Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Aramco believes China’s Belt and Road initiative holds great potential to bridge East and West Asia, said Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser.
It is time to turn opportunities into realities that will benefit future generations as Saudi Arabia and China develop and grow into knowledge-oriented, innovation-driven economies, he added at the China Development Forum 2016 in Beijing.
Highlighting numerous opportunities for mutual growth, Nasser told ministers, officials and global executives that Saudi Arabia provides China’s Belt and Road initiative with an ideal platform for prosperous trade between the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.
Speaking at the panel session ‘Establishing New Industry and New Growth Drivers’, Nasser said the opportunity to forge closer ties in energy and other sectors received a fresh impetus in January, when King Salman ibn Abdulaziz and President of China Xi Jinping inaugurated the YASREF joint venture refinery of Saudi Aramco and Sinopec. Also in January, Saudi Aramco and Chinese government entities signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) to enable closer collaboration.
Nasser said the Belt and Road initiative holds significant win-win promise, provided there is close collaboration.
“Among other commonalities, both China and the Kingdom are travelling toward knowledge-based innovation driven economies. Our close alignment on new business models and prudent reforms makes us ideal partners on this journey and in fact I see similar paths that can speed us toward our destination,” he said.
