RIYADH, 6 October — A Welsh trade mission, led by Rhodri Morgan, first minister of Wales, arrived in Jeddah yesterday on a week-long visit that will also take them to Riyadh.
It is one of the three British trade delegations scheduled to visit the Kingdom this month as part of a mission to scout for trade and investment opportunities.
During his stay in Jeddah till Monday, Morgan will make a presentation on Wales’ success in attracting foreign investment. The trade mission will then leave for Riyadh, where it will stay from Oct. 8 to 11. The visiting companies will also be looking for new opportunities for partnership with Saudi firms.
The mission will visit the Eastern Province from Oct. 11 to 14.
A Scottish delegation will stay in the Eastern Province from Oct. 7 to 10, and will focus mainly on the oil and gas sector. They will hold a seminar on training for that sector at the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Oct. 8.
According to Philip Parham, economic counselor at the British Embassy, British visible exports to the Kingdom stood at SR8.75 billion last year and its invisible exports at SR14 billion.
They were slightly down compared to 2000, when exports in the two categories stood at SR9.3 billion and SR14 billion respectively. Projections for this year remains the same as last year.
Parham said there was no significant drop in trade or tourist traffic in the aftermath of Sept. 11 events.
He added that there are 142 Saudi-British joint ventures involving British investment to the tune of SR13 billion. More joint ventures under the Al-Yamamah Offset Program are being negotiated between the two sides. They include the food sector, industrial processing and petrochemical industry.
