RIYADH, 8 January 2023 - Gerd Müller, Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), started his official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to strengthen cooperation between UNIDO and the Kingdom.

Director General Müller met Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, and discussed opportunities for further cooperation to contribute to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 aiming to diversify the Kingdom’s economy.

Müller expressed his appreciation of the efforts of the Kingdom to achieve its Vision 2030 and commended the National Industrial Strategy launched by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in October 2022.

The National Industrial Strategy aims at accelerating economic diversification, making the country a manufacturing powerhouse, and taking the number of industrial facilities from 10,640 at present to around 36,000 by 2035.

Director General Müller also met with Prince Sultan Al Saud, CEO of the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, which was set up to promote industrial investment opportunities, strengthen local industry, and enhance its performance.

Müller said, “UNIDO will enhance its cooperation with Saudi Arabia to support the country’s efforts and vision in areas such as agro-industry, responsible mining, energy, decarbonization, digitalization and quality standards”.

During his visit to Riyadh, Director General Müller will meet with Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman Al Saud, Minister of Energy, to discuss cooperation opportunities under the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative.

Müller will also meet with Sultan Bin Abdulrahman Al-Marshad, CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development and Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid And Relief Centre to discuss cooperation beyond Saudi Arabia.

During this mission, the Director General will also speak in the Ministerial Round Table of the Future Minerals Forum 2023 convened by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to advance the mining goals of countries across the Middle East, Central Asia and North and East Africa. The 2023 edition of the Forum aims to connect global policymakers with investors and business leaders across the mining value chain and its supporting industries.

Several site visits are also planned, including a visit to Riyadh Second Industrial City, managed by the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (MODON), and to the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu.