Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma has arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for an official state visit, the presidency said on Saturday evening.
The visit would serve as an “important structural catalyst” to strengthen bilateral political and economic relations, in particular by strengthening co-operation in the areas of trade and investment and in support of expanding cultural and people-to-people interaction between the two countries, the presidency said in a statement.
Bilateral relations between the two countries were managed through the joint economic commission which held its 7th session on March 14 and 15 in Cape Town under the leadership of Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies and his Saudi Arabian counterpart Tawfeeq Al Rabiah.
Zuma was accompanied by a “substantive” business delegation. In March this year Saudi Arabian firm ACWA Power announced a R15 billion investment in the solar plant project in Groblershoop in the Northern Cape, with a capacity to power more than 200 000 households.
He was also accompanied by minister Davies, International Relations and Co-operation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, State Security Minister David Mahlobo, Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba, and Police Minister Nathi Nhleko, the presidency said.
African News Agency