HRH Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf, the Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland, opened the latest Forum on Trade and Investment Opportunities for British Companies in Saudi Arabia in Manchester yesterday.

In a key address before more than 250 representatives of financial, economic and investment institutions in Manchester, the Ambassador confirmed that the Saudi economy offered historic opportunities for investors, and urged them to seize every chance to work with the Kingdom in its development projects and take part in its industrial prosperity.

He said the current strong relations between the two kingdoms provided an excellent framework for widening economic cooperation.

HRH Princess Loulwa Al-Faisal, the Deputy Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees and General Supervisor of Jeddah-based Effat College, also addressed the forum and cited the current economic offset program as an example of successful defence-technology joint ventures between the two countries.

She said the accession of Saudi Arabia to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) last November would allow foreign companies to work in Saudi Arabia on equal footing, and praised the performance of the Saudi economy, citing last year's figures on the surplus of budget, reduction of public debt, the increase of economic growth and the control of inflation rates.

The British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, in his speech to the Forum, also commended the Saudi security authority’s success in combating terrorism.