Saudi Arabia's Kattan Tours Africa to Bolster Ties, Sign Agreements

Gulf

October 28th, 7:12am

London - Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi Minister of State for African Affairs Ambassador Ahmed Kattan - AAWSAT AR

Saudi Minister of State for African Affairs Ahmed Kattan will tour several African countries to sign the general cooperation agreement and the memorandum of understanding for political consultation. He will first visit Uganda, followed by Senegal and Guinea Bissau, as part of Saudi Arabia's efforts to strengthen relations with these countries. Kattan said this tour comes under the directives of the Saudi leadership to consolidate relations with African countries. It also complements the tours he made to several African countries at the beginning of this year including Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Togo, Ghana, and Cote d'Ivoire. In December, Kattan visited Central Africa, Congo-Brazzaville, Angola, and Zambia. He also visited Chad, Niger, Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Madagascar. Relations between Saudi Arabia and Africa developed more extensively with the start of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz leadership. Its impact was evident in the boom in relations and initiatives to enhance partnerships. Riyadh assigned a minister for African affairs to establish stronger political ties, new security connections, and institutional frameworks with many African countries. Saudi-African relations are deepening within the scope of non-diplomatic relations, including all aspects of international economic, financial, scientific, educational, cultural, media, and social ties. They aim to address the imbalance of living conditions, environmental problems, food shortages, and the pandemic affecting African peoples. Saudi Arabia also launched mediation efforts to resolve the conflicts facing African states.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3271526/saudi-arabias-kattan-tours-africa-bolster-ties-sign-agreements