The Lord Mayor of London Aldermen Nick Anstee with a trade delegation of 19 British companies met with a number of high officials and members of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sunday. The delegation is visiting to enhance business ties and raise awareness of business opportunities in London. The delegation showed willingness to share expertise and discussed ways to enhance the bilateral ties between the two countries. Nick said in a press conference at the JCCI that Jeddah is the financial heart of the Kingdom and that Saudi Arabia is an important market and a key player in the G20. “I want to encourage Jeddah-based businesses to find opportunities to share our knowledge of developing Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects to support infrastructure development as well as sharing our growing expertise in Shariah compliant finance, as we have over 55 different training institutes that offer Shariah-compliant finance training,” he said. “UK economy returned to growth in the last quarter of 2009 and commercial property values are picking up. Even during the recession different financial services continued to function and the structural strengths of London remains,” he explained. He also mentioned British strengths in banking, asset management, insurance, law and accountancy, as London is the world's leading international financial center. Officials at the JCCI lauded the visit. “I am sure this visit of the London mayor and the accompanying delegation will enhance the long term relationship and bilateral ties between the two countries,” said Mustafa A.K.Sabri, the secretary general at JCCI. Dr. Lama Suleiman, the vice chairman, said, “We don't want to forget that we also are looking for joint ventures and partners here in Saudi Arabia especially in Jeddah's industries.” “We are going to focus a lot with the ministry of commerce and industry in the coming few years to develop the industry sector in Saudi Arabia, especially Jeddah, as it is a main city of the Kingdom,” she said.
