RIYADH: Bandar Alkhorayaf, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Mines and Industries, 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 capacity, food processing and aviation, while in Chile he will explore lithium production, needed for electric vehicle batteries.
“This is in line with the Kingdom's direction to expand the production of electric cars,” a statement from the Saudi government said.
Alkhorayaf will land in Brazil on Monday and go to Chile, the world's second largest producer of lithium, next Sunday.
On the first leg of the tour in Brazil, Alkhorayaf will meet agricultural and industrial groups, including Minerva Foods, JBS and BRF SA, as well as the Brazilian Mining Association and mining company Vale.
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 his counterpart Aurora Williams, as well as the mining companies Antofagasta, 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 Ma'aden, which is 67 percent owned by PIF, formed a joint venture called Manara Minerals to invest in mining assets abroad.
