Riyadh: The ministry announced on Sunday that Saudi Arabia's Minister of Industry and Mines, Bandar al-Kharayaf, will visit Brazil and Chile this week.
In Brazil, he will hold meetings with officials to discuss expanding the kingdom's mining, food processing and aviation capacity, while in Chile he will look into lithium production needed for electric vehicle batteries.
“This is in line with the Kingdom's direction to develop the production of electric vehicles,” the Saudi Arabian government said in a statement.
El Khorayaf will land in Brazil on Monday and next Sunday will leave for Chile, the world's second largest producer of lithium.
On the first leg of the tour in Brazil, Al Khorayaf will meet with agricultural and industrial groups including Minerva Foods, JBS, and BRF SA, as well as the Brazilian Mining Association and Vale Mining Company.
Brazil's Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira said last month that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund plans to invest $15 billion in Brazil in areas such as green hydrogen, infrastructure and renewable energy.
In Chile, the minister will meet with his counterpart, Aurora Williams, as well as Antofagasta Mining and Codelco, a state-owned company tasked with bringing the Chilean government into the lithium industry.
Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, PIF, and the kingdom's mining company, known as Maaden, which is 67 percent owned by PIF, formed a joint venture called Manara Minerals to invest in mineral assets abroad.
