Saudi Arabia’s energy minister, Abdulaziz bin Salman, has disclosed that the kingdom signed preliminary agreements with African countries, including Nigeria, on energy-related cooperation.
According to Reuters, Salman made this known on Thursday, during the Saudi-Arab-African economic conference in Riyadh.
At the meeting, Salman also met with Global oil and gas stakeholders, are reported to have discussed the conditions and stability of the petroleum market, as well as topics of common interest in the field of energy, at the conference, which also had Nigeria’s minister of state for petroleum resources, Heineken Lokpopiri, in attendance.
Speaking on partnerships with African countries, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Saudi finance minister, said the Saudi Fund for Development would sign agreements worth two billion riyals ($533 million) with countries in the region.
“We are working with partners to support Ghana and other countries regarding their debt,” Jadaan added.
On his part, Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi investment minister, said the kingdom’s over $700 billion wealth fund — the public investment fund— would make some “game-changing” investments in Africa.
President Bola Tinubu arrived in Riyadh earlier on Thursday for the Saudi-Africa summit.
The trip is in furtherance of efforts to attract foreign direct investment and mobilise capital to build needed infrastructure.
