British Deputy PM Says UK to Cooperate with Saudi Arabia on Green Hydrogen, Renewable Energy

British Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Oliver Dowden speaks to Asharq Al-Awsat
British Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Oliver Dowden speaks to Asharq Al-Awsat
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British Deputy PM Says UK to Cooperate with Saudi Arabia on Green Hydrogen, Renewable Energy

British Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Oliver Dowden speaks to Asharq Al-Awsat
British Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Oliver Dowden speaks to Asharq Al-Awsat

British Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Oliver Dowden has said that the UK has agreed with Saudi Arabia to strengthen cooperation in areas such as green and clean hydrogen and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS).

“We are keen to make more efforts together in research and innovation in renewable energy,” Dowden told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper in an interview.

“Saudi Arabia is a testbed for so much of the innovation that will transform all of our lives, from clean energy to healthy lifestyles,” he said.

Here is the full text of the interview:

Q: What are you hoping to achieve from the GREAT FUTURES event in Riyadh and why is it important?

One of the most extraordinary stories in our world at the moment is the social, economic and cultural transformation of Saudi Arabia. Your country is now home to some of the world's largest initiatives, including five major giga projects, investing more than three trillion by 2030, all encapsulated by your country’s ‘Vision 2030.’

Britain wants to not only endorse ‘Saudi Vision 2030’, we want to be part of it.

That’s why I’m leading a 400+ strong business delegation, the biggest ever UK business delegation to Saudi Arabia. I’ll be joined by captains of UK industry from financial services, business and culture. We are coming to promote cooperation between our Kingdoms and secure joint investment across critical sectors from financial services, business, education, and culture.

Alongside His Excellency Minister Al Qasabi, I co-chair the UK-Saudi ‘Strategic Partnership Council’ established in 2018 to underpin relations between our kingdoms - and through this partnership we have already achieved much and there is more to come.

The two day GREAT FUTURES summit will serve as a forum to continue discussions about further investment in many sectors, including critical minerals and cutting edge technology, as well as the planned free trade agreement between the United Kingdom and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

This year-long campaign is no longer just a vision, but rather a plan of action that the UK is proud to be a key partner in supporting.

It demonstrates the UK’s commitment to support Saudi Arabia’s transformation and also acts as a mechanism to turbocharge British businesses presence in the Kingdom and accelerate vital business to business links that make our relationship so valuable. Britain is the perfect partner to help achieve its huge ambitions.

Q: What will you be announcing at GREAT FUTURES?
New figures show that Saudi inward investment into the UK from Saudi Arabia has topped £16.8 billion since 2017.
The North East of England alone stands to benefit from a further £3 billion of planned investment from Saudi Arabia, sustaining 2,000 jobs in the region.
On top of these new figures, I will be announcing a constellation of new investment between our two Kingdoms - in sectors including financial services, education, culture and more.

Specifically the United Kingdom will sign an updated Memorandum of Understanding (agreement) with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia renewing a joint commitment to further investment.

British universities as a university as The University of Strathclyde plans to cooperate with its counterpart Saudi universities. The new partnership represents a wave of institutions expanding into the region, with 40 higher educational partnerships signed between the two Kingdoms to date.

We agreed to strengthen cooperation in areas such as green and clean hydrogen and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS). We are keen to make more efforts together in research and innovation in renewable energy. Saudi Arabia is a testbed for so much of the innovation that will transform all of our lives, from clean energy to healthy lifestyles.

Q: Why is it easy to do business in Saudi Arabia?
We have strong trade links and established business practices. Saudi Arabia is the 20th largest UK export market with £11.7 billion total exports for the four quarters to the end of Q2 2023.

This partnership is really a two-way street. We’re opening up our markets to one another, so that investment, exports, tourism and collaboration flows in both directions

Q: What will you be doing in AlUla?

