LONDON — Minister of Commerce Majed Al-Qasabi said that the volume of trade exchange between Saudi Arabia and Britain reached SR80.7 billion (17.3 billion sterling pounds) during the year 2022. The minister made the remarks on the sidelines of the UK Saudi Business, Trade and Partnership Forum, organized by the Saudi British Joint Business Council (SBJBC) here on Wednesday. Al-Qasabi said the volume of Britain's investments in Saudi Arabia amounted to SR26.5 billion (5.7 billion sterling pounds) in two years. "We set targets for trade and foreign exports between Saudi Arabia and Britain," he said while pointing to the growth of Saudi exports to Britain by 130 percent last year. The minister pointed out that 165 British investors are currently in Saudi Arabia, while about 14,000 young Saudis are studying in Britain. "We met with the British side on the sidelines of the forum and we look forward to benefiting from British expertise in the services sector," he said while explaining that there are great investment opportunities between the two sides. Saudi Arabia is interested in increasing investment in new innovative sectors, Al-Qasabi said adding that the Kingdom aims to attract investors and companies in the innovation sectors. The one-day forum reviewed the progress of Saudi Vision 2030 implementation since its launch in 2016 and the opportunities for further UK/Saudi trade, investment and expertise exchange. It also discussed the scope for increased private sector engagement in the already strong cooperation between Saudi and UK in financial & professional services, clean energy, education, healthcare and creative industries following signature of the UK/Saudi Strategic Partnership Agreement in 2018 and the establishment of a Strategic Partnership Council. The Forum, which was attended by a large Saudi public and private delegation, included extensive networking opportunities.
