His Excellency the Minister of Commerce and Investment, Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi met in Jeddah today (16.07.2017) with the Swiss Minister of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, Johan Schneider Aman.
During the meeting, the Saudi-Swiss sides discussed the cooperation opportunities between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Switzerland and means of developing trade and investment exchange, especially in the field of non-oil exports, as well as removing any obstacles that may hinder such activities, besides discussing the importance of working together to stimulate cooperation among the private sectors in both countries, including visit exchange of delegations and representatives of chambers of commerce between the two friendly countries, also holding joint forums and exhibits in both countries for developing successful partnerships, in addition to providing the Saudi companies with the latest technologies and expertise that help to raise the quality of Saudi products and facilitate their entry into the European and international market. The two sides also stressed the importance of the Saudi-Swiss Business Council role to serve and promote the business and investment activities between the two friendly countries, and to contribute as well in the current development issues, especially in the fields of high-tech precision industries and the search for specific quality investment opportunities.
H.E. Engr. Ibrahim Al-Omar, the Governor of the General Authority for Investment, signed the minutes of the tenth session of the Joint Saudi-Swiss Committee, aimed at building a partnership between the public and private sectors in both countries, as well as encouraging the Swiss companies to invest in the Kingdom.
H.E. Engr. Ibrahim Al Omar said "We are proud of this joint cooperation with the Swiss side through the Saudi-Swiss Committee, and we look forward for further cooperation. We, in Saudi Arabia, are keen to facilitate and ease the procedures, as well as to overcome any obstacles, also to provide incentives to investors and to contribute effectively in developing a realistic road map that may raise the investments in the Kingdom to a higher and new stage, by building global partnerships and investment alliances. I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks and appreciation to all representatives participating in the work of the Saudi-Swiss Joint Committee for their permanent cooperation, trust and interest in investing in the Saudi market”
Among the highlights of the minutes of the above mentioned session was the agreement to facilitate communication between the Saudi Standard, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) and the Swiss Standardization Association (SNV) for the renewal of the technical cooperation program. In addition to facilitating communication between the Saudi Food & Drug Authority (SFDA) and the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products to exchange expertise in a number of fields and for training the staff.
H. E. Engr. Al Omar concluded by discussing various possibilities, opportunities and challenges in the business sector, since the Kingdom has got attractive investment locations, such as the Industrial Cities in Jubail & Yanbu, King Abdullah Economic City, Petro Rabigh and others, beside the availability of much basic raw materials needed for the value added of the trade sector.
It is worth mentioning that there are 113 Swiss companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 94 of which are service companies and 19 industrial ones, with a total capital of SR 3495 million.
Notably, the volume of trade exchange between Saudi Arabia and Switzerland reached SR (10.326) billion riyals in 2016 AD.