Saudi commerce minister concludes visit to UK to enhance economic partnership

London: Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Commerce Dr. Majid Al-Qasabi held a number of meetings with British ministers and leaders of major companies in the UK aimed at boosting trade and economic partnership between the two countries, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

During his visit, Al-Qasabi met with Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Grant Shapps, Minister of Trade and Business Kimi Badinosh, Minister of Investment Dominic Johnson, Minister of State for Middle East and North African Affairs Lord Tariq Ahmed, and Minister of State at the Department of Education Nick Gibb.

The meetings were attended by Saudi Ambassador to the UK Prince Khalid bin Bandar and Deputy Minister of Commerce and CEO of the National Competitiveness Center Dr. Iman bint Habbas Al-Mutairi.

Al-Qasabi also held meetings with undersecretary of the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology Viscount Camrose, adviser to the British Prime Minister for business and investment Frank Petitgas, the Prime Minister’s special representative for education, Sir Steve Smith, and CEO of the British Accreditation Authority Matt Gantley.

The meetings tackled the strategies and programs of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 to expand business opportunities and investments between the two countries, and encouraging British companies to expand their businesses in Saudi Arabia.

They also discussed ways to encourage and finance emerging companies to enter promising fields of research and innovation and reviewed British expertise in developing entrepreneurship.

Al-Qasabi also held meetings with leaders of the British business sector, including CEO of Rolls-Royce Tufan Erginbilgic, and participated in a dialogue session with members of the Asian House, a think-tank concerned with promoting trade between Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

The Saudi delegation had a scheduled visit to Dulwich College where it was briefed on the British practices and expertise in the field of education.

The minister’s visit to UK coincided with the third meeting of the Economic and Social Committee of the Saudi-British Strategic Partnership Council, which convened in the capital, London.

The forum, which consisted of 45 officials from 22 government, non-profit and private agencies, was organized by the National Competitiveness Center, the Joint Saudi-British Business Council, and the Federation of Saudi Chambers.

The Central Bank of Saudi Arabia, the Public Investment Fund, the Mohammed bin Salman “Misk” Foundation, Roshan Real Estate Group, the Federation of Saudi Chambers and the joint Saudi-British Business Council all took part in the event.