SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chile’s government said on Saturday that Saudi Arabia’s mining minister will travel to the Latin American country in July and plans to meet his counterpart in Santiago.
Saudi Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Bandar Alkhorayef told Reuters in March that the kingdom was interested in sourcing lithium from abroad as it seeks to enter the electric vehicle sector.
“In fact he will be in Chile (in July) and has requested a meeting with the minister. But the date has not yet been set,” the ministry said in an email to Reuters.
A government source had informed Reuters about the visit on Thursday, saying the two officials would discuss possible investments in lithium.
Chile is the world’s second largest producer of lithium, a key material for manufacturing the batteries that power electric vehicles.