Saudi Arabia could be destined for an aggressive investment on the African continent as it seeks to wrestle against the western countries.
Deals worth some €500 million are expected to be signed during this three-day summit which began on Friday.
Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih said the kingdom’s 600 billion euro wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, would make some “game changing” investments in Africa.
Khalid Al-Falih was speaking at the first ever Saudi-Arab-African Economic Conference in Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia has been forging diplomatic ties with the African continent since the 1970s. They were strengthened in 2018 with the appointment of a secretary of state dedicated to African Affairs.
In his opening remarks, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said Saudi Arabia and the African continent shared a “common history and destiny”, adding the partnership between the two sides was ever-growing.
Following the summit’s conclusion, the “Riyadh Declaration – Roadmap of Saudi-African Cooperation” was issued, describing the summit as an “important historical turning point in the relations of African countries with the Kingdom.”
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is hosting an extraordinary summit on Saturday, bringing together countries from the Islamic and Arab worlds to discuss the worsening situation in Gaza.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called for an end to the war in Gaza, “We condemn what the Gaza Strip is facing from military assault, targeting of civilians, the violations of international law by the Israeli occupation authorities.”
“We stress on the need to stop this war and the forced displacement of Palestinians,” he added.
The non-stop air strikes and ground assaults – which came in response to the October 7 attack by Hamas which killed 1,200 Israelis – have killed at least 11,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians.
