His Royal Highness Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia will pay an official visit to South Africa from 20 to 24 May 1999. HRH the Crown Prince will be accompanied by a high-level delegation which will include his brother HRH Prince Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, as well as the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Petroleum and Minerals, Industry and Electricity as well as Finance and National Economy.
During his visit, the Crown Prince is scheduled to have bilateral discussions with President Mandela, as well as with Deputy President Thabo Mbeki. The members of the Council of Ministers accompanying HRH the Crown Prince will also meet with their South African counterparts. Provision has been made for the signing of bilateral agreements, including an Agreement on Economic, Trade, Investment and Technical Co-operation, which will provide the framework for future cooperation between the two countries. Relations between South Africa and Saudi Arabia have improved significantly since diplomatic relations were first established in 1994. This is evidenced by the number of high-level visits exchanged between the two countries, as well as increased contact in the field of trade and investment. Both President Mandela and Deputy President Mbeki have been to Saudi Arabia on more than one occasion, while several members of the Saudi royal family and members of the Council of Ministers have been to South Africa. These include HRH Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, the Minister of Defence and Aviation, who visited South Africa in 1997.
Saudi Arabia is presently the second biggest market for South African products in the Arab world with bilateral trade totalling R2.5 billion during the first eleven months of 1998. This is a significant increase on total trade of R1.9 billion during the same period in 1997. The Kingdom is also becoming increasingly important as a source of crude oil and is presently the third largest supplier of this commodity to the Republic.
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
PRETORIA
19 MAY 1999