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Riyadh: As a major step in further boosting business cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Britain, a new joint investment company with a capital investment of 2.25 billion riyals will be launched soon.
"The new company will start operation next summer," said Digby Jones, the British minister of trade and investment.
Addressing a press conference at the Dammam office of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Eastern Province yesterday, he disclosed that a working panel comprising six members representing the two countries has been constituted for the same.
"The panel, in cooperation with the consulting companies and lawyers' offices, will complete preliminary studies before signing the agreement," he said.
According to Jones, both countries attach significance to the formation of such a company, and that was among discussions that King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz had with British leaders during his visit to the UK last November.
"The British-Saudi Council also had discussions on the issue," he said. Replying to queries about decrease in the volume of trade between the two countries, he said that certain British products are not reaching Saudi Arabia directly but through other outlets.
"The decrease in volume of trade ranged between five and six per cent. But now there has been an increase of 12-15 per cent. The volume of exchange between services has not all hit by any noticeable decrease," he said.
According to Jones, economic relations have been witnessing a remarkable growth especially in the fields of trade and industry, services and consultancy.
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