The UK has struck a deal with Saudi Arabia to improve science and research links as it attempts to get a foot in the door of the fast growing oil-rich nation.
Science minister Andrew Griffith, who was formerly the City minister, said the Middle Eastern Kingdom offers a “great opportunity” for British scientists and businesses, as he signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Saudi minister Abdullah Alswaha on Monday.
Griffith said Saudi Arabia has an “exciting, buzzy economy” that is undergoing rapid change. He told City A.M. that “there are many UK businesses, both small businesses starting up here for the first time and bigger businesses, opening offices in places like Riyadh.”
The UK government aims for the deal to foster bilateral relationships between UK businesses and Saudi counterparts, as well as enable new academic partnerships and joint ventures.
Key areas of collaboration for the two nations include artificial intelligence (AI), space and life sciences.
Griffith explained that the partnership “represents one of the outsize opportunities of new markets where British companies, researchers, institutions have the opportunity to form deep and long lasting relationships.”
The Gulf kingdom is seeking expertise to bolster its burgeoning science and tech industries, particularly as it develops its futuristic city, called Neom, to accommodate its rapidly expanding population.
But Britain is not the only country partnering with Saudi to advance its technological capabilities.
According to the Financial Times, Chinese tech firms, such as Alibaba and Sensetime, have secured deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars with Saudi Arabia in recent years.
Griffith signed the deal at LEAP, a conference held in Riyadh this week, often referred to as ‘Digital Davos’. The UK government has faced criticism in the past for engaging in trade discussions with a region known for its questionable human rights record.
According to Amnesty International, executions in Saudi Arabia are on the rise, with the country ranking as the 2nd highest for use of the death penalty.
“Of course it’s right at government level that we made clear any concerns that we have that’s true about this country,” said Griffith, “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.”
“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.
“They’ve really come quite a long way. And they’re very committed to agendas like female empowerment and human rights going forward,” he said.