The first Saudi- Africa Summit expected to forge stronger strategic partnership between the Middle East country and Africa to boost economic growth, trade and investment opportunities opens here today in Riyadh,Saudi Arabia.
A number of African heads and ministers of state including from Ghana are expected to attend the conference which will also discuss security matters and how to facilitate economic transformation through research and development.
Meanwhile, Ghanaian Times has learnt that the 5th Arab-Africa summit which was also expected to take place here had been cancelled due to the development in Gaza.
The Arab- Africa summit seeks to identify fields of cooperation, build common vision and develop framework for improving bilateral and multilateral ties between Arabs and Africans.
The Ghanaian Times has gathered that the Arab and Islamic states are engaged in meetings to help address the situation in Gaza, in the midst of the Hamas- Israeli conflict.
The Saudi authorities will seek to strengthen their and historical relationship with Africa, ostensibly due to the proximity of the Arabian peninsula to the African continent.
The relationships between the two have expanded over the years, resulting into high presence of at least 40 Africa Embassies in Riyadh, and conversely Saudi Arabia have at least 35 Embassies on the Africa continent, according to official source.
From Alhaji Salifu Abdul-Rahaman, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
