Saudi Arabia is initiating a new program for agricultural investment in foreign countries as the kingdom shifts its agricultural policy away from one of self-sufficiency in wheat and other crops that has depleted the kingdom’s scarce water supplies. By 2016 Saudi Arabia will be completely dependent upon foreign countries for its wheat supply. The new initiative plans to meet the domestic demand for food through partnerships between both the private and public sectors with each shouldering a portion of the risk associated with investment. The government will be offering interest-free loans and strategic partnerships through the state-owned Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Co. (SALIC). SALIC is focused on becoming a global agricultural investor in Bulgaria, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Romania, The Russian Federation, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and possibly Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia. According to the Director-General of King Abdullah’s Initiative for Saudi Agricultural Investment Abroad, 31 countries have expressed interest in agricultural investment by the kingdom.
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