member business delegation from the South African province of Western Cape led by its Premier Ebrahim Rasool is in the Kingdom to strengthen economic ties. “We want to diversify our economic ties beyond petrochemicals,” said Rasool, addressing the media here Tuesday night. The delegation includes property developers, construction experts, tourism promoters, financial service company representatives, and people from the agricultural sector. The delegation, which arrived in Riyadh, on the invitation of Riyadh Emir Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, held talks with Minister of Tourism Prince Sultan Bin Salman, General President of Youth Welfare Prince Sultan Bin Fahd, Minister of Commerce Mohammad Ahmed Xenel Ali Rida and Shoura Council Chairman Sheikh Muhammad Bin Ibrahim Bin Jubeir. Saudi-South African ties got a further boost following the visit of President Thabo Mbeki to the Kingdom last March. The two sides agreed to strengthen bilateral ties. After Mbeki's visit, a number of delegations from South Africa visited the Kingdom to explore business and investment potentials. The volume of trade between the two countries stood at SR11.5 billion last year. It has shown an increase of 13 percent. Saudi Arabia exports mainly petrochemical products to South Africa and imports mainly mining and agro products, thus the balance of trade is tilted toward Kingdom. The two countries have a Joint Economic Commission to promote and safeguard business interests. Rasool said the Cape Peninsula University of Technology signed an agreement with Prince Sultan College for Tourism and Business to train Saudis in hospitality industry. Western Cape has a huge tourism potential with Cape Town being the main tourist attraction for visitors from the Gulf. Rasool said they were discussing to link Cape Town with direct Saudi Arabia Airlines flights. At present South African Airways has tie-up with Emirates for the Gulf region. __
