ALKHOBAR, 21 January — The corporate representatives on the Saudi-European Trade, Investment, and Financial Services Mission finished their business in the Eastern Province yesterday afternoon and moved on to Riyadh.
Led by Sir Alan Munro, British Ambassador to the Kingdom from 1989-1993, the mission’s members will be in Saudi Arabia through Jan. 23, and will be visiting Jeddah after the conclusion of their program in Riyadh.
The senior members of the mission represent BAe Systems, BNP Paribas, BP, Capital Interiors, Cisco Systems, Clifford Chance, Commons Select Committee on International Development, Computer Associates, Deutsche Bank, Ericsson, HSBC, Huntleigh Technology, International Power, Norwich Union, Saudi Investment Bank, Shell, and Trowers & Hamlins.
Sir Alan was quite pleased with the progress he saw in Saudi Arabia’s downstream petrochemical industry. The group was briefed on past achievements and future plans for the Saudi industrial sector at the Royal Commission in Jubail on Saturday.
They had a fruitful day yesterday with a visit to Saudi Aramco, a meeting with the deputy governor and sessions with senior businessmen as well.
Sir Alan felt that the very full program scheduled throughout their visit shows Saudi Arabia’s wish to be intensively involved in the international business scene. "It is certain," he emphasized, "that the Kingdom is very much open for business!"
Sir Alan stated that although he was fully aware of the progress of the Kingdom’s industries due to his many trips to the area, other members of the mission were extremely impressed and nearly in awe of the high technological standards in use throughout the Saudi industrial sector.
"Many of the people on this trade mission, especially those from the oil and gas and the financial sectors have been hearing about the projects that have been brought online recently or are being proposed," he explained.
"However, it is one thing to be reading about these developments on paper and something else to actually see the outstanding level of the industries here in the Kingdom and the sheer size of some of the projects."
This is the first trade mission Sir Alan has brought to the Kingdom since the crises of Sept. 11. He hoped that the mission’s presence would give a message that it was business as usual in the GCC and assist in strengthening the business relationship between Saudi Arabia and Europe, which has been mutually beneficial for so many decades.
In Riyadh, Sir Alan plans to announce details of a new strategy to help improve Saudi-European ties through an initiative launched by the business community.
