Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz welcomes Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro after his arrival.

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud has said on Tuesday that the opportunities for further strengthening economic ties among Arab and South American countries are promising.

Inaugurating the 4th Arab and South American Summit at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center on Tuesday, King Salman expressed satisfaction over the convergence of views among leaders of the participating countries toward a number of international issues and problems, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The Saudi King also commended the positive positions of the friendly nations of South America that are supportive of the Arab causes, especially the Palestine issue.

Several world leaders, including U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt also addressed the opening session of the two-day summit that aims to strengthen ties between the geographically distant but economically powerful regions.

Bilateral ties

King Salman vowed Saudi keenness to develop and enhance bilateral ties with all the Arab and South American states in various fields.

“The chances of developing the economic relations between our countries are promising, with good tidings to achieve development and prosperity of our countries, leading us to overcome the obstacles and constraints and encourage and support the flow of investments, exchange of experiences and technology transfer,” he said.

King Salman also lauded the excellent growth in the bilateral trade exchange and volume of investments ever since the first summit in Brasilia in 2005.

“We pin hope on achieving more progress in this field. Hence, we call for the establishment of councils of businessmen, as well as to explore the prospect of signing free trade agreements, and avoiding double taxation, in addition to encouraging and protecting investments in between the countries of the two regions, which will provide a legal and regulatory framework to boost trade flows among them,” the King added.

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