London Hosts GREAT FUTURES Closing Conference with Largest-Ever Saudi Delegation

London Hosts GREAT FUTURES Closing Conference with Largest-Ever Saudi Delegation 
   London, September 4, 2025, SPA -- The closing conference of the GREAT FUTURES initiative was held Wednesday in London, coinciding with the fifth meeting of the economic and social pillar of the Saudi-UK Strategic Partnership Council, co-chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
   The event was attended by the largest Saudi trade delegation to date, comprising 195 business leaders and 33 government officials, alongside more than 320 representatives of leading British companies and around 30 UK government officials.
   Minister of Commerce and Chair of the council’s Economic and Social Committee Majid Al-Kassabi stressed during the opening of the conference that the vision launched by HRH the Crown Prince has driven major transformations in the Saudi economy.
   During a ministerial session with UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds, who chairs the British side of the council’s Economic and Social Committee, Al-Kassabi praised the committee’s work on 80 ongoing initiatives aimed at turning plans into tangible achievements, centered on innovation, business empowerment, and government coordination.
   Al-Kassabi also noted that the two countries are working to increase trade to £30 billion by 2030, highlighting that the UK is already among Saudi Arabia’s top 10 trading partners, with trade exceeding £16 billion last year. He added that 1,689 British companies operate in the Kingdom, 75 of which have chosen Riyadh as their regional headquarters.
   During the conference, the two ministers announced a new Saudi-UK Strategic Partnership, aligning the UK’s modern industrial strategy with Saudi Vision 2030. The partnership will focus on five priority areas: financial connectivity, life sciences and health tech, industrial growth, creative industries, and driving innovation in education.
   The closing conference comes as part of the GREAT FUTURES initiative, one of the economic and social pillars launched by the council, serving as a key driver to advance shared economic priorities, push forward strategic initiatives, highlight achieved successes, and accelerate economic growth and cooperation across 13 promising sectors, including education, health, tourism, culture, sports, trade and investment, and finance.
   The conference featured a presentation on the UK’s industrial strategy, along with a session discussing the impact of technology in reshaping industries and how governments can enable the private sector to use advanced technologies to enhance competitiveness and sustainability.
   It also included a visual presentation by Diriyah Company showcasing how Saudi heritage is being transformed into a global model for sustainable urban living.
   The conference concluded with the signing of 38 agreements and announcements worth over SAR20 billion. It featured five workshops focused on enhancing Saudi-UK cooperation in priority sectors, presentations of success stories from companies in both countries, an accompanying exhibition, and folkloric musical performances that reflected the cultures of both nations.
   Riyadh hosted the GREAT FUTURES initiative conference in May 2024, with the participation of 2,200 representatives from the business sectors of both countries. The event included more than 20 bilateral ministerial meetings, the signing of 13 agreements, 50 dialogue sessions, and 10 workshops. Over the past year, both sides also organized numerous economic events to further strengthen their partnership.
   -- SPA