King Abdullah received the visiting British delegation headed by Cameron at his palace in the capital.
At the commencement of the talks, the British premier, who was making his first official visit to the Kingdom, conveyed the greetings and appreciation of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II to King Abdullah, who reciprocated with similar greetings and good wishes to the queen.
The two sides discussed the prospects of cooperation between the two countries and explored ways and means to promote and consolidate them in all areas of cooperation.
A statement issued by the prime minister’s office in London said, “The leaders will discuss the full range of regional issues, the global economic situation and proposals to broaden and deepen the UK-Saudi partnership on issues from social development to security to business relations.”
In March last year, Cameron met Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal at Number 10 Downing Street in London in a bid to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
The United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia have long been close allies. There are more than 150 joint ventures between British and Saudi companies and some 30,000 British nationals live and work in the Kingdom, which is also the United Kingdom’s primary trading partner in the Middle East. The UK has an embassy in Riyadh, consulate in Jeddah and trade office in Alkhobar. Saudi Arabia has an embassy and consulate in London. Annual bilateral trade is worth $23 billion, while Saudi investments in Britain amount to more than £62 billion.
In a statement released in London to mark the premier’s visit to the Kingdom, the prime minister’s office said on Friday that building a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia is key to advancing the United Kingdom’s priorities in the region.
“The Prime Minister has traveled to Riyadh as part of his ongoing efforts to strengthen the UK’s relations with strategic partners around the world,” read the statement. Saudi Arabia has unique influence in the region and across the Islamic world, a member of the Gulf Co-operation Council and the only Arab member of the G20.
“Building a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia is vital to advancing the United Kingdom’s priorities in the region: increasing exports and investment; boosting energy security and creating jobs; co-operating on security, counter-proliferation and counter-terrorism; and promoting stability through political reform and human rights. That’s why Britain is committed to its long-standing relationship with Saudi Arabia, as a key partner to deliver these goals for the people of the UK and of the region. For example, Britain and Saudi Arabia are both actively supporting the Arab League’s efforts to bring an end to the killing and repression in Syria.
The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Prince Abdulilah bin Abdulaziz, adviser to the King, Prince Muqrin, intelligence chief, Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, commander of the National Guard and state minister, Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland and Sir Tom Phillips, British ambassador to the Kingdom.
