Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Commerce and Chairman of the Board of the General Authority for Foreign Trade Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi and Swedish Minister for Foreign Trade Ms. Anna Hallberg have inaugurated the Saudi-Swedish Business Council to expand business relations between the countries.
The meeting was attended by the members of the council, and representatives from the business and investment sectors in the two countries.
Dr. Al-Qasabi stated that the council is a cornerstone of both sides’ efforts to stimulate and encourage the private sector, contributing to develop bilateral relations, exchange expertise and knowledge, and set plans and programs to seize available investment opportunities and turn them into tangible partnerships.
“The Kingdom is keen to enhance trade cooperation, facilitate exports to Sweden and the Scandinavian countries, and exchange expertise and knowledge,” Al-Qasabi said.
He further added that the Kingdom is Sweden’s largest economic partner in the Middle East and the No. 1 trade partner among the Scandinavian countries, as the volume of trade exchange in the last five years has reached more than $6 billion.
He urged Swedish businesses to invest in the Kingdom’s numerous promising sectors and to take advantage of the Saudi Vision 2030’s prospects and initiatives, particularly in manufacturing and various promising areas such as eCommerce, information technology, and others.
Dr. Al-Qasabi also highlighted the most important economic reforms in light of Vision 2030, the most promising investment opportunities, and the Kingdom’s achievements in the areas of women’s empowerment, environmental preservation, clean and renewable energy, commercial policies, and improving the business environment.
Further, the Saudi-Swedish Joint Committee discussed ways to improve bilateral collaboration. The meeting, headed by Eng. Jaber Al-Mishal, the Deputy Governor of the General Authority for Foreign Trade, approved the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Committee, which outlines the road map for strengthening cooperation in all sectors between the two countries.
