MC

 

The Saudi-Swedish Joint Committee meetings kick off in Riyadh today, headed by the Ministry of Commerce and Investment. The said committee discussed the contribution of the government and private sector to the development of bilateral relations in various sectors, also the investment opportunities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Sweden have been discussed as well.

H.E. the Minister of Commerce and Investment, Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi, and H.E. the Swedish Minister of Trade, Mrs. Ananda, opened the session of the committee in the presence of a number of officials from government agencies and businessmen from both countries.

During the opening session, H.E. Dr. Al Qasabi stressed the need to build bridges of fruitful and constructive cooperation between the two friendly countries. According to H. E. the Minister, having strong relations and common interests between Saudi Arabia and Sweden is an important incentive for increasing trade and economic relations and for developing joint ties among the business community in both countries.

H.E. Dr. Al Qasabi said, "The rapid changes in global conditions and the transformations based on advanced and modern technology have made it important for the Kingdom to adopt the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which is based on a diversified economy and an open market. It is imperative for us to work together with our partners around the world to achieve our common goals and interests."

H.E. added, "The Kingdom of Sweden has strong potential, capabilities and advantages that go in line with the objectives and priorities of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. This is a great incentive for further cooperation to develop trade and investment and for realizing the aspirations of the leaders of the two countries,"

For her part, H.E. the Swedish Minister of Trade said that the meetings of the joint Saudi-Swedish committee will help to achieve greater partnerships and cooperation between the two friendly countries in various fields, confirming to work on many common objectives to diversify bilateral cooperation and to increase the volume of investments.

H.E. the Swedish Minister of Trade hailed and praised the achievements of the Kingdom in the last decades at all levels, especially the infrastructure, health sectors, education and others, stressing the desire of the Swedish private sector to build business and investment partnerships in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

H.E. the Swedish Minister added that the ambitious plans and programs included in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which are based on education, creativity and women’s role, would give us great chances to promote and strengthen the bilateral relations between the two friendly countries.

Notably, the volume of trade exchange between Saudi Arabia and Sweden amounted to SR 5 billion in 2016, with Sweden ranking 58th in the Kingdom's foreign exports and 24th in the Kingdom's imports from the world.

The number of Saudi-Swedish projects operating in the Kingdom reached 23. In 2008, an agreement was signed to promote and protect investments between the two countries.

The first session of the Saudi-Swedish Joint Committee meetings go in line with the Joint Business Council meeting, as well as the Business Forum, which aims to contribute effectively to the development of bilateral relations in various fields, with the aid and support of the government and private sectors.