Riyadh, Aug 29 (IANS): Saudi Arabia and Turkey have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to advance cooperation in the mining sector.

The MoU was signed on Monday between Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef and Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar during the former's ongoing official visit to Ankara, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a Saudi Press Agency (SPA) report.

On Monday, in a post on the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, Bayraktar said that "the deal paved the way for wide-scale cooperation between the two countries in mining, particularly in related mutual investment".

The MoU aims to enhance the two countries' exchange of expertise in mineral exploration, drilling techniques, geological services, and other fields, said the SPA report.

It also seeks to promote bilateral cooperation in exploring critical minerals, which are needed in multiple application scenarios of new energy, such as electric vehicles and solar panels, Turkey's semi-official Anadolu Agency quoted Bayraktar as saying.

Moreover, the MoU encourages the two countries' private sectors to jointly invest in the mining sector, as well as the forging of partnerships between the two countries' private sectors and mining authorities, according to the SPA.