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UK Minister of State for Trade and Investment visits Saudi Arabia

Lord Green, UK Minister of State for Trade & Investment, discusses development of Saudi/UK trade.

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Lord Green at the signing of a technology partnership between a Saudi and UK firm at the King Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology

Lord Green at the signing of a technology partnership between a Saudi and UK firm at the King Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology

Lord Green visited Riyadh on 24 September, 2013 to discuss the development of Saudi/UK trade and investment with H.E. Dr. Tawfiq Al Rabiah, Minister of Commerce & Industry. The two Ministers discussed:

  • the formation of a Joint Ministerial Trade Committee

  • the re-launch of the Saudi British Joint Business Council which meets in Riyadh today (24 September, 2013)

Bilateral collaboration areas include:

  • further exchanges of experience in the development of innovative small and medium-sized businesses through technology transfer

  • use of venture capital.

The Minister visited the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology for a discussion of science and technology collaboration, and the signing of a technology partnership between the UK firm Ixaris and the Saudi company 3Omlati.

Another focus of the visit was the role of the private sector in major infrastructure development and facilities management in Saudi Arabia and the UK. The visit follows a successful meeting of the Saudi/UK Joint Ministerial Committee on healthcare cooperation in London on 19 September when a number of institutional partnerships were signed with the Ministry of Health. Several UK vocational training providers have also recently signed agreements with the Technical Vocational and Training Corporation (TVTC) to operate Colleges of Excellence in the Kingdom.

Published 26 September 2013