Kiir travels to Saudi Arabia for landmark Saudi-African summit

JUBA, NOV. 9, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – President Salva Kiir Mayardit has traveled to Saudi Arabia to attend the Saudi-African Summit.

The summit will take place tomorrow Friday, November 10, 2023, in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, and is expected to bring together heads of state and government from across Africa.

The summit is aimed at identifying areas of cooperation between African states and the oil-rich Gulf nation.

The presidential press secretary Lily Adhieu Martin said the summit will seek to identify fields for cooperation, build a common vision through knowledge-sharing and experiences, and identify projects and frameworks for improving bilateral and multilateral ties between Saudi and African countries.

Saudi Arabia has recently announced that the high-level gathering “will revolve around supporting joint action, enhancing political coordination, addressing regional security threats, facilitating economic transformation through research and the local development of new energy solutions, while bolstering cross-sectoral cooperation.”

The summit is seen as an opportunity for Saudi Arabia to strengthen its political, economic, and social ties with Africa.

King Salman bin Abdulaziz has called on African leaders to attend the summit, saying that it will be a “historic opportunity” to discuss ways to deepen cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, and security.

President Kiir is accompanied to the summit by a number of cabinet members and other government officials. The delegation is expected to hold bilateral talks with Saudi officials on a range of issues, including trade, and investment.

Analysts sees the summit as a landmark event that is expected to have a significant impact on relations between the two regions and as a testament to Saudi Arabia’s growing interest in Africa and Africa’s growing importance in the global economy.