Tunis - The twelfth session of the Tunisian–Saudi Joint Committee kicked off on Sunday in Riyadh, hosted by the Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources.

The meeting aims to explore opportunities for scaling up bilateral cooperation and forging strategic partnerships between the two countries.

The committee is co-chaired by Minister of Economy and Planning Samir Abdelhafidh and Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef, with both national delegations in attendance.

Abdelhafidh described on the occasion, the session as a timely opportunity to deepen strategic collaboration in line with evolving regional and global dynamics.

He pointed out that the Tunisian–Saudi Business Forum, scheduled for December 29, on the sidelines of the committee’s proceedings, will serve as a key platform for forging effective partnerships between the two countries' private sectors.

The minister also recalled Saudi Arabia’s sustained support for Tunisia’s development, notably through financing projects and programmes in water management, irrigation, rural development and environmental protection.

Abdelhafidh further underlined the growing footprint of Saudi investment in Tunisia in strategic sectors, notably tourism, industry, agriculture, health and education.

For his part, Al-Khorayef underscored the strength and depth of bilateral relations, describing the Joint Committee -established in 1998- as an institutional framework designed to translate political goodwill into concrete programmes and joint initiatives.

He voiced wish that the current session would yield strategic projects and effective bilateral agreements capable of driving mutual economic development, reaffirming the committee’s commitment to overseeing implementation through dedicated working groups, defined timelines and performance indicators.

The minister said that the twelfth session convenes at a pivotal moment, requiring intensified coordination in growth-driving sectors, with particular emphasis on mobilising private-sector actors, urging Tunisian and Saudi enterprises to build robust partnerships in high-potential industries and value chains.

He welcomed the outcomes of the third meeting of the Joint Working Group on Trade Cooperation, held in Tunis in July 2025, including the mutual recognition agreement on product conformity certificates, and pointed out their tangible impact, notably the rise by 38% of the bilateral trade volumes by the end of September 2025 compared with the same period in 2024.

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