UK, Saudi Arabia sign agreement to advance bilateral links in science

The United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia have struck a deal to advance bilateral links in science and research, enabling the Gulf Kingdom to access Britain’s trillion-dollar technology market.

At the annual LEAP conference held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, yesterday, the UK’s Science Minister, Andrew Griffith, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with his Saudi counterpart, Abdullah Alswaha, in a move which reportedly aims to foster bilateral relationships between British and Saudi businesses, enable new academic partnerships and joint ventures and help the Gulf Kingdom bolster its budding science and technology industries.

In comments to the British newspaper City A.M., Griffith insisted that Saudi Arabia offers a “great opportunity” for British scientists and businesses, having an “exciting, buzzy economy” which is experiencing rapid change. According to the Minister, “there are many UK businesses, both small businesses starting up here for the first time and bigger businesses, opening offices in places like Riyadh”.

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The move comes amid increasing international investment into the Kingdom in recent years, particularly in the context of its Vision 2030 and mega-projects, such as the futuristic city of NEOM, which are currently underway. There are significant concerns over the Gulf State’s human rights record, however, which has led to a myriad of organisations and activists criticising investment in and cooperation with Riyadh.

Addressing those concerns, Griffith said that “Of course it’s right at government level that we made clear any concerns that we have that’s true about this country, but it’s true about many other places in the world where British companies do business and have interests and, of course, help the agendas of nations to move forward themselves.”

The Minister stressed that “We regularly discuss human rights with Saudi authorities through all of our diplomatic channels, including the embassy and senior ministers here. But it’s also the case that things really moved very quickly.” He insisted that the Saudi authorities have “really come quite a long way. And they’re very committed to agendas like female empowerment and human rights going forward”.

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