Mining Cooperation Advances As Saudi Minister Holds High-level Talks Ahead Of Future Minerals Forum

Saudi Arabia is stepping up diplomatic engagement ahead of the fifth Future Minerals Forum, as Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef held several high-level meetings with international counterparts in Riyadh, in the presence of Vice Minister for Mining Affairs Eng. Khalid Almudaifer, to expand cooperation in mining and related industries.

The Future Minerals Forum, scheduled to run in Riyadh from 13 to 15 January 2026, is planned as a global platform for policy dialogue on mining and minerals, aiming to support new partnerships between governments and companies and to reinforce Saudi Arabia’s role as an international centre for the mining sector.

During preparations for the forum, Bandar Alkhorayef met Minister of Mines and Energy of the Federative Republic of Brazil Alexandre Silveira, where the two sides discussed ways to deepen cooperation in mining and minerals, and examined specific prospects for joint mining investments between Saudi Arabia and Brazil across different resource-rich locations.

In discussions with Federal Minister of Energy (Petroleum Division) of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Ali Pervaiz Malik, attention turned to strategic links between mining and food security, as both ministers considered expanding their partnership in mineral-based industries that support agricultural production chains and related industrial inputs in both Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

Alkhorayef also met Minister of Solid Minerals Development of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Dele Alake, and the talks covered opportunities for technical cooperation, training and downstream industrial activity, while underlining Nigeria’s significant economic importance in West Africa and its potential role in wider regional mineral supply networks.

Another meeting brought together Minister Alkhorayef and Minister of Mines of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Louis Watum Kabamba, with discussions centred on attracting joint investments in the mining sector, increasing private sector involvement and improving supply chains for strategic minerals that are important to global industry and energy transitions.

Beyond mining, Alkhorayef held a bilateral meeting with the Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean at the World Health Organization, Dr. Hanan Balkhy, where the two sides addressed cooperation in pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing, as well as related supply chains, to support global health security and position the Kingdom as a regional pharmaceuticals hub.

The Future Minerals Forum from 13 to 15 January 2026 is expected to continue building links between governments, investors and industry experts, supporting growth and sustainability in the mining and minerals sectors, while helping to consolidate Saudi Arabia’s standing as a central meeting point for dialogue on mineral resources and future industrial development.

With inputs from SPA