JEDDAH: A British minister who is currently visiting the Kingdom has praised the resilience of the Saudi economy despite the worldwide economic crisis. He also described Saudi-British political and business relations as strong and said there was major potential for expansion.
“There is tremendous scope for further increasing the bilateral trade which stands close to $6 billion,” said Lord Davies, Britain’s minister of trade and investment.
Commenting on the turmoil affecting the global economy, Lord Davies said, “The crisis is not over yet, the confidence is still fragile and restructuring needs to be done in the financial sector.” He was speaking at a meeting he and his accompanying business delegation had at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) on Monday.
Listing the steps taken in the wake of the world credit crunch that had impacted the British economy, Lord Davies said the crisis had posed a serious challenge.
Efforts were being made to make the British economy resilient in the face of the global turmoil and the resultant pressures.
“Bailing out the banking industry and offering a fiscal stimulus package were among the measures taken,” he said. He was, however, optimistic that world trade would return to normal.
The minister, whose delegation members focussed on health care, education and mass transport and infrastructure, held networking sessions with JCCI officials and businessmen. “The UK, which ranks sixth in manufacturing, has established its leadership in many sectors including maritime business, health care, education and transport and so has a lot to offer to Saudi Arabia. British companies are diverse, creative and multinational. Britain has over five million small and medium enterprises and they see the opportunity available in the Kingdom for investment and exports,” he said.
Saleem Al-Harbi, a JCCI board member, expressed hope that the tour would enable the private sectors of the two countries to come closer. He emphasized that health care, infrastructure, transport and education were areas of expected overseas investment and participation.
JCCI Secretary-General Mustafa A.K. Sabri said the visit of the British team was within the framework of further promoting bilateral trade worth SR30 billion and with 150 joint ventures last year. JCCI, which participated in the recent ‘Made in the Gulf’ exhibition in London, has welcomed a number of British trade officials and delegations in the past two years, he said, adding that the Kingdom remained the largest Middle East partner for Britain, ranking fifth for its exports to this part of the world.
Earlier in the day, the British minister met the newly-elected 18-member board at JCCI.
