Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef today began an official visit to Canada, which will continue until October 2. The visit aims to enhance industrial and mining cooperation between the two countries, explore mutual opportunities in industry and mining, and attract foreign investments to the Kingdom. Accompanying Alkhorayef are leaders in the industry and mining sector.
During the visit, which includes stops in Ottawa and Toronto, the delegation will participate in strategic meetings with government officials and private-sector leaders. It will explore the latest digital financial technologies in the stock market, meet with leading global companies in the mining and geological-survey sector, and visit the University of Toronto and institutions for industrial innovation and human capacity development. The visit will witness the signing of memoranda of understanding to support the development of the industrial and mining sectors.
In Toronto, Minister Alkhorayef will tour t
he Toronto Stock Exchange to learn about the electronic financial systems used there. He will meet with TMX financial group chief executive John McKenzie and TMX president Louis Anastasopoulos to discuss opportunities for cooperation in trading and investment in precious metals.
Alkhorayef will participate in a roundtable meeting organized by the Saudi-Canadian Business Council, in the presence of Ontario Deputy Governor Edith Dumont and the assistant minister of mines in Ontario, Stephen Crawford.
The meeting will address the promising opportunities in the Kingdom’s industrial and mining sectors, the potential and incentives offered to foreign investors, and the relative advantages of investing in Saudi Arabia.
Minister Alkhorayef will visit the University of Toronto to learn about its academic programs supporting the development of the industrial and mining sectors, human-resource development programs, and acquiring high skills in mining operations. He will also meet with the university’s Lassonde Instit
ute for Mining director, Professor Sebastian Goodfellow, and a group of Saudi students studying in Canada.
In Ottawa, he will hold a series of governmental meetings, including a meeting with Minister of International Development Ahmed Hussein and Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry (MISI) Francois-Philippe Champagne, and Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MIHR) executive director Ryan Montpellier. He will also visit the Ministry of Energy, Natural Resources, and Geological Survey of Canada.
Saudi non-oil exports to Canada amounted to 140 million Saudi Riyals in 2023, mainly in ordinary metals and their products, and the Kingdom’s plant products. Meanwhile, the total non-oil imports from Canada during the same year reached 2.89 billion Saudi Riyals, including locomotives and railway lines, pharmaceutical products, optical and imaging instruments, and electrical devices and equipment.
Source: Saudi Press Agency