2023-11-10 16:35:21
Saudi Arabia and Africa… laying the foundations for continental integration and a sustainable future
On Friday, the leaders of Saudi Arabia and African countries affirmed their determination to develop relations, cooperation, partnership and development and to lay the foundations for continental integration that charts a sustainable future for the countries and peoples of both sides.
During the opening of the Saudi-African summit, on Friday in Riyadh, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, announced the launch of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ development initiative in Africa, to launch development projects and programs in the countries of the continent with a value exceeding one billion dollars over a period of ten years.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged to pump more than $25 billion in new Saudi investments into various sectors, finance and secure $10 billion in exports, provide $5 billion in additional development financing to Africa until 2030, and increase the number of Saudi embassies in Africa to more than 40 embassies.
African leaders, for their part, described the Saudi-African summit as “historic,” recalling the spiritual, cultural, economic and commercial relations in Saudi Arabia, calling for laying foundations for cooperation for a short, medium and long-term strategy, especially in the development and economic field.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman delivers his speech at the opening of the summit (SPA)
African leaders considered Saudi Arabia a role model for its development efforts in Africa, and it has a pivotal role in advancing development in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea Basin, in addition to financial support, political and security aspects, and regional integration.
At the conclusion of the summit, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah announced the adoption of the “Riyadh Declaration,” which represents the road map for Saudi-African relations.
Saudi commitment to cooperation and integration
In his speech to African leaders, Prince Mohammed bin Salman affirmed Saudi Arabia’s keenness to enhance cooperation in a way that contributes to establishing security and peace in the region and the entire world. He said: “We are pleased, on behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, to welcome you and to convey to you “His best wishes for the success of this first Saudi-African summit.”
He added: “The Kingdom and African countries are keen to enhance cooperation in a way that contributes to establishing security and peace in the region and the world at large. We condemn the military aggression witnessed in the Gaza Strip, the targeting of civilians, and the continued violations of international humanitarian law by the Israeli occupation authority; Let us stress the need to stop this war and forced displacement, and create conditions for the return of stability and the achievement of peace.”
Prince Mohammed explained that the Kingdom and African countries support “all efforts aimed at achieving security and stability.” He added: “In this regard, we welcome the resumption of the Jeddah talks with representatives of both sides of the crisis in Sudan, and we hope that the language of dialogue will be the basis for preserving the unity of the Republic of Sudan and the security of its people and capabilities.”
Prince Mohammed bin Salman chairs the Saudi-African summit in Riyadh (SPA)
He continued: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has provided more than $45 billion to support development and humanitarian projects in 54 African countries, and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center’s aid has amounted to more than $450 million in 46 African countries, and we in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are determined to develop relations.” Cooperation and partnership with African countries and developing areas of trade and integration.”
The Crown Prince added, “From this standpoint, we are pleased to announce the launch of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ development initiative in Africa, by launching development projects and programs in the countries of the continent with a value exceeding one billion dollars over a period of 10 years. We also look forward to pumping new Saudi investments into various sectors, including… More than $25 billion, financing and securing $10 billion in exports and providing $5 billion in additional development financing to Africa until 2030. The Kingdom will increase the number of its embassies in Africa to more than 40 embassies.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman stressed that “Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries to provide its declared support for the African Union to obtain permanent membership in the G20, out of its belief in Africa’s role, and the Kingdom is keen to support innovative solutions to address African debts. During its presidency of the G20 in 2020, it sought to launch initiatives to suspend debt service payments during the pandemic for low-income countries, and the Common Framework Initiative to address and restructure debts in many African countries.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his presidency of the Saudi-African summit in Riyadh (SPA)
He continued: “The Kingdom supports sustainable development and always affirms the right of countries to develop their own resources and capabilities. We renew our commitment to the security and sustainability of energy supplies, benefiting from all energy sources, developing technologies, clean fuel solutions and systems, and providing food for more than 750 million African people.”
The Crown Prince pointed out that the Kingdom aims to “host Expo 2030 in Riyadh, and present an exceptional and unprecedented edition in the history of this exhibition that contributes to anticipating a better future for humanity. We look forward to your participation with the Kingdom in highlighting the important role of Africa and the human and natural resources and opportunities it enjoys.” Growth and future potential, and we are confident that this summit will achieve, God willing, what we all aspire to in terms of a qualitative shift in the areas of cooperation and partnership in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and African countries.”
A new era of cooperation and partnership
President of the United Republic of the Comoros, Othman Ghazali, stressed that African countries seek, through their participation in the first summit with Saudi Arabia, to develop relations and open a new era of cooperation and partnership, noting the importance of working to achieve security and hope for both sides.
