The minister was inaugurating the meeting of the Saudi-British Joint Business Council at the headquarters of the Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC).

Khaled Al-Seif led the Saudi team, while Baroness Symons headed the visiting group. British Ambassador Sir Tom Phillips was also present.  “Saudi Arabia is moving away from being a gas station of the world toward a sophisticated laboratory of excellence, innovation and knowledge,” the minister stressed.

“The real wealth of any nation is its human capital. Saudi Arabia is investing in this asset at an unprecedented rate. Education has consistently received more than a quarter of our national budget. We are building two schools a day. At the end of 2006, there were only eight government funded universities, and by the end of 2009  the number jumped to 25.”

The number of Saudi students studying abroad has increased to 80,000. The number of Saudi students in the UK has increased from 6,000 to 20,000, he added.

Comparing the atmosphere in the Kingdom to the turmoil in Libya, Syria and Yemen, the minister said that instead of introducing security measures to meet the wave of crises in the region, Saudi Arabia introduced social and economic reforms.

“Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah opted to reinvest in the Kingdom's future and fulfill the needs of citizens,” he noted. The investment, he said, totaled £22 billion and covers various sectors such as housing development, expansion of social insurance and other social service-support programs for needy students through the Ministry of Education. There was a recent increase of 15 percent in salaries for government employees, he added.

“We have excellent understanding and cooperation between the people who govern and are being governed,” the minister said, adding that this is the key to the progress and prosperity of the Kingdom.

“The welfare of Saudi citizens has always been the prime concern of King Abdullah. The monarch is loved and appreciated by his people because of his wisdom and foresightedness to meet the needs of citizens and take the country's economy to greater heights.”

“Our focus is on building intellectual capital, a knowledge-based economy and a continuation of our industrialization process,” Alireza said. However, he added that at the core of this would be the development of the education system.

Referring to the Saudi-British relations, he said the partnership is strategic, solid and would continue to evolve over the years.

“The partnership is built on shared values, mutual respect and a commitment to work together,” he said. 

Currently, he said, there are 200 joint ventures between the two countries. British investment in the Kingdom is around £12 billion, while Saudi investment in the UK has reached £3.6 billion.

Baroness Symons said the meeting would re-energize bilateral relations between the two countries.