Saudi Minister of Commerce and Industry Tawfiq Bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah (right) and South African Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies during the Saudi-South African Joint Committee meeting in Riyadh Sunday. – SPA RIYADH – Saudi Arabia and South Africa stressed Sunday the importance of increasing the trade exchange between the two countries from SR19.2 billion to SR30 billion during the next five years. This came at the end of 4th session of the meeting of the Saudi-South African Joint Committee held in Riyadh and co-chaired by Saudi Minister of Commerce and Industry Dr. Tawfiq Bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah and South African Minister of Trade and Industry Dr. Rob Davies. During the two-day meeting, the joint committee discussed a number of education, information, cultural, military and security issues. Businessmen of the two countries agreed to establish Saudi-South African company to do business in the agricultural, petrochemical and mining fields. They called on mining companies to invest in industry opportunities in the Kingdom. The committee underscored the importance of agricultural industrialization, petrochemicals and automobile manufacturing. Concerned authorities in the two countries should provide a future vision on this, besides working in boosting cooperation in tourism sector by encouraging tourism, facilitating entry procedures into the two countries and exchange of information. The Saudi side expressed readiness to sign an agreement to encourage and protect investments between the two countries. It also expressed preparedness to sign a technical cooperation program in the field of standards and specifications with the South African side. Meanwhile, the committee called on the authorities concerned in the two countries to discuss the possibility of cooperation in a number of fields, including agricultural cooperative societies, registering Arabian horses and vaccines. South African International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim, meeting with Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Abdullah, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, said Saturday “South Africa has significant investment interests in Saudi Arabia, through the established presence of various South African multinational companies in the engineering, hospitality and retail industries as well as health care profession,” he said. As oil accounts for more than 90 percent of exports in Saudi Arabia, the country is presently the largest supplier of crude oil to South Africa. South Africa and Saudi Arabia have signed eight bilateral agreements, which provide the framework for cooperation. In 2009, the South Africa and Saudi Arabia Business Council was launched with the specific purpose of increasing the volume of trade and the flow of investments between the two countries. South Africa's Department of Trade and Industry and Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority signed MoU to facilitate the processes of entry of products into each other's markets.
