Two nations have already agreed to seek access to nickel, lithium for electric-vehicle batteries DUBAI: Saudi Arabia and Japan have signed a pact to expand cooperation in the mining and mineral resources sector. The agreement was inked on Sunday in Riyadh between Japan’s Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Ken Saito and Saudi Arabia’s Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Bandar AlKhorayef. The pact highlights Japan’s commitment to work with the Kingdom, which has a stable supply of minerals, while Saudi Arabia aims to diversify its economy. Earlier this month, the two ministers met to discuss further economic cooperation, with Saito highlighting the benefits of the Japan-Saudi Vision 2030 agreement. In March, Saito visited Riyadh and signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia to invest in Africa and other resource-rich nations — with a focus on securing interests in nickel, lithium and other minerals for the production of electric vehicle batteries. Saito stated: “We would like to promote efforts to strengthen the supply chain of important minerals by actively involving companies from both countries. In addition, Saito also met with Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih to discuss economic relations. Meanwhile, the National Debt Management Center and the Ministry of Finance signed a memorandum of understanding with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation that is expected to explore the potential expansion of the existing relationship and cooperation to facilitate activities of mutual benefit and foster further cooperation between the two sides. The National Water Company and the Japanese FujiClean Company signed on Sunday a memorandum of understanding to foster cooperation in the transfer, localization, and development of advanced wastewater treatment technologies produced by FujiClean. The goal is to register cutting-edge technologies as global products in the Kingdom, facilitating their application in wastewater treatment operations throughout the country and the surrounding region. NWC Executive Deputy for Projects and Technical Services Sector Mansour Abu Thunain stressed that the memorandum aligns with the company’s ongoing efforts to localize wastewater treatment technologies and seeks to establish partnerships and collaborations with local and international entities to improve the water industry. He said the features of the new Japanese technology, which boasts user-friendly operation, cost-effectiveness, and a minimal space requirement, make it suitable for deployment in remote and dispersed population areas, utilizing a decentralized approach to contribute to expanding wastewater services throughout the Kingdom. Underlining NWC’s commitment as a national company, Abu Thunain said it will collaborate with the Japanese side to implement an empowerment and localization program for the technologies offered by FujiClean. The comprehensive initiative includes developing training programs for NWC engineers and technicians, as well as expanding current capabilities and the national workforce through collaboration with both local and foreign sectors, under the terms outlined in the memorandum.