Local Editor
Great Britain has promised to help Saudi Arabia to diversify its oil-dependent economy during Theresa May’s visit to the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia faces a significant budget deficit with billions of dollars in debts to private firms, largely in the construction business, after a drop in global oil prices by about half since 2014.
May’s office said she would discuss with the Saudi monarch "tax and privatization standards to help Saudi Arabia diversify its economy and become less reliant on oil".
The visit by the British prime minister to the oil-rich kingdom came as she seeks to secure investment and trade now that Britain has officially started a two-year countdown to leave the European Union.
As the kingdom weighs up which international market should list shares of oil giant Saudi Aramco in what many expect will be the largest public offering ever, May pitched the merits of the London Stock Exchange as a venue for the flotation.
Saudi Arabia plans to list less than 5 per cent of the world’s largest oil-producing company on the Saudi exchange and another international exchange, possibly by next year.
May laid out the advantages of doing business in the UK. during a private meeting with Saudi energy minister and Aramco chairman Khalid Al Falih.
Britain will also assist Riyadh in reforming its ministry of defense and reviewing defense capabilities despite criticism over arms sales to the Saudi-led military coalition bombing Yemen since March 2015. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute think tank Saudi Arabia has bought more than $5 billion worth of arms from the United States and Britain since its engagement in the Yemen war.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
