Kingdom aims to quadruple mining, renewables and logistics says Al-Falih

Saudi Arabia' oil minister Khalid Al-Falih and foreign minister Adel Al-Jubeir on their way to meet Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May in Downing Street. (Reuters)

LONDON: Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih has revealed the Kingdom aims to quadruple the size of its mining, renewables and logistics sectors.
He was speaking at the Saudi-UK CEO Forum in London to mark the state visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to London.
“One of our programs is the development of the Kingdom’s industrial energy and logistics. These are right at the heart of creating investment opportunities. We have $1.3 trillion of mining endowment. We want to quadruple our mining statistics and supply chains. As we quadruple some of these sectors, the focus is on quality not quantity. This will require the best collaboration between us,” Al-Falih said.
“The chemicals sector, which has grown fantastically in the last few decades, now needs to grow in terms of technology content and value added projects.”
Earlier, Liam Fox, the UK trade secretary said Britain was committed to helping Saudi Arabia become a “global investment powerhouse.”
Fox said he hoped Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) would find Britain a key investment opportunity that could work for both countries, and that would boost London’s status as a world financial center.
Fox also said the first Saudi/UK education dialogue will take place, to “establish a government to government policy exchange.”
Peter Mandelson, former EU trade minister, said the key to understanding KSA investment opportunities for Britain was the realization that Saudi Arabia was a staging post between and East and West, and “a jumping off point to Africa,” said Mandelson, former minister in Tony Blair’s Labour government.