JEDDAH — A Swiss businesswomen delegation met last Nov. 28 in Jeddah with a number of Saudi businessmen and businesswomen to learn about potential commercial and investment opportunities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This comes in line with Saudi Arabia’s keenness to encourage investments and trade in promising vital sectors, and reflects the decisions taken by the Government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, to create an environment conducive to investment within the Saudi Vision 2030.

During the meeting, which took place at the invitation of Heinrich Schellenberg, Ambassador of Switzerland to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Swiss businesswomen delegation, the first ever to visit the Kingdom, discussed ways to strengthen cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Switzerland in various fields.

“There are more than 100 Swiss companies already doing business in Saudi Arabia that employ and transfer knowledge to young Saudis,” noted Ambassador Schellenberg, stressing that his country looks forward to further cooperation and stronger ties between the two countries.

The ambassador further said that the Swiss businesswomen delegation’s visit aims to explore ways and aspects of cooperation with companies in Saudi Arabia, currently Switzerland's second trading partner in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) after the United Arab Emirates.

“The trade balance amounted to 3.2 billion Swiss francs, with exports to the Kingdom that totaled 2.8 billion Swiss francs and 440 million Swiss francs of imports,” Schellenberg continued. “The main types of exports to Saudi Arabia are pharmaceuticals, precious stones, jewelry, machines, clocks and coffee.”

Sheikh Khaled Juffali, Honorary Consul of Switzerland in Jeddah, hailed the positive and fruitful meetings carried out by the Swiss businesswomen delegation. He noted that both sides agreed on the importance of reinforcing the existing cooperation between them in light of the distinguished relations between the two countries’ leaderships.

The Swiss businesswomen delegation included representatives of key Swiss commercial and industrial sectors, notably, medical products, public relations, event management, tourism and others. — SG