Saudi Arabia to sign deals with UK to strengthen cooperation

Saudi Arabia expects to sign several agreements with UK covering a range of fields during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to London this week, news agencies reported.

Diplomats said these deals, which may cover fields such as education, technology as well as security, could be worth more than $100 billion.

Commenting on Prince Mohammed’s visit, Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir said agreements and memorandums of understanding would be signed in a number of areas across a broad range of issues.

"Our relationship is so strong that the talks will be broad and wide ranging,” Al-Jubeir said.

The UK's expected exit from the European Union (EU), scheduled for March 2019, will not weigh on its attractiveness as an investment hub, the minister said, adding that he expects the crown prince's visit to take bilateral relations to a “higher level.”

“British ingenuity and British technology and British know-how is not going to change whether you’re part of the EU or not part of the EU”, he noted.

Al-Jubeir gave no further details on these agreements or on the precise agenda for the crown prince's visit.

Meanwhile, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, the Crown Prince said he hoped British businesses would be able to benefit from the profound changes taking place in his country after the Brexit negotiations are complete.

"We believe that Saudi Arabia needs to be part of the global economy," he noted, adding that after Brexit there will be huge opportunities for Britain as a result of Vision 2030.

UK trade with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states stands at about 10 percent of total commercial transactions – more than the total amount of trade with China.