London, Riyadh Seek New Partnerships in Hydrogen, Carbon, Clean Technologies

British Deputy Ambassador to Riyadh Anna Walters. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
British Deputy Ambassador to Riyadh Anna Walters. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
20

London, Riyadh Seek New Partnerships in Hydrogen, Carbon, Clean Technologies

British Deputy Ambassador to Riyadh Anna Walters. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
British Deputy Ambassador to Riyadh Anna Walters. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

British Deputy Ambassador to Riyadh Anna Walters said the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia were exploring new partnerships in hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, and clean technologies.

Walters told Asharq Al-Awsat that the two kingdoms were working on many new investment projects, adding that British companies were supporting Saudi giant projects, including NEOM, Qiddiya and Sports Boulevard.

Saudi Arabia is the United Kingdom’s second largest trading partner in the Middle East and the second largest export destination in the region, according to the official.

She noted that latest government figures showed that total trade in goods and services between the two countries reached 17.3 billion pounds in 2022, an increase of 68.5 percent, compared to 2021.

The bilateral relationship, according to Walters, provides important trade and economic opportunities for both parties.

She stressed that cooperation was growing rapidly across a range of sectors, transforming partnerships in defense, health and education, with emerging prospects in new sectors such as life sciences, aerospace, technology, critical minerals, culture, tourism and sports.

The UK is a priority market for the Saudi Public Investment Fund, including investments made through the SoftBank Vision Fund. The PIF has led more than $12 billion in investments in the UK since 2017.

Walters said the UK was currently negotiating with the Gulf Cooperation Council a free trade agreement, noting that the GCC countries, as one bloc, were the seventh largest export market in Britain.

She added that Saudi Arabia was an important investor in her country, expecting the PIF and other Saudi entities to continue to invest heavily in the UK.



UN Trade Agency: New Trade War Deadline Prolongs Instability

Workers inspect imported stones at a marble factory in Kishangarh, in India's Rajasthan state on July 8, 2025. (Photo by HIMANSHU SHARMA / AFP)
Workers inspect imported stones at a marble factory in Kishangarh, in India's Rajasthan state on July 8, 2025. (Photo by HIMANSHU SHARMA / AFP)
TT
20

UN Trade Agency: New Trade War Deadline Prolongs Instability

Workers inspect imported stones at a marble factory in Kishangarh, in India's Rajasthan state on July 8, 2025. (Photo by HIMANSHU SHARMA / AFP)
Workers inspect imported stones at a marble factory in Kishangarh, in India's Rajasthan state on July 8, 2025. (Photo by HIMANSHU SHARMA / AFP)

The Trump administration's decision to extend a negotiating deadline for tariff rates is prolonging uncertainty and instability for countries, the executive director of the United Nations trade agency said on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump on Monday ramped up his trade war, telling 14 nations, from powerhouse suppliers such as Japan and South Korea to minor trade players, that they now face sharply higher tariffs from a new deadline of August 1.

"This move actually extends the period of uncertainty, undermining long-term investment and business contracts, and creating further uncertainty and instability," Pamela Coke-Hamilton, executive director of the International Trade Centre, told reporters in Geneva, according to Reuters.

"If a business is not clear on what costs they are going to pay, they cannot plan, they cannot decide on who will invest," Coke-Hamilton said, citing the example of Lesotho, where major textile exporting companies have withheld their investment for the time being, pending a tariff outcome.

The uncertainty, combined with deep cuts in development aid, had created a "dual shock" for developing countries, she added.

Countries have been under pressure to conclude deals with the US after Trump unleashed a global trade war in April that roiled financial markets and sent policymakers scrambling to protect their economies.