RIYADH: Bandar Alharayaf, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Mines and Industry, will visit Brazil and Chile this week, the ministry said on Sunday.
In Brazil, he will hold meetings with officials to discuss expanding the Kingdom's mining, food processing and aviation capabilities, while in Chile he will study the production of lithium, needed for electric vehicle batteries.
“This is in line with the Kingdom's direction to expand the production of electric vehicles,” the Saudi government said in a statement.
The Alkhorayaf will land in Brazil on Monday and head to Chile, the world's second-largest lithium producer, next Sunday.
On the first leg of the tour in Brazil, Alkhorayaf will meet with agricultural and industrial groups, including Minerva Foods, JBS and BRF SA, as well as the Brazilian Mining Association and mining company Vale.
Brazilian 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 the Antofagasta mining company and Codelco, the state-owned company tasked with attracting the Chilean government to the lithium industry.
Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, PIF, and a royal mining company known as Ma'aden, which is 67 percent owned by PIF, have formed a joint venture called Manara Minerals to invest in mining assets abroad.
