Industrialist Anil Agarwal-owned mining major Vedanta Group on Friday said it is exploring investment opportunities in the mineral sector of Saudi Arabia. The company is already in discussions with stakeholders in Saudi Arabia, which is aiming to become a mineral hub in the Middle East, Vedanta said in a statement. “Vedanta plans to invest in the mineral sector in Saudi Arabia. The company is in discussions to identify investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia, which aims to transform itself into a mineral hub in the Middle East,” the statement said.

According to the statement, Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal on Wednesday attended the ‘Future Minerals Forum 2022’ held in Riyadh as a guest speaker and spoke on the huge potential Saudi Arabia has in minerals, including zinc, gold and silver. Considering the strong demand for zinc and its expected shortage globally, Saudi Arabia is looking to team up with global companies to become a leading producer of the metal. Vedanta group company Hindustan Zinc is one of the world’s largest producers of zinc.

“The strong collaboration between India and Saudi Arabia is bringing to the fore big opportunities. We are in the process of identifying investment options in the mineral sector which we believe the country has in abundance. “Mining and minerals will play a critical role in the transition to a cleaner and more sustainable world, and we at Vedanta are committed to play an important part in this journey,” Agarwal said at the forum. Saudi Arabia is planning to invest USD 100 billion in the country in areas of energy, refining, petrochemicals, infrastructure, agriculture, minerals and mining. It is also a key pillar of India’s energy security, being the source of 17 per cent of crude oil and 32 per cent of LPG requirements of India, Vedanta said.