Eng. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Faleh, minister of energy, industry and mineral resources, chaired in Jeddah today a meeting of Arab ministers in charge of mining sector, which was held on the fringes of the Arab 14th conference on mineral resources. In remarks to reporters following the meeting, Al-Faleh said the Kingdom's vision 2030 focused on mineral resources, in its capacity as provider of a substantial source that would guarantee the achievement of prosperity for the nation and nationals. He advised ideal exploitation of the Arab mineral wealth to achieve added values and sustainable development and pave the way for attracting mineral-oriented investments to the Arab countries in addition to enhancing Arab solidarity in the sector of mineral resources and use of advanced technologies in the industry. He praised the turnout of the Arab mineral and mining sector conference, currently ongoing in Jeddah, citing that more than 1000 came from all over the world to participate in the conference. He drew the attention to the Kingdom's orientation that the mining sector would become one of the main pillars of the economy through innovative mechanisms and means that would contribute to attracting local and foreign investments in the mineral and mining sectors, forming partnership between the government and private sectors in establishing infrastructure projects and promoting for the mineral raw materials in the local and external markets. He disclosed that Jubail 2 project will be inaugurated next week, to bring to three, citing Ras Al-Khair and Waad Al-Shimal, new mining projects, together worth SR166 billion, saying that Ras Al-Khair is a giant platform for the Saudi economy, and confirming at the same time the discovery of a number of gas fields in the Red Sea and in Tabuk region.
