RIYADH, 27 May 2005 — Sweden will be holding an educational roadshow later this year as part of its attempt to target Saudi students for higher studies in that country. This was told to Arab News in an interview by Ambassador Per Saland from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Stockholm, who arrived here on Tuesday on a fact-finding mission to the Kingdom. He was briefed at the Foreign Ministry and the GCC headquarters on the current situation.
He also met with representatives of Swedish companies operating in the Kingdom for an assessment of the economic environment. Christer Nilsson, minister and deputy head of mission at the Swedish Embassy, was also present during their visit to Arab News Riyadh office. Bureau Chief Raid Qusti briefed them on the current situation in the Kingdom as well as the ongoing political and economic reforms.
Nilsson said the educational roadshow is within the framework of cooperation between the two countries whose dimensions were defined during the landmark visit of Crown Prince Abdullah to Sweden in 2001.
He said Swedish universities offer over 200 master’s programs in English, ranging from human rights law to mechanical engineering. They are tailored in response to students’ demand — the result is a student-centric education system, with open, informal relations between students and teachers, and where personal initiative and critical thought are prized.
Referring to his exploratory mission, Ambassador Saland said such interaction could help build bridges for further cooperation between the two countries. Already bilateral ties are strong, particularly in the telecommunications, power generation, mining and consultancy sectors. Swedish exports to the Kingdom stood at over $700 million last year.
In reply to a question on the Kingdom’s economic reforms program, Ambassador Saland said he welcomes the opening up of the economy to overseas investors. “The non-Swedish tradition of undertaking public works on a BOT basis could come in handy here. Sweden normally represents high technology in whatever field, including the service sector, where Swedish firms are very active.”
Elaborating on the ambassador’s remarks, Nilsson said the exploratory mission would also help them identify new business opportunities in the context of the economic reforms program. Sweden concluded with the Kingdom a bilateral treaty last year within the framework of the WTO regulations.
As part of their effort to promote better understanding between the two countries, they are also trying to promote tourist traffic in both directions. “We want to let Saudis know that Sweden is a friendly country, where processing a visa application would not take more than ten days,” Nilsson said, adding that endorsement of Schengen visa by any of the member countries entitles a tourist to visit them without any hassle. Infrastructure projects are one area where Swedish companies play a role in the Kingdom, including water and electricity, transportation and telecom.
