British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in Edinburgh, Scotland, December 6, 2024.
AFP
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be in the United Arab Emirates and then Saudi Arabia from Sunday evening, with the aim of attracting investment from these oil-rich states to the United Kingdom, Downing Street announced on Saturday evening.
This is Labor Keir Starmer’s first visit to the Gulf since coming to power in July.
He will arrive in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday evening, where he will meet its president, Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, on Monday morning. He will then fly to Saudi Arabia, to meet later Monday with the crown prince and de facto leader of the country Mohammed bin Salman.
“Strengthening our partnerships abroad”
This visit to Saudi Arabia comes less than a week after that of French President Emmanuel Macron, who signed with Mohammed bin Salman a strategic partnership intended to strengthen all-round cooperation, from defense to the economy of the future.
“To drive long-term growth at home, we must strengthen our partnerships abroad,” said Keir Starmer, quoted in the Downing Street statement.
He wants to “strengthen ties” with these Gulf countries to “increase investment, deepen defense and security ties, stimulate growth and create new opportunities” for the United Kingdom, it is written.
‘Major investors in the UK’
The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are already “major investors in the United Kingdom”, underlines Downing Street.
Trade with the Emirates amounts to 23 billion pounds sterling (25.9 billion Swiss francs) and that with Saudi Arabia represents 17 billion pounds sterling (19.1 billion Swiss francs).
Saudi Arabia is the UK’s largest defense customer, worth £3.8 billion (4.2 billion Swiss francs) a year, Downing Street says.
This visit comes a week after that of the Emir of Qatar in London. The United Kingdom has entered into a climate technology partnership with Qatar, which will see the emirate invest one billion pounds (1.1 billion Swiss francs) in the sector.
Keir Starmer to also discuss Gaza war
The Labor government also hopes to soon sign a trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which brings together the six states in the region (Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar).
The GCC already accounts for £55bn (62bn Swiss francs) of UK trade, but a deal could increase bilateral trade by 16%, according to Downing Street. Keir Starmer will also discuss the war in Gaza during this visit.
On his way back, Keir Starmer will stop in Cyprus, where he will meet President Nikos Christodoulides on Tuesday and finally the British troops stationed on this island.
(afp)
