JEDDAH, 11 January 2007 — Saleh Al-Turki, chairman of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), said yesterday that Saudi Arabia and Iceland have a solid relationship, however, Iceland exports more products to Saudi Arabia that it imports.
Saudi exports to Iceland reached SR99 million ($26.4 million) in 2005 while Saudi Arabia imported goods worth SR287 million ($76.5 million) in the same period.
When asked about the trade disparity, Al-Turki speculated that the Kingdom exports goods to Iceland that aren’t being counter. “I’m sure that some of the Saudi petrochemical companies exports materials to Iceland even if we didn’t hear of it,” he said. Saudi Arabia imports primarily fish and agricultural materials from this European island nation.
The JCCI received the five-woman Icelandic delegation, which included the parliamentary president, Solveig Petursdottir and other MPs. Shoura Council member Mansour Abdul Ghaffar was also present at the meeting whose opening speech expressed hope that the Kingdom’s gradual engagement with the rest of the world would benefit both countries. “With Saudi Arabia having entered the World Trade Organization, the doorway for foreign investors as well as Saudi investors will provide bigger access for free trade,” he said.
Petursdottir corrected some misconceptions of Iceland in her speech, including the obvious one regarding its name. She said her country is one of contrasts, and that the prevalence of geothermal activity has given the country an opportunity to utilize this green power for home heating.
She explained that Iceland was one of the poorest countries in Europe after World War II. She attributed trade liberalization for Iceland’s climb to becoming one of Europe’s wealthiest countries. “We are present today to establish links of trade between us if Saudi Arabia is interested,” she said.
Lama Al-Sulaiman, elected board member of the JCCI spoke the Icelandic delegation of democratically elected women of power about the process of empowering Saudi women. She said that they, businesswomen, are trying to show the importance of women’s participation in Saudi society.
“We are not asking for equal rights, but we are asking for equal opportunities,” she said. “Just 5 percent of women in Saudi Arabia are working and only 25 percent of the society is productive, which is a very low percentage. No nation can develop without having full productivity of the society. It is very important for women in our society to work.” Petursdottir said that their visit to Saudi Arabian hospitality exceeded all their anticipations.
“This is the first visit for an official Icelandic delegation to Saudi Arabia,” she said. “I think it is very important to engage in an intercultural dialogue if we want to be successful in today’s globalized world. We have to learn from each other especially that both Saudi Arabia and Iceland have so much to offer,” she said.