Saudi Arabia-South Sudan partnership to leverage on agriculture and energy
Saudi Arabia will seize opportunities in South Sudan to spearhead economic transformation, said the country’s minister of foreign affairs, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud.
Faisal stated that the countries needed to focus on traditional fields, renewable energy, and food security as focal areas of cooperation.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is ready to explore these opportunities, and now the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is working… to determine the specific areas in which it can cooperate with South Sudan,” he said.
President Salva Kiir said Al-Saud’s visit was timely because the country is inching towards the total stability needed to unlock investment opportunities for its citizens to benefit from natural resources.
“We are so privileged to host you here today as you are the first high-profile government official to visit South Sudan from the Gulf States since our independence,” said President Salva Kiir.
The president added that the country had great investment opportunities in areas such as agriculture, food processing, animal husbandry, manufacturing, and tourism, stressing that there were inadequate skills and technology to explore such avenues.
“We lack skills and the necessary technology, and your investment will enable us to open up our potential as bread basket in the region,’’ he added.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mayiik Ayii Deng, stressed the need to advance bilateral cooperation to unlock robust investment opportunities for the two countries, rooted in biodiversity.
“Our biodiversity, potential for agricultural investment and vast land mass stand as just a few examples of prospective stabilising investments. Motivated by this spirit and analysis, we are proud to continue our discussions based on economic stabilization and a longstanding peace plan along our border with Sudan. We believe it speaks to specific attributes and capacities unique to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ” Mayiik added.
Since the beginning of this year, President Kiir has shown interest in striking bilateral relations with Arab countries to take up investment opportunities in the country.
In February 2022, he invited investors from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to come into the country and invest during Dubai Expo 2020.
“Our game reserves are home to some of the greatest mammals in Africa when this is added to the vast agricultural land along with our abundant minerals.” It is clear that we are a country of diverse potential,’’ President Kiir said.
“All we need now in South Sudan are investors in agriculture and tourism fields. The message I brought to the United Arab Emirates is that South Sudan is ready for investment. “
Many investors had been shying away from investing in South Sudan given the prevalence of insecurity across the country, as well as corruption, and limited infrastructure.
The head of state highlighted agriculture, tourism, and minerals like gold, oil, and iron as some of the major areas of investment, among others.
