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RIYADH: When the yellow, blue and red ribbon was cut, a new era of diplomatic relations was born as Colombian Ambassador to �������� Rayan El-Barkachi Aboutrabi marked the opening of the first Colombian Embassy in the Kingdom on Monday night.

“It’s about becoming closer with one another as governments and further developing relations, as well as for the Colombian people and the Saudi people to come closer together,” the ambassador told Arab News.

�������� is also committed to opening its own embassy in Colombia, as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir said in a meeting in Bogota with his Colombian counterpart Alvaro Leyva Duran in May 2023.

Two memoranda of understanding have also been signed between the two nations — one promising more academic cooperation and the other for political consultations between the two foreign ministries.

The vice ministers of foreign affairs of both countries, Waleed El-Khereiji and Francisco Jose Coy Granados, signed the agreements in Bogota in April 2024.

Aboutrabi highlighted his intention to improve cooperation in economic relations, tourism, renewable energy and agriculture, and noted the deep love and appreciation both peoples have for good coffee.

“Our similarities in those areas signify a pull for us to come closer together as nations and peoples.”

He said that some of the biggest priorities in cooperative areas right now are clean energy, agriculture, sustainability and tourism.

“We think a lot about Saudi Vision 2030, and we would like to diversify our economy.”

RIYADH: The fourth edition of the EV Auto Show opened at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center on Monday, highlighting the full spectrum of green mobility options.

As �������� accelerates towards its Vision 20103 smart mobility targets, new market research from PwC Middle East shows 40 percent of the country’s consumers are considering buying an electric vehicle in the next three years.

The Kingdom has set an ambitious goal to transition 30 percent of all vehicles in Riyadh to electric by 2030, as part of a wider strategy to reduce emissions in the capital city by 50 percent. The transformation is being driven by ambitious targets, substantial investments in local electric vehicle manufacturing and rising consumer confidence.

Speaking about how �������� is evolving to cater to the development of the EV sector, Faisal Sultan, the president of Lucid Motors in the Middle East, told Arab News: “The Kingdom now has a structure to cater to that. A lot of progress has already been made (in) the last two years with the formation of the EV infrastructure company by the PIF. We are strongly collaborating with them. Then there are private companies. I think consumers will have a lot of options in the next two to three years.”

He added: “Also, there will be chargers all over the place. Lucid is doing some innovative stuff … we are putting them in hotels, we have several parking lots where we have installed these chargers. These are free to use … that’s going to solve a lot of issues.”

Sultan said he believed Riyadh was taking the lead in ensuring 30 percent of new car sales in the Kingdom would be EVs by 2030, as per the Saudi Green Initiative, and that other cities would follow.

Juan Carlos, CEO of SIXT, told Arab News: “Coming here to �������� to see how well EV technology is being implemented, I was surprised, Riyadh has more charging stations than we have in Madrid, which is my city of origin.”

He added: “I was surprised, because at the end, it is an integral part of the mobility within this country. It is clearly supported by the government in line with Vision 2030. We are doing an exercise of implementing the technology with our solutions. Right now, we are probably one of the largest fleets of rental EV fleets in this country, and our ambition really is to continue increasing, those fleets in order to provide a mobility solution which is sustainable.”

While he felt Europe was still behind due to a lack of infrastructure, expanding EV penetration was going well in ��������, said Carlos. The Kingdom has already expanded its public charging network to more than 200 locations, with plans for more than 1,000 stations by 2030.

This year’s EV show brings together over 120 exhibitors from 35 countries, highlighting the latest electric and plug-in hybrid technologies. It also features local manufacturing, charging infrastructure and workforce training.

ROX Motor’s luxury all-terrain SUV, the ROX ADAMAS, debuted in �������� following its global unveiling in Abu Dhabi earlier this month, while Lucid Motors presented the Gravity SUV, showing the growing range of premium electric options available to local consumers.

The exhibition floor features electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles from both established manufacturers and new market entrants, including BYD, Tesla, SIXT, Chery, Jaecoo and iCAUR.

Over the three days, industry executives, government officials and technical specialists will share insights with manufacturers, importers, fleet operators, charging network developers, financial institutions and other stakeholders.

Attendees can test-drive the latest electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, comparing performance, range and features across brands and price points, as well as explore technology and energy management solutions.