Experts in the field of ports and maritime trade discussed the issue at a seminar in Jeddah Sunday. A delegation of 15 specialist companies related to ports and maritime trade of the United Kingdom led by David Howell, director of British Expertise, attended the seminar on “Ports and Maritime Mission in Saudi Arabia.” The seminar was organized by the British Consulate in Jeddah and the British Expertise, a leading private sector organization for British companies offering professional services internationally on behalf of UK Trade & Investment, which is a governmental body responsible for promoting exports from and inward investment into the United Kingdom. The seminar was a showcase of Britain's experience in undertaking ports projects and associated services around the world. Later in the day, the delegates moved to Dammam to hold another seminar there with Saudi businessman and the government's port authorities. “I welcome the UK ports trade mission to Saudi Arabia to play a continuous role in the development of trade in the Kingdom,” said Kate Rudd the British Consul General. “The objective of this mission is to implement, if the British industry can help Saudi Arabia, major developments planned for their seaports which are needed to ensure the country can meet the increasing demand for container/cargo handling transport,” she said. The main aim of the team was to identify the areas in which assistance is required for the continued development of ports in Saudi Arabia and to match the requirements with the experience of British companies. The British ports sector recognizes that there are many opportunities for partnership and they are keen to work here to identify and implement solutions to improve the contribution that ports make to the country's “future prosperity.” “The purpose of this mission is to cement those relationships and help develop new ones with the aim of helping the companies to understand what is happening in the port sector, to understand how it is developing, and what are the plans for the future,” said David Howell. Saudi Arabia has shown to be strong and also looking toward modernizing business practices, moving to more involvement of the private sector. “I am trying to develop these industries as King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has shown keen interest in bringing forth the growth of the Kingdom and British companies as they are very interested in taking part in this process. People will see growing interest in the sector of port development and trade as Saudi economy is very dynamic,” he said. The specialists made presentations on various aspects to demonstrate the sophistication and quality of their services by displaying new themes, new development plans, security of ports and new equipment of cargo handling. There are a lot of expansion projects in the Kingdom especially at King Fahd industrial port at Yanbu; it is also at Jeddah Islamic port where they are very close to the completion of Red Sea gateway terminal project.
