by SCCCI in cooperation with the Saudi Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The spokesman said that the visit was arranged in deference to numerous requests of Saudi businessmen who expressed their desire to open new business venture with South Africa and other countries in the region.
The agenda of the meeting of the Saudi-African Business Council, established in 2007, would include exploring new areas of cooperation between the two countries and eliminating the obstacles in each other’s business transactions. The meeting will also concentrate on new joint venture projects both in the Kingdom as well as in South Africa.
Saudi Ambassador in Pretoria, Mohammed Mahmud Al-Ali, told Arab News that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on ‘Development of science and technology’ between the two countries will be signed during the visit.
