RIYADH, 4 December 2006 — The British Embassy will now issue visas on the same day of application, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, the country’s ambassador to the Kingdom, announced here on Saturday.
He made the announcement at the opening of the UK education exhibition EDUKEX at the Cultural Palace in the Diplomatic Quarter. The show was jointly opened by the ambassador and Dr. Abdullah Al-Moajjel, deputy minister of higher education.
“The speedy issuance of visas has been introduced to encourage more people to visit the United Kingdom for educational, business and leisure purposes,” Sir Cowper-Coles explained.
Around 13,000 Saudi students are studying in various colleges and universities in Britain and 8,000 of them are studying short-term English language courses, he said. Last year, 55,000 visas were issued by the British Embassy in the Kingdom.
Speaking about the exhibition, the ambassador said: “More than 50 universities and colleges from England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are participating and visitors will have the opportunity to acquire information on life and study in the United Kingdom directly from university representatives at the education show.”
In his remarks, Dr. Al-Moajjel said this was an ideal opportunity for Saudi students to choose suitable educational institutions according to their abilities and aptitudes. He also called upon British students to come to the Kingdom to learn Arabic in the Kingdom’s universities.
Jim Scarth, director, British Council, said the council had organized a successful series of educational exhibitions through 2001. “The number of visitors reflected the importance of Saudi Arabia to the British higher education sector as well as the genuine will to empower a mutual relationship,” he added.
Abdullah Al-Fraihi, a Saudi high school student, said this was a good chance for young people to go to Britain for higher education. Abdullah, who took a course in spoken English last summer, said: “I like to go to the United Kingdom since there is no delay in getting visas.”
