Riyadh: the inauguration of the conference of Arab-Chinese businessmen

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah inaugurated today, Sunday, June 11, 2023 in Riyadh, the tenth session of the Arab-Chinese Businessmen’s Conference 2023, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Saudi investment in partnership with the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Union of Arab Chambers under the slogan “Cooperation for Prosperity”

During his speech at this conference, sponsored by the Crown Prince and Saudi Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Saudi Foreign Minister affirmed the will of the Crown Prince to raise the level of work in order to achieve results at the height of this historical and avant-garde partnership in all areas of strategic investment between the Arab countries and the People’s Republic of China.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah said that: “The conference is an opportunity to be seized to strengthen and consolidate the historic Sino-Arab friendship and to work towards building a common future towards a new era that will bring benefits to peoples. and maintains peace and development in the world”.

He added that the slogan of the conference “Cooperation for Prosperity” reflects the great importance, great potential and common visions that lie in the trade and investment relations between the Arab world and China, and highlights the way of common understanding and the exchange of expertise and the launch of new opportunities for growth and investment, which would ensure the prosperity, progress and development of the peoples of the region and of the world.

The Foreign Minister referred to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s successful historic visit to Riyadh in December 2022, which further strengthened the ties between the two friendly countries in all fields, be they political, economic, international. investment and trade, this visit coincided with the launch of the first China-Arab summit, and a China-Gulf countries summit, all of which resulted in the signing of numerous agreements and memorandums of understanding worth more than 50 billion dollars, covering several sectors.

He pointed out that China is the largest trading partner of the Arab countries, with the total trade volume between the two sides reaching 430 billion dollars in 2022, with a growth rate of 31 percent compared to 2021, indicating that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia accounts for 25% of the total trade between China and Arab countries, where the trade volume between the Kingdom and China reached 106.1 billion dollars in 2022, a rate of 30% increase compared to 2021.

For his part, the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, clarified that: “Arab-Chinese relations extend through history and plunge into its depths, because the communication between the Arab peoples and Chinese was an element of balance, understanding and confidence.

The Secretary General of the League of Arab States pointed out that the mechanism of the Arab-Chinese businessmen’s conference is one of the first mechanisms established within the framework of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum, because it has clearly contributed to strengthening the process of economic and social development in Arab countries and China.

In this context, the Secretary-General indicated that this edition was of increasing importance, given the negative events in the international situation which had led to a slowdown in the world economy.

Regarding the flow of investment to the Arab region, the Secretary-General indicated during his address that although the region has many opportunities offered by its potential, it has not been able to sufficiently attract foreign capital, in pointing out that there are positive indicators in the light of the launch of ambitious development plans by the Arab countries.

In this conference, which takes place over two days, more than 150 speakers participate among the major international experts and 3000 decision-makers from 23 countries.

The conference aims to consolidate collaboration between the Sino-Arab business community and explore investment opportunities in various fields, including technology, renewable energy, agriculture, real estate, minerals, supply chains and innovation…

Source: Burkina Information Agency