The pharmaceutical, trade, and critical minerals industry relations in the industrial sphere will be reinforced by Saudi Arabia building more cooperation with European partners during the high-level discussions in France and Belgium.
The Saudi Press Agency stated that Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim AlKhorayef took advantage of the meetings in the two countries to advance pharmaceutical manufacturing alliances and critical minerals collaboration with Europe as part of his official trips.
The drive is in line with Vision 2030 actions to localize strategic industries and supply chains, promote the National Industrial Strategy, and strengthen domestic pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing to improve health security.
AlKhorayef has a meeting with Thomas Triomphe in Lyon, the executive vice president and head of vaccines at Sanofi, over an opportunity to localize vaccine and biopharmaceutical production in the Kingdom.
The SPA report stated, “During the meeting, His Excellency viewed a presentation on the company’s journey as a global pharmaceutical group, its strategic directions in vaccine and biopharmaceutical manufacturing, key performance indicators, and its investments in research and development.”
It reported, “AlKhorayef also visited the industrial facilities, production lines, and quality control laboratories, observing the vaccine manufacturing process from the development of active ingredients through packaging according to the highest safety and quality standards, culminating in the rigorous testing and control systems that ensure product efficacy and safety before market release.”
He also paid a visit to Benta Group in the French city, where he was invited by the Chairman and Chief Executive Bernard Tannoury. In the course of the visit, he was introduced to the history and origins of the group in the French market and its evolution in the pharmaceutical manufacturing.
The field visits and meetings in France are a part of the official visit of the minister to the country, which will strengthen the ties of cooperation between the industry, attract high-quality investments in the biopharmaceutical industry, and transfer highly developed knowledge and technologies.
AlKhorayef made an official visit to Belgium and had bilateral meetings with Dubravka Suica, European Commissioner of the Mediterranean, and Maros Sefcovic, European Commissioner of Trade and Economic Security, in Brussels at the headquarters of the EU.
The discussions at the meetings covered areas of collaboration to strengthen the role of the Kingdom as a central partner in contributing to economic security, integrating global supply chains to ensure the smooth flow of international trade, and securing supplies of essential minerals at the global level.
In the meeting with Suica, the minister discussed ways to deepen bilateral economic cooperation and expand partnership opportunities between the Kingdom and the EU, confirming Saudi Arabia as a supporter of regional and international economic security and readiness to strengthen coordination on matters of common interest to ensure economic stability and resilience under the influence of global changes and transformations.
During his visit to Sefcovic, AlKhorayef talked about the possibility of collaboration in the field of commerce and enhancing the safety of the global supply chains, finding prospects of industrial value chain coordination between the Kingdom and the EU member states, and broadening the combination of investments in priority areas.
The discussions in Belgium are also within the framework of the visit by AlKhorayef to exchange expertise, reinforce cooperation with the European nations in advanced industries, and entice high-quality investments to the Kingdom.
