The third session of the Saudi-Zambian Joint Committee, chaired by Deputy Minister for Agriculture Ahmed Al-Aiadh, was held last Thursday, and attended by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the head of the Zambian delegation, Ms. Kayola Siami, and the Ambassador of the Republic of Zambia to the Kingdom Ibrahim Mumba, as well as several Saudi government sectors’ representatives.
The meetings, which lasted for three days in the capital Riyadh, came within the framework of the General Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation signed between the governments of the two countries in Zambia in 2010, which aims to strengthen relations between the two sides in all fields and develop joint work to meet the ambitions and aspirations of the two countries.
On the sidelines of the current session, Deputy Minister for Agriculture Ahmed Al-Aiadh stressed the importance of efforts to strengthen and expand economic cooperation between the two countries, opening up new economic and trade domains to serve the common interests, and boosting the private sector to pump more investments and benefit from the opportunities available in both countries.
He pointed out that a number of important recommendations were reached, including: enhancing trade cooperation between the two countries, drafting a bilateral trade agreement covering all matters related to trade and investment, reviewing memorandums of understanding in disaster risk management, employment of domestic workers, as well as preparing draft memorandum of understanding with the Council of Saudi Chambers to be a platform for cooperation between the private sectors in both countries. In addition, a technical team from the Ministry of Environment will visit Zambia to assess the epidemiological situation and health procedures in order to study the possibility of lifting the ban on the importation of live livestock to the Kingdom.
Deputy Minister for Agriculture Ahmed Al-Aiadh said that it was agreed between the two sides to establish a committee to follow up on these recommendations. He hoped that the memorandums of understanding would be activated and implemented quickly and that all obstacles to achieving this would be overcome. He noted that the two sides agreed to hold the fourth session of the Saudi-Zambian Joint Committee in Lusaka.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the head of the Zambian delegation, Ms. Kayola Siami thanked the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for it hospitality. She praised the financial support provided by the Kingdom to her country to support the projects in Zambia and hoped that these meetings would be fruitful and beneficial for both countries.