Minister of Investment Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih stressed that the mineral resources sector is among the most important resources that support countries' economies, and that launching the International Mining Conference reflects the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's interest in the mining sector in the world, its influence on the economic recovery and big impact on the future of several priority industries. Participating in session of the International Mining Conference, he said that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has increasing the competitiveness in the sector through enacting laws and regulation. To speed up procedures for geological exploration and attracting investments, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has developed the quality and availability of geographical data through several initiatives, including the General program for Geological Survey, where efforts resulted in issuing 75 new exploration licenses after launching the new Mining Investment Bylaw in January, 2021. Al-Falih noted that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has set ambitious targets, where the mining sector now contributes to some $ 17 billion to the GDP, where the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is willing to triple this number by 2030, referring to the importance of holding such conferences to exchange expertise, boost benefits in the sector and seek to develop modern mining industries, expressing hope for the event to realize envisioned goals. The ministry's participation in the conference is part of its keenness to attract investments in the mining sector and enhance their flow into the national economy. The ministry, through its participation in the accompanying "Invest in Saudi" pavilion, reviewed top promising investment opportunities in the fields of mining and mineral resources, whose development is among top priorities and due to the fact that the sector is the third biggest pillar for industries to diversify economic resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in addition to holding several bilateral meetings with the aim of providing investors and opportunity to get acquainted with the available investments and partnerships, as well as the services and incentives it offers to investors. The volume of mineral resources investments on the "Invest in Saudi" platform currently stands at 70 private opportunities in the mining and mineral sector with an investment volume exceeding $ 25 billion, while estimations put the value of mineral resources in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at $ 1.3 trillion.
