JEDDAH, 7 December 2006 — Sweden is a “hot-spot” destination for foreign direct investment (FDI), the country’s ambassador-designate Jan Thesleff said last night.
With higher education and tourism spots, “we’ve a good base to stand on,” he told a press conference on the sidelines of “The Modern Sweden Exhibition 2006” which opened at the Serafi Megamall. “We’re not newcomers to this market,” he said, as more than 40 Swedish companies “have been active and successful across the Kingdom for many decades.”
Saudi Arabia has for a long period Sweden’s number one trading partner in the Middle East. In the first six months of this year, Swedish exports to the Kingdom increased by 41 percent and imports rose by 33 percent. “I don’t see this only as an achievement, but as a promise of the great potential that lies in our relations,” Thesleff said.
Sweden’s exports to the Kingdom average $800 million a year, while imports from the Kingdom reached $80 million, mostly petrochemical products “as we don’t import oil,” he said. Industrial companies remain at the core of the Swedish business sector.
The exhibition, which continues till Sunday, highlights “what the modern kingdom of Sweden can bring to the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and to its young and dynamic people,” he said.
Anas Saleh Seirafi of the Serafi Megamall described the exhibition as the “most unique and prestigious.”
Patrick El-Cheikh, head of Riyadh-based Swedish Trade Council, said the exhibition followed last year’s first such event in the Kingdom, in Riyadh. “The interest of Saudis and the encouraging feedback from the participating companies convinced us that this event should be repeated,” he said.
IKEA, which established its outlet here in 1983, and Volvo, which has an assembly plant on Makkah Road, are the main sponsors of the event, with Tetra Pak, Natures of Scandinavia, Sony Ericsson, Kinnarps and Husqvarna and their Saudi partners being the other participating companies.
