Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources recently met with the French business fraternity at the Chamber of Commerce headquarters in Paris to entice the ventures to invest in the Kingdom’s mining sector.
According to the Saudi Press Agency, Bandar Alkhorayef met with several representatives from French companies and discussed several attractive funding options while expressing the Kingdom’s desire to promote investment.
The visit of Bandar Alkhorayef was part of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious ‘Vision 2030’ initiatives to strengthen the position of the mining and industrial sectors in the country’s economy and raise their contribution by luring international investment.
The minister was in Paris for ‘Vision Golfe’, a historic economic event that debuted on June 13, 2023 and highlighted potential corporate collaborations between France and the Gulf states.
It is a new platform that encourages business collaboration in industries with significant potential for growth in both the public and private sectors, such as trade, sports, and energy.
Senior executives, start-up representatives, government ministers, and small business managers mingled with each other and share ideas during the two-day conference.
Saudi Arabia is rich in natural resources, and in recent years, it has implemented several regulatory changes to entice private investors to the country’s mining industry.
The Kingdom’s advantageous position and well-developed infrastructure allow businesses to improve their worldwide supply chains.
The industry ministry of Saudi Arabia reportedly distributed a total of 2,314 new mining permits in March 2023.
The Kingdom has worked to make the mining industry the third pillar of the overall national agenda, as it looks to diversify its economy by 2030.
This initiative entails intensively examining the country’s natural resources across 5,300 locations worth SR5 trillion (USD 1.33 trillion).
The Gulf country is home to over 20 minerals, including marble, granite, iron, gold, and gravel. It also has 35 distinct geological formations, or mineral belts, rich in deposits.
Bandar Alkhorayef’s visit to France is part of an effort to promote collaboration between the two nations and attract high-quality investment possibilities in the mining and industrial sectors.
Additionally, it shows the Kingdom’s efforts to improve Saudi non-oil exports’ access to the French and European markets.
Image Credits: World Economic Forum