Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergey Donskoy and The Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, Khalid bin Abdul Aziz al-Falih.

:: The Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, Khalid bin Abdul Aziz al-Falih said that 2000 mining licenses have been provided to the private sector with a total value on of $66 billion in Saudi Arabia..

“The number of mining licenses granted by the ministry to the private sector is approximately 2000 mining licenses covering about 70 thousand square kilometers,” he said during a meeting with the Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergey Donskoy.

Donskoy welcomed an agreement signed between the Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources with Russia to cooperate in the field of mineral wealth.

Donskoy said that this agreement will contribute to the development of cooperation between the two countries in the field of mining investments and geological knowledge, exchange of benefits, investment opportunities and technology transfer.

Al-Falih briefed the Russian minister on the activities of the energy, industry and mineral resources under which the renewable energy and nuclear energy activities are regulated.

Vision 2030

The minister also introduced Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 to his Russian counterparts, which aims quadruple the contribution of the mining sector to the GDP. The minister said that the planned objective is to make this sector third largest contributor to Saudi national economy after oil and petrochemicals.

The minister spoke about Saudi Arabia’s Ma’aden, one of the largest mining companies in the world, and his interest in developing partnerships with investors in Russia to find opportunities.

He added that the Kingdom is rich in mineral deposits where the west of the kingdom has more than 3000 deposits of precious metals.

Al-Falih welcomed Russian companies to Saudi Arabia, stating that Vision 2030 is focused on developing metal manufacturing industries, which will contribute to increase the financial output and provide job opportunities for Saudis.

A Saudi-Russian cooperation committee headed by Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak is expected to visit the kingdom at the end of this month to strengthen relations of cooperation and coordination between the two ministries.

The Russian state company Rosgeo is also scheduled to sign an MOU with the Saudi Arabia in the field of cooperation, coordination and transfer geological and hydrological expertise and technology, the minister said.

Furthermore an agreement was signed between Ma’aden and Russian company PhosAgro in the field of phosphate fuel, gas and sulfur ore.