Thursday 07 Oct 2021

 

The opening of the Saudi-Swedish Business Council and the work of the joint committee in its second session. The Minister of Commerce discusses ways to enhance trade exchange and investment opportunities with the Swedish side.

​​ His Excellency the Minister of Commerce, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority of ​Foreign Trade, Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, and Her Excellency, the Minister of Foreign Trade of the Kingdom of Sweden, Anne Hallberg, inaugurated today in the Swedish capital Stockholm, the Saudi-Swedish Business Council, in the presence of council members, businessmen and investors in the two countries. Al-Qasabi stressed that the Business Council plays a key role in stimulating and encouraging the private sector on both sides, contributing to the development of bilateral relations, transferring expertise and knowledge, and setting plans and programs to seize available investment opportunities, and turn them into tangible partnerships. He said that the Kingdom is keen to enhance trade cooperation, facilitate the access of exports to Sweden and the Scandinavian countries, and exchange experiences and knowledge, explaining that the Kingdom is the largest economic partner in the Middle East for Sweden, and the first trading partner among the Scandinavian countries, as the volume of trade exchange in the last five years amounted to more than 6 billion dollars. Al-Qasabi urged Swedish companies to invest in the KSA in various promising sectors and to invest in the opportunities and initiatives of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, especially in manufacturing industries and various promising sectors such as e-commerce, information technology. His Excellency touched on the most prominent economic reforms in light of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, the most important investment opportunities, and the Kingdom's achievements in empowering women, preserving the environment, clean and renewable energy fields, progress in commercial policies and improving the business environment. For her part, Vice Minister of Commerce, and CEO of the National Competitiveness Center, Dr. Iman bint Habas Al-Mutairi, reviewed the most prominent economic reforms in light of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, which contributed to creating a competitive environment that enhances economic growth through many regulatory, legislative and procedural reforms in various sectors. On the other hand, the Saudi-Swedish Joint Committee held its second session with the aim of enhancing joint cooperation, during which the minutes of the meeting of the joint committee were signed, which outlines the road map for strengthening cooperation in all sectors between the two countries. The Saudi-Swedish Business Council and the Joint Committee witnessed the presence and participation of the Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to the Kingdom of Sweden and the Republic of Iceland, Enas bint Ahmed Al-Shahwan, the Undersecretary of the General Authority of Foreign Trade for International Relations, Eng. Jaber bin Munawwar Al-Mishaal, the President of the Saudi Swedish Business Council and the Executive Committee, Lubna Sulaiman Al-Olayan, and Council members, namely: Saud bin Ghassan Al-Sulaiman, Fahd AbdulAziz Abu Nyan, Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Juffali, AbdulRahman bin Essam Al-Zahid, Khalid bin Abdul​Ghani Sulaimani, Ahmed Walid Al-Attiyah, AbdulRahman bin Hamad Al-Muaibed, in addition to representatives of the private sector. ​​