RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Turkiye have signed an agreement for cooperation in the mining sector.

The memorandum of understanding was signed by the Kingdom’s minister of industry and mineral resources, Bandar Al-Khorayef, and his Turkish counterpart, Alparslan Bayraktar, during the former’s current official visit to Turkiye.

The deal aims to enhance collaboration through the transfer of knowledge and exchange of expertise in mineral exploration services, supply chains, laboratories, drilling techniques, and geological services, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.

Other goals include fostering greater cooperation in research and development, clean mining technologies, resource efficiency and substitution, and other related technologies, and encouraging support for private-sector organizations in Saudi Arabia and Turkiye to invest in the sector.

During his visit to Turkiye, Al-Khorayef met a number of ministers and other officials from the Turkish government, and held two meetings with investors, one in Ankara and the other in Istanbul.

In addition to signing the mining cooperation agreement, Al-Khorayef and Bayraktar discussed other issues of mutual interest and concern, with a particular focus on the industrial and mining sectors, and ways in which cooperation between their countries might be enhanced.

In a separate meeting, Al-Khorayef and Omer Bolat, the Turkish minister of trade, discussed opportunities for Saudi Arabia and Turkiye to enhance their economic partnership to help achieve their joint aspirations.

Earlier, Al-Khorayef participated in a roundtable meeting hosted by the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey.

He said the Kingdom will be an important destination for Turkish investors due to its economic position, especially after the launch of Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to change the reality of the Saudi economy and reduce its dependence on oil, and benefit from the Kingdom’s distinguished geographical location to be an economic center for the region.

The minister reiterated that the Kingdom is interested in developing the infrastructure that adopts modern technologies, as the national strategy for industry focuses on technology, including artificial intelligence and 3D printing, in addition to creating globally competitive industrial investments in the long term.