UK, Saudi Arabia Announce New Strategic Partnership

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) LONDON, Sept 3 (KUNA) -- UK Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and Saudi Minister of Commerce Dr. Majid Al-Kassabi co-chaired the fifth meeting of the Economic and Social Pillar of the Saudi-UK Strategic Partnership Council during the GREAT FUTURES summit in London on Wednesday.
The Council aims to develop and strengthen bilateral relations; and is structured into two pillars: defense, security, and political; and economic and social, according to a statement from the UK Department for Business and Trade.
The Economic and Social Pillar co-chairs - Al-Kassabi and Reynolds, expressed their pride in the tangible progress made in cooperation since the initiative's launch last year.
The two sides announced a new Saudi-UK Strategic Partnership, building on the synergies between the UK's modern Industrial Strategy and Saudi Vision 2030, designed to turbocharge collaboration, trade and resilience in priority sectors under the Economic and Social Pillar.
This partnership started during the summit and the co-chairs agreed to review detailed implementation plans at regular intervals to ensure effective implementation and successful delivery with a focus on five strategic priority areas: Financial Connectivity, Life Sciences and HealthTech, Industrial Growth, Creative Industries and Driving Innovation in Education.
Both sides noted exceeding GBP 16 billion of bilateral trade in 2024 and reaffirmed the goal of reaching GBP 30 billion by 2030.
Both sides praised GREAT FUTURES as a key platform for aligning perspectives, fostering partnerships, and strengthening public-private sector engagement.
The summit also presented an opportunity to highlight successful projects and explore new horizons for future cooperation.
The GREAT FUTURES yearlong campaign is an economic and social initiative of the Council that serves as a key driver for promoting shared economic priorities, advancing strategic initiatives, highlighting shared successes, and accelerating economic growth.
The campaign was launched in Riyadh in May 2024 and held its flagship summit today in London. Since its inception, a series of events have been held across 13 growth sectors, achieving significant two-way investment deals and creating jobs in both Kingdoms. (end)
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