The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, has held talks with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on bilateral relations and prospects for cooperation between Saudi Arabia and South Africa in various fields. Prior to the talks on Thursday, the King decorated the President of South Africa with the King Abdulaziz medal to honor him. The King also held a ceremony in honor of Ramaphosa and his accompanying delegation, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The President was also received by Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Governor of Makkah Region Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The meeting was attended by Prince Khalid Al Faisal, Minister of State Prince Mansour bin Mutaib, Minister of Interior Prince Abdul Aziz bin Nayef, Minister of State Musaed al-Aiban, Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Jadaan, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Obeid Madani, Minister of State for African Affairs Ahmad Qattan, and Saudi Ambassador to South Africa Garm bin Saeed al-Mulhan. The South African delegation included Foreign Minister Linduyu Sisulu, the South African Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Energy Minister Jeff Radebe, Defense Minister and Military Veterans Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula, Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba, and several officials. Ramaphosa arrived in Jeddah on Wednesday evening. At King Abdulaziz International Airport, he was received by Deputy Governor of Makkah Region Prince Abdullah bin Bandar, Minister of State for African Countries Affairs Ahmed Qattan, the accompanying minister, and other officials. Later, Crown Prince Mohammed met with the visiting president to discuss issues of common interest in addition to means of enhancing bilateral relations in various fields. The meeting was attended by Minister of Interior Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud, Minister of State and Member of the Council of Ministers Musaed al-Aiban, Minister of Commerce and Investment Majid al-Qasabi, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid al-Falih, Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Jadaan, and a number of officials. On Thursday, Ramaphosa received at his guest residence in Jeddah a number of ministers and officials including al-Qasabi, al-Falih, al-Jadaan, and Consultant at the Secretariat General of the Cabinet Ahmed al-Khateeb, who is also Chairman of the Board of Directors for Military Industries. Following the meeting, Qasabi said in remarks to SPA that the meeting dealt with aspects of cooperation in the economic, commercial and industrial fields, including the plan of South Africa to invest in the field of medicine industry, health and mining through joint ventures. He added that they discussed the plan to form a Saudi-South African business council to increase the size of joint trade exchanged between the two friendly countries. For his part, al-Jadaan said the historic relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of South Africa are distinguished, citing that South Africa is a member of the G20 as well as a host of regional and international organizations. He asserted that the coordination of economic relations between the two countries is very important, saying: “We have coordination between us in the G20 and the IMF". He added that South Africa is planning to take part in investments according to Vision 2030 in the financial and economic fields. After his meeting with the South African president, Falih said that Saudi Arabia is considered the largest oil exporter to South Africa with exports of about 150,000 barrels. He announced that the meeting with Ramaphosa and his counterpart, Minister Jeff Radebe, discussed investments in petrochemicals facilities and refineries. The South African delegation expressed its desire that some Saudi companies of the private sector invest in the electricity generation in South Africa. Later, al-Khateeb held a meeting with South African Defense Minister and Military Veterans Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula. After the meeting, al-Khateeb indicated that they discussed cooperation opportunities in the field of military industries between the two countries. He pointed out that a plan was devised for cooperation in the development of advanced military defense systems, stating that the meetings and discussions will continue between the two countries to implement joint programs.