RIYADH, 24 October 2007 — Governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) Amr Al-Dabbagh met with Finland President Tarja Halonen and her accompanying business delegation in Jeddah yesterday to discuss potential areas of investment for Finnish corporations in Saudi Arabia’s six economic cities.

During the reception ceremony, Al-Dabbagh briefed the president on the huge projects being carried out in the Kingdom, citing the various economic investment opportunities for foreign companies in the six economic cities that were inaugurated this year by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.

The governor highlighted the Kingdom’s progress in achieving its economic growth, adding that it had recently jumped to 23rd place this year in the World Bank’s “Doing Business 2008” report from 36th last year. He also mentioned that Saudi Arabia was ranked the seventh in the world in terms of economic reforms.

“The governor spoke about King Abdullah’s comprehensive economic reforms toward development and improving efforts to provide a better environment for businesses,” a statement from SAGIA sent to Arab News said.

The governor made clear to the Finnish president the Kingdom’s keenness on resolving problems in the investment sector to attract foreign investment opportunities through the cooperation of concerned government bodies.

Fahd Al-Rashed, deputy governor of SAGIA for economic cities, said the Saudi-Finnish meeting was a rich opportunity for both sides to discuss areas of future possibilities in investment.

“The visit reflects the keen interest of Finnish companies to invest in Saudi Arabia, especially in King Abdullah Economic City,” he said.

“The Finnish delegation was briefed about the economic potential in Saudi Arabia as well as SAGIA’s vision to achieve speedy investment growth in Saudi Arabia,” adding that SAGIA underscored Saudi Arabia’s strategic location between the east and west, aside from being a global source of energy.

Abdulwahab Al-Saadoon, head of the energy department in SAGIA, said that the investment body presented to the Finnish delegation growth indexes achieved by the Saudi economy in the past years, making the Kingdom the “largest economy in the region” with the “highest GDP growth.”

SAGIA also showed to the delegation the development of the Kingdom’s petrochemical sector that has an average growth of 12.2 percent, he added.

Halonen yesterday addressed Saudi businessmen in Jeddah and encouraged them to invest in her country. She reiterated Finland’s support for EU-GCC free-trade agreement. Finland’s exports to the Kingdom reached SR5.3 billion last year.

Welcoming the president, Saleh Al-Turki, chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, highlighted the investment-friendly atmosphere in Saudi Arabia. He said Saudi women represented 60 percent of university graduates and own 35 percent of bank deposits.

Also yesterday, a memorandum of understanding for political consultations between two foreign ministries was signed at the Conference Palace in Jeddah in the presence of Halonen and Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal.

Halonen emphasized prospects of expanding cooperation between the two countries in industry, technology and electricity. “I see a vast horizon for cooperation,” she said.