Arab News, Saturday, Jan 07, 2023 | Jamadi Al Thani 14, 1444
Saudi Arabia, Sweden to bolster trade relations with joint economic action plan
Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Arabia is in talks with Sweden to
develop a joint economic action plan for 2023 to bolster trade and investment
relations between the two countries.
The discussions took place between Hussein
Al-Abdulkader, the secretary-general of the Federation of Saudi Chambers and
Petra Menander, the Swedish ambassador to the Kingdom, Al Ekhbariya reported.
The pair discussed the prospects for trade and
investment relations, advancing the path of cooperation between the business
sectors in both countries and the opportunities available for Swedish firms in
the largest Arab market in the region.
The new economic action plan includes holding
Saudi-Swedish Joint Business Council meetings and organizing specialized trade
delegations’ visits.
Additionally, the plan also entails promoting
business opportunities and partnerships in small and medium enterprises,
entrepreneurship, innovation, health, renewable energy and technology.
Moreover, the plan will shed light on the
available investment opportunities in both countries.
This bilateral talk comes as Saudi Arabia’s
imports from Sweden reached SR5.45 billion ($1.45 billion) in 2021, according to
the UN Comtrade database on international trade. The Kingdom’s exports to Sweden
stood at SR416 million during the same year.
Last year, investment opportunities in Saudi
Arabia and Sweden were in the spotlight during a two-day Saudi-Sweden event at
Expo 2020 Dubai.
A series of panel discussions explored how to
boost mutual trade relations between the two nations.
“Saudi Arabia welcomes and invites Swedish
companies to invest in our country and to take advantage of the opportunities
and initiatives of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, especially in sustainability,
smart cities, manufacturing industries and areas such as e-commerce and
information technology,” said Hussain Hanbazazah, commissioner general of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia pavilion during his opening remarks at the Expo event.
Similarly, in 2022, the Kingdom and Finland agreed
to form a new bilateral organization to boost the SR1.9 billion trading
relationship between the two countries.
Representatives from the Federation of Saudi
Chambers and the Finnish Chamber of Commerce signed a memorandum of
understanding in Helsinki to establish a joint Saudi-Finnish Business
Council.
The new body was set to focus on developing new
areas of economic cooperation and promoting links between the Saudi and Finnish
business sectors, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
The Federation also signed an MoU with the
governmental organization “Business Finland,” which will focus on financing and
promoting trade and investment between the two countries — particularly in the
sectors of technology, digitalization, energy, circular economy, mining,
transport and logistics services, healthcare and water.