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9th July 2019 – Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom held the first Economic and Social Committee  meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council on Sunday.
HE Dr Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, Minister of Commerce and Investment, and Mr Philip Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer, discussed ways to further enhance cooperation between the two Kingdoms, including means of encouraging mutual exports and attracting direct domestic investments. The ministers also discussed investment licenses granted to British companies, which are estimated to invest more than $10 billion in capital. The committee discussed the work of the Private Sector Groups, which was established in March 2018 to facilitate relations between businesses, thus contributing to the achievement of the vision’s objectives.
The Council meetings were concluded with a joint statement in which the UK reaffirmed its continuing commitment to support the implementation of Saudi Vision 2030, the Kingdom’s program for economic diversification and social development. The statement also highlighted the significant economic progress achieved since the vision was launched in 2016 as part of the strategic partnership:
“Both countries have worked to support the development of the skills and capabilities of Saudi citizens as the two countries are key strategic partners of Vision 2030, and both countries reaffirmed their common commitment to building and developing trade and investment, and to the common prosperity of the citizens of both kingdoms,” 
“Saudi Arabia and the UK are committed to a long-term partnership to support the implementation of Vision 2030 in the areas identified in the Strategic Partnership programme, including the assessment of joint investment opportunities such as the UK Public Investment Fund, bilateral trade and investment that meet the vision’s orientations. In the trade and investment hub, the joint statement pointed out that the volume of bilateral trade between Saudi Arabia and the UK exceeds $5 billion annually.”
Commercial opportunities that were agreed during the Strategic Partnership Council include:
• a £100 million contract with manufacturer De La Rue to help tackle illicit trade by introducing a digital tax stamp solution for soft drinks and tobacco products sold in the Kingdom
• a full banking licence for British bank Standard Chartered
• a venture capital licence for Hambro Perks
Further Information
Agreements reached as part of the Strategic Partnership Council include:
• Standard Chartered Bank has been granted their banking license in the Kingdom.
• INEOS has signed an agreement to invest $2 billion with Saudi Aramco and Total to build its first ever plants in the Middle East.
• Alderley has announced a $10 million contract award from Saudi Aramco for the design and manufacturing in-kingdom of Modular Skids. This is the second award of its kind awarded from Saudi Aramco to Alderley in Saudi Arabia with a total of more than £52 million in contract awards in Q1 2019.
• Health Education England signed a Memorandum of Understanding in April for the International Postgraduate Medical Training Schemes (IPGMTS) between Health Education England (HEE) & Scholarships affairs, Ministry of Education.
• Manchester, Birmingham, King’s College London and Queen’s Belfast Universities have each signed separate agreements with the Ministry of Education, Scholarship Department at the International Higher Education Conference this year to enable 200 Saudi nurses to join one of these UK universities.
• De La Rue announced a five-year contract with the General Authority of Zakat and Tax (GAZT) to implement and operate a digital tax stamp solution for all tobacco products and soft drinks sold in the Kingdom.
• The Royal Mint signed a contract with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) to supply both lower denominations and one Riyal coins together with supporting the Central Bank on coinage forecast advice.
• GlaxoSmithKline (GSK): GSK will be announcing the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) in the next couple of weeks. Through this MoU, GSK aims to further expand its local manufacturing of its innovative pharmaceutical portfolio and invest in local talents and capabilities aligned with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goals.
• London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG): Saudi Aramco established a Global Medium-Term Notes Programme (GMTN) and issued their inaugural $12 billion debut bond with five tranches – the largest corporate bond from Middle East, Africa or Asia on London Stock Exchange. This follows a US Dollar denominated sukuk ($2 billion, 4.30%, Jan-2029), listed in September 2018.