As former Culture Secretary, one of the most exciting areas of collaboration is the cultural exchange and I am eager to see the magnificence of AlUla, which I’ve heard so much about.

I will be visiting the beautiful and internationally significant city to make the expected announcement of further cultural partnerships between our two Kingdoms.

Q: Doing business in the UK is now harder than ever because of the UK’s regulatory system, is that something you can tell us about?

It is important to stress that the UK’s National Security & Investment Act will always enthusiastically champion open markets, recognizing the vast majority of inward investment is highly beneficial. But alongside our openness to investment, the government also needs to undertake appropriate due diligence in sensitive sectors, to manage our national security interests.

The National Security and Investment Act gives us the tools to do this. Our aim is to enable investments wherever we can, sometimes with appropriate protections in place.

Q: What does the UK-Saudi relationship mean for stability in the region?

The UK and Saudi Arabia have a deep historical relationship, based on a long history of working together diplomatically, a close military and security relationship, and strong economic and commercial links. This relationship is important in maintaining and developing how we work together to tackle regional threats, and ensure greater stability for the region.



China Hits Back at US and Will Raise Tariffs on American Goods from 84% to 125%

An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indices as people walk on a pedestrian bridge at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura
An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indices as people walk on a pedestrian bridge at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura
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China Hits Back at US and Will Raise Tariffs on American Goods from 84% to 125%

An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indices as people walk on a pedestrian bridge at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura
An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indices as people walk on a pedestrian bridge at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura

China announced Friday that it will raise tariffs on US goods from 84% to 125% — the latest salvo in an escalating trade war between the world's two largest economies that has rattled markets and raised fears of a global slowdown.

While US President Donald Trump paused import taxes this week for other countries, he raised tariffs on China and they now total 145%. China has denounced the policy as “economic bullying" and promised countermeasures. The new tariffs begin Saturday.

Washington's repeated raising of tariffs “will become a joke in the history of the world economy,” a Chinese Finance Ministry spokesman said in a statement announcing the new tariffs. “However, if the US insists on continuing to substantially infringe on China’s interests, China will resolutely counter and fight to the end.”

China’s Commerce Ministry said it would file another lawsuit with the World Trade Organization against the US tariffs.

“There are no winners in a tariff war,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping said during a meeting with the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, according to a readout from state broadcaster CCTV. “For more than 70 years, China has always relied on itself ... and hard work for development, never relying on favors from anyone, and not fearing any unreasonable suppression.”

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday said China stands firm against Trump’s tariffs not only to defend its own rights and interests but also to “safeguard the common interests of the international community to ensure that humanity is not dragged back into a jungle world where might makes right.”

Wang made the remarks when he met Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Beijing. Wang said China will “work together with other countries to jointly resist all retrogressive actions in the world.”

Trump's on-again, off-again measures have caused alarm in stock and bond markets and led some to warn that the US could be headed for a recession. There was some relief when Trump paused the tariffs for most countries — but concerns remain since the US and China are the world's No. 1 and No. 2 economies, respectively.

“The risk that this escalating trade war tips the world into a recession is rising as the two largest and most powerful countries in the world continue to punch back with higher and higher tariffs,” Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital markets, wrote Friday. “No one truly knows when this will end.”

Chinese tariffs will affect goods like soybeans, aircrafts and their parts and drugs — all among the country's major imports from the US Beijing, meanwhile, suspended sorghum, poultry and bonemeal imports from some American companies last week, and put more export controls on rare earth minerals, critical for various technologies.

The United States' top imports from China, meanwhile, include electronics, like computers and cell phones, industrial equipment and toys — and consumers and businesses are likely to see prices rise on those products, with tariffs now at 145%.

Trump announced on Wednesday that China would face 125% tariffs, but he did not include a 20% tariff on China tied to its role in fentanyl production.

White House officials hope the import taxes will create more manufacturing jobs by bringing production back to the United States — a politically risky trade-off that could take years to materialize, if at all.