Official: President Hu´s visit to promote Sino-Saudi friendly co-op

Source: Xinhua | 02-11-2009 13:53

RIYADH, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Saudi Arabia will greatly help promote the two countries' friendly cooperation in various fields including culture and science and technology, head of a leading Saudi science agency has said.

Dr. Mohammed ibn Ibrahim Al-Suwaiyel, president of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), told Xinhua in a recent interview that he is looking forward to President Hu's visit to KACST, an independent scientific organization administratively reporting to the prime minister.

Hu arrived in Riyadh on Tuesday for a three-day state visit and is expected to visit KACST on Wednesday.

Mohammed said KACST has direct cooperation with many international scientific bodies, which include the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

A 20-member team from CAS is working with their Saudi counterparts on such projects as date planting and camel gene research, Mohammed said.

KACST in 2007 also signed a memorandum of understanding with Huawei Technologies, China's leading telecommunications equipment manufacturer, to strengthen cooperation on telecom technology and personnel training.