Presidents of Malawi (Dr. Lazarus Chakwera), Zambia (Mr. Hakainde Hichilema), South Africa (Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa), Nigeria (Bola Tinubu) Tanzania (Mdm Samia Suluhu Hassan), Rwanda (Mr. Paul Kagame), Kenya (Mr. William Ruto) and several others are among the African Heads of States of and Governments who are currently hosted in Saudi Arabia for a Saudi-Africa summit.
Other Heads of State include Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, Gabonese interim President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, Mauritius President Prithvirajsing Roopun, and Nigerien Prime Minister Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine.
The first-ever Saudi-Africa economic summit kicks off in Saudi’s capital, Riyadh, today (Friday, 10th November 2023), with the government of Saudi Arabia and African countries set to sign investments and aid deals worth about € 600 million. Malawi’s leader is set to sign a MK22.45 billon financing deal for funding of the Mangochi-Makanjira road.
Mozambique has signed a financing agreement of $158 million with the Saudi Development Fund for infrastructure projects including the construction of hospitals and a dam.
During the preliminary energy agreements that have since been signed with Nigeria, Senegal, Chad and Ethiopia, the Saudi government said it would further help other countries such as Ghana and Malawi with their debts.
The three-day event hopes to boost political and investment ties between Saudi Arabia and Africa, while also addressing regional security threats. Like France, Russia, the United States and China, Saudi Arabia has also stepped up its efforts to strengthen ties with.
In his opening remarks, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said Saudi Arabia and the African continent shared a “common history and destiny”, adding the partnership between the two sides was ever-growing.
Announcing their participation in the summit, other Heads of States took to the social media platform to relay their excitement.
“It is with honor and commitment that I announce my participation in the Saudi-Africa Summit,” announced the president of the Guinean transition, Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya, a few minutes after his arrival in Riyadh, specifying that “this first edition offers” his country “invaluable opportunities in terms of strengthening diplomatic relations, economic and security cooperation.”
For his part, Togolese Head of State Faure Gnassingbé expressed that “African and Saudi leaders will take stock of their partnership,” stressing that the occasion will also be used to “reflect on the prospects for enhanced cooperation.”
Emissary of President General Abdourahamane Tiani, Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine, Prime Minister of Niger’s transitional government, says the summit is “an opportunity for strategic partnerships and to highlight our leading role on the international diplomatic stage,” while Ivorian President Alassane Dramane Ouattara emphasizes the need to “strengthen the partnership between Saudi Arabia and African states, as well as to discuss current global challenges.”
