RIYADH — The Saudi Export Development Authority, under the theme of "Saudi Made", hosted trade missions from Egypt and Nigeria, from June 27 to 28, 2022, in Riyadh, under the patronage of the Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Eng. Osama Bin Abdulaziz Al-Zamil.

The missions will hold meetings with Saudi export companies, specifically in construction, food, and medical sectors, to promote the growth of Saudi non-oil exports, support the Saudi exporter to access promising markets in Africa, strengthen trade cooperation between the Saudi and African sides, and attract importers from interested parties in Saudi products.

The meetings come within the framework of the authority’s strategy aimed at expanding and spreading Saudi products, and enhancing its regional and international presence.

This is in line with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 and its objectives, and the strategy of the authority aimed at raising the proportion of Saudi non-oil exports to at least 50% of the total value of non-oil GDP by 2030, and strengthening economic and trade relations between the Kingdom and African countries, including Egypt and Nigeria.

The meetings also include holding bilateral business sessions between Saudi companies and Egyptian and Nigerian importers, in addition to organizing a visit to a factory specific to each of these target sectors.

The meeting also aims to attract about 80 buyers from Egypt and Nigeria to import from 120 Saudi producing and exporting companies, which will contribute to raising the volume of trade exchange with these two countries.

The total volume of the Kingdom’s non-oil exports to Egypt during the period (2016-2021) amounted to SR42.3 billion, while the total non-oil exports of the Kingdom to Nigeria stood at SR6.2 billion during the same period.

The two countries are among the top 10 African countries according to the value of Saudi exports. Meanwhile, the Kingdom's total non-oil exports to African countries in 2021 amounted to SR29.9 billion.

This gathering is considered a continuation of the authority's efforts in revitalizing trade relations with the African continent and other priority countries.

This complements its objectives to provide a competitive environment, by addressing challenges and enhancing the position of Saudi products in various regional and global markets, in line with the objectives of the Kingdom's Vision 2030. — SPA