A delegation of top Saudi officials and businessmen will participate in the Arab-South American Summit in Peru on Monday and Tuesday to widen political, commercial and cultural links.
This third summit of the heads of state and government of Arab and South American countries is “a key pillar” of the bridge connecting the two important regions, said Peruvian Ambassador Eduardo Martinetti in Riyadh yesterday.
He pointed out that a meeting of the foreign ministers of Arab and South American countries would also be held on the sidelines of the summit in Lima. This will be in addition to an Arab-South American business forum and a series of cultural events, which will form part of the summit program.
The Saudi delegation, which left for the Peruvian capital yesterday, is composed of senior Saudi officials and diplomats led by Ambassador Fahd A. Al-Rajeh, director of the Arab League department.
According to Martinetti, Peru has invited more than 71 Saudi businessmen and chief executive officers to attend the business forum. “The support of the Saudi Council of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry have been crucial in organizing this high-profile Saudi participation,” he added.
The move is primarily intended to promote business relations between the Arab world and South America. “In a moment of economic uncertainty in other parts of the world, these regions bring together an enormous — yet greatly unexplored — potential for economic exchange and cooperation,” said Peruvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Rafael Roncaglioglo in a statement released by the Peruvian mission ahead of the summit.
“For sure, each region faces its own daring challenges,” said the envoy. South America, where the combination of a stable and expansionary macroeconomic environment and natural resources has created an attractive setting for international investors looking for emerging market opportunities, still confronts the need to transform its high growth rates of recent years into sustainable development and social inclusion, he added.
For its part, the Arab region traverses a historic period of social and political transformation along with an evolution and diversification of its economic structures, read the statement. “Our young generations are more eager than ever to learn each other’s languages and traditions and to build friendships through travel and social media.”
The summit is an opportunity for the Arab and South American countries to show to the world a common ambition.
The political and business leaders will pledge, during the summit and the business meetings, to look beyond the current domestic challenges and work together to shape the new global world, build a relationship of strong dialogue, trade, investment, cooperation, and culture between the two regional blocs.
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