Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir stressed that the visit to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia by President of South Africa Jacob Zuma was positive, saying that the two sides were keen to strengthen and deepen their relations in all fields to become strategic relations between the two countries. During a joint press conference held here today with South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Al-Jubeir welcomed the first visit to the Kingdom by President Zuma and his talks with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and other Saudi senior officials, noting the president's decoration with the Order of King Abdulaziz of first class and his visit to the projectiles factory at the Military Industries Corporation in Al-Kharj, as well as President Zuma's meeting with Saudi and South African businessmen. Al-Jubair noted the Saudi-South African talks by President Zuma and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques as well as by the foreign ministers of the two countries. Al-Jubair praised the noble positions of South Africa on the Palestinian issue and highlighted the importance of finding a solution to the Syrian crisis on the basis of the Geneva Declaration 1 and the importance of finding a Yemeni-Yemeni political solution to the crisis in Yemen on the basis of Security Council resolution 2216. He also said that the two sides discussed the importance of adhering to the principle of non-interference in the affairs of others, and that there was a desire by the two countries to strengthen cooperation in the field of security with regard to combating terrorism and extremism. The Foreign Minister noted the numerous meetings on the sidelines of the visit between the accompanying ministers of President Zuma and their counterparts in the kingdom both in the fields of health and agriculture, Director of the Board of Directors of Aramco, officials from the Saudi Development Fund, the Public Investment Fund and other officials to build a new bases for the strong relations between the two countries, stressing that there will be follow-up by the two countries in all fields, whether in the military manufacturing, energy, renewable energy or petrochemical and in agriculture, tourism and services, among others. He added that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and South Africa are member states of the Group of Twenty and that the two countries have interests in the Indian Ocean adding that trade exchange between the two countries has been rising by a percentage exceeding 20 per cent annually. He expressed desire to further boost this trade and strengthen and intensify political and security consultation between the two countries. --More
