RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met the UK Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng in Riyadh on Tuesday.
They reviewed aspects of the strategic partnership between the two countries and discussed opportunities to enhance cooperation and joint coordination to serve their interests, the Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry said.
They also “touched on the promising opportunities and projects” offered by the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, the ministry statement added.
Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef also met Kwarteng and his accompanying delegation.
Great to meet representatives of British companies & discuss business opportunities in Saudi Arabia across healthcare, education & entertainment. KSA is the UK’s second largest trading partner in the Middle East and companies are well placed to partner and engage with #V2030 pic.twitter.com/qRrINAi73H
— Kwasi Kwarteng (@KwasiKwarteng) June 1, 2021
They talked about the latest developments in joint projects and agreements, reviewed investment opportunities, and the strengthened economic relations between the two countries.
They discussed the details of a new mining investment system and followed up on projects from a geological survey program of the Arabian Shield in the Kingdom that a number of international bodies and companies, including British firms, participated in.
They also discussed export opportunities to achieve the desired economic transformation outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, the Saudi Press Agency reported, as well as areas and opportunities for developing cooperation in a number of industries.
Alkhorayef said the economic partnership with the UK was one of the Kingdom’s well-established strategic partnerships and that the goal was to increase industrial and mining cooperation to achieve the goals of Vision 2030.
The UK market receives a number of Saudi non-oil exports, represented in the activities of manufacturing chemicals and polymers, in addition to building materials, food products, packaging, precious metals, jewelry, and the pharmaceutical sector.
Abdullah bin Amer Al-Swaha, Saudi Space Commission chairman, also met the visiting UK minister to discuss opportunities for cooperation between the Saudi Space Commission and the British Space Agency, in addition to stimulating private sector participation.
Kwarteng thanked Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman for his “warm hospitality and opportunity for engaging discussions with ministerial colleagues at historical Diriyah” on Monday.
Pleased to discover that companies were involved in the reconstruction of this amazing heritage site @BuroHappold 2/2
— Kwasi Kwarteng (@KwasiKwarteng) June 1, 2021
“Excellent discussions with Prince Abdulaziz on a range of shared priorities, including the global transition to clean energy,” he tweeted, adding that he “emphasised Britain’s commitment to support the Vision 2030 and the ambitious Saudi Green Initiative.”
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the Saudi and Middle East green initiatives in March, programs that will reduce carbon emissions by 60 percent in the region and plant 50 billion trees in the world’s biggest afforestation project.
Climate action = green jobs + new industries. With less than 6 months until @COP26 in Glasgow, Saudi leadership in the region to tackle climate change is critical, and we look forward to working together on this shared priority 2/2
— Kwasi Kwarteng (@KwasiKwarteng) May 31, 2021
The UK is hosting the UN Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, in November and has been increasing cooperation with Saudi Arabia in recent months.
“Saudi leadership in the region to tackle climate change is critical, and we look forward to working together on this shared priority,” Kwarteng said.
