On behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud – may God protect him-His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister – may God protect him – chaired, in Riyadh, today, the work of the Saudi-African Summit.
Before the start of the summit, memorial photos were taken for His Highness the Crown Prince and Their Excellencies, leaders and presidents of the participating countries.
After that, the summit began with the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran.
Then His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, delivered a speech during the opening of the summit, the text of which follows:
In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful
Your Excellencies and State:
Distinguished attendees:
May the peace, blessings, and mercy of God be upon you.
On behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, we are pleased to welcome you, and to convey to you his wishes for the success of this first Saudi-African summit.
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 as a whole. 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 occupying authority; Let us stress the necessity of stopping this war and forced displacement, and creating conditions for the return of stability and achieving peace.
The Kingdom and African countries support all efforts aimed at achieving security and stability. 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.
Your Excellencies and State:
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has provided more than $45 billion to support development and humanitarian projects in fifty-four African countries, and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center’s aid has reached more than $450 million in 46 African countries, and we in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are determined to develop relations of cooperation and partnership. With African countries and developing areas of trade and integration. 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 ten years. We also look forward to pumping new Saudi investments in various sectors of more than 25 billion dollars. Financing and securing ten billion dollars in exports and providing five billion dollars in additional development financing to Africa until 2030. The Kingdom will increase the number of its embassies in Africa to more than forty embassies.
The Kingdom of 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. The Kingdom is keen to support innovative solutions to address African debts, as it sought during its presidency of the G20 in 2020 to launch initiatives to suspend debt service payments. During the pandemic for low-income countries, and the joint framework initiative to address and restructure debts in many African countries, 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.
We aim 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 its human and natural resources, growth opportunities, and future potential. We are confident that this summit will achieve – God willing – what we all aspire to in the areas of cooperation and partnership in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and African countries.
Peace, mercy and blessings of God.
The official delegation included His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy, His Royal Highness Prince Turki bin Muhammad bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, Minister of State and Member of the Council of Ministers, and His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Interior. His Royal Highness Prince Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Minister of the National Guard, His Royal Highness Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Defense, His Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and His Excellency the Minister of State, Member of the Council of Ministers and National Security Advisor. Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban.
