Economy UK PM Starmer to visit Saudi Arabia and UAE By Neil Halligan November 20, 2024, 5:26 PM Reuters Sir Keir Starmer is set to follow in his trade minister's footsteps and visit Saudi Arabia and the UAE Saudi Arabia may also visit UK Visit due next month Seeking new investment UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer is to visit Saudi Arabia and the UAE next month, according to media reports. The trip in December will seek to secure new investment for the UK and strengthen its diplomatic relations in the region, the Financial Times reports, citing people familiar with his plans. It said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may also visit London in 2025. Downing Street declined to comment when contacted by AGBI. UK trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds and trade policy minister Douglas Alexander visited Riyadh in September to discuss improving trade and investment with the Gulf region. Trade between the UK and GCC countries is worth £57 billion ($72 billion), according to UK government figures. Labour’s painful budget could fuel wealth exodus to Gulf WTO predicts Middle East trade slowdown in 2025 Six reasons why UK gilt yields rose after Labour’s budget In July weeks after Starmer led Labour to a landslide in the UK general election, his government announced plans to deliver a trade deal with the GCC. The UK’s Department for Business and Trade said in September that a GCC trade deal could help strengthen the UK economy by £1.6 billion ($2 billion) in the long run. Speaking in October, in a second visit to the Riyadh to attend the Future Investment Initiative summit, Alexander told AGBI that the UK is “actively seeking” Gulf investors. “The kind of investments we have seen from the UAE and Saudi Arabia is certainly something we would be encouraging in the years ahead,” he added.