Ghazali pointed out that Africa’s most important needs focus on modern technology, investments and infrastructure, indicating that the Saudi initiative to hold this summit enables Africa to move forward. He said: “Saudi Arabia and Africa have the potential. Africa is a large market and Saudi Arabia can benefit from it.”
Part of the work of the first Saudi-African summit in Riyadh (SPA)
A partnership built on clear principles
For his part, Musa Mohammed, Commissioner of the African Union, touched on the spiritual, historical, cultural, economic and commercial relations between Africa and Saudi Arabia that need no explanation or explanation, as he put it, noting that these relations “are translated by the bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and a large number of members of the African Union, and the wide field of diverse projects.” Of benefit in large fields.
He added: “Our first summit is required to establish this path and develop effective plans to advance it, expand it, and move it forward at a steady, systematic pace. We believe that partnership, any partnership, must be built on a clear vision and principles (…) The African continent and Saudi Arabia, we both have a common vision, and it is wise for it to be Our partnership is built on a specific agenda for the coming decades, to develop and multiply it in conjunction with the short, medium and long-term strategy, especially developmental and economic.”
According to the African Union Commissioner, the continent’s priority is infrastructure, energy, food security, agriculture and modern technology, and mobilizing financial resources for development purposes and building human capabilities in a manner consistent with the needs of millions of women and youth to reduce unemployment and limit migration rates.
The Saudi development model in Africa
Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh, in turn, praised the Saudi initiative to hold the summit in light of the geostrategic transformations the region is experiencing, which came to consolidate the principle of collective action to build a better future for the region and the world, as he put it.
Guelleh pointed out in his speech that this summit reflects Saudi Arabia’s regional and international standing and its political weight, considering it a country of initiatives and solutions. He added: “Saudi Arabia is a model to be followed in keeping pace with development efforts in Africa. The Kingdom has a pivotal role in advancing development in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea Basin, and its contributions are invaluable.” It is limited to financial support, but rather to aspects of life, including aspects of a political and security nature and regional integration.”
Build deeper partnerships and relationships
In his speech, Hakainde Hichilema, President of the Republic of Zambia, stressed that the Saudi initiative has long been awaited by Africa, looking forward to building a deep cooperation partnership with the Kingdom, and that the African continent is ready to deal with the Kingdom with regard to developing its economies and supporting its people.
He said: “We are looking for relationships that will allow us to benefit from the wealth of our countries individually and collectively. Africa has these wealth required to achieve prosperity for the whole world (…) What we need is to form partnerships that can accomplish these areas, and we thank the Kingdom for its efforts to achieve peace in the region.” And others, and we would like to see deeper relations between Saudi Arabia and the African continent.”
Exploiting opportunities and exploring the future
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed described the Saudi-African summit as representing an important historical moment in Saudi-African relations that provides an opportunity to talk regarding the potential for cooperation, pointing out that Africa provided a safe haven for the followers of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and welcomed and protected the Companions.
Ahmed noted the firm Saudi commitment over the past decades to the development of the African continent, noting that the African continent is now laying the foundations for continental integration to utilize its resources, in harmony with Saudi Vision 2030 to achieve economic and commercial benefits.
He added: “All our ambitions for development and adopt them at the level of the African Union agenda and in line with the goals of sustainable development and the Saudi vision. We must exploit the opportunities in all these visions to achieve economic progress, and search in other areas on the continent to expand economic and trade cooperation and explore other areas.”
Energy of the present and future
Kenyan President William Ruto began his speech by affirming that a person can choose his friend, but he cannot choose his neighbor, indicating that Saudi Arabia and Africa are neighbors and have a history of relations and cooperation.
Ruto believes that the two sides have the energy of the present and the future, which can be used to enable development and unlock potential in Africa.
He continued: “We have a young population in Saudi Arabia and Africa. 65 percent of the population of Africa is under 30 years old, and 40 percent of the Saudi population is under 30 years old. We have the workforce for the present and the future,” adding: “We can start with great and enormous opportunities for investments with the presence of resources.” Capitalism in the Kingdom and natural resources on our continent.”
Achieving summit outcomes
For her part, Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of Tanzania, praised during her speech the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to achieve strong partnerships with the African continent, build joint economic forces and exploit human resources on both sides, stressing the importance of investing in human capital, especially youth, and making it a road map towards development and prosperity.
Hassan touched on the importance of food security and working on it, indicating that Africa can be the global food basket, by modernizing agricultural work patterns and investing all capabilities to reach the desired output, noting that Tanzania is interested in food security and has an ambitious agenda to support the growth of the agricultural sector and increase the capital that it generates. Contributes to its development.
The President of Tanzania stressed the importance of achieving the outcomes of this summit, through continuous coordination and communication, and mobilizing all resources and supporting them to achieve progress, noting what the Kingdom is offering in this direction and its strengthening of trade and investment in Africa and creating new opportunities for cooperation.
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