King Carlos visit takes ties to new heights

The visit of King Juan Carlos of Spain to the Kingdom has opened new windows of opportunity for trade between the two countries.
The Spanish business delegation accompanying King Juan Carlos held a one-on-one business meeting with Saudi businessmen at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) in the presence of diplomats from the Spanish Embassy in Riyadh and the consulate in Jeddah and officials from the JCCI and the Ministries of Trade and Tourism on Sunday.
King Carