Saudi Gazette report

LONDON — Minister of Commerce Dr. Majed Al-Qasabi headed the preparatory work for the meetings of the economic and social side of the Saudi-British Strategic Partnership Council in the United Kingdom.

Leading a contingent of 19-member high level delegation, Qasabi continues holding talks with high ranking British officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden. The delegation, which includes senior officials of 10 government departments and agencies, is scheduled to conclude their meetings on Thursday.

Prince Khalid bin Bandar, Saudi ambassador to the United Kingdom, also joined the Saudi delegation in their meetings. The delegation, headed by Al-Qasabi, held a series of bilateral meetings with British Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, Minister of Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch, Minister of Investment Lord Dominic Johnson, and Advisor to the Prime Minister for Business and Investment Frank Petitgas. Qasabi also met Chief Operating Officer of the UK Infrastructure Bank James Emmett and Director of the British Museum Sir Mark Jones.

During the meetings, Al-Qasabi discussed the ways to strengthen economic partnership in priority sectors for the two countries, efforts to activate previously agreed upon initiatives, joint executive work plans for the current year, expanding business opportunities and quality investments, and encouraging British companies to expand their business in the Kingdom to take advantage of promising opportunities.

The delegation’s scheduled meetings on Thursday include talks with Minister of State for Industry and Economic Security Nusrat Ghani. The talks would figure topics such as enhancing the flexibility of supply chains, employing artificial intelligence in economic work, and exchanging experiences, in addition to deepening cooperation in joint mining projects, especially those related to rare metals.

In the second meeting, Al-Qasabi is scheduled to meet Minister of State for Schools Affairs Damian Hinds. Their talks would include bilateral initiatives in the educational and training fields and opportunities for their development.

The preparatory work will be concluded with meetings of the technical teams of the economic and social side of the Saudi-British Strategic Partnership Council, which will discuss developments in joint cooperation initiatives in the sectors of trade, investment, education, healthcare, energy, industry, culture, and sports.

It is to be noted that the delegation includes representatives of a number of government agencies namely Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, Ministry of Investment, Ministry of Sports, Ministry of Culture, Public Investment Fund, and the National Competitiveness Center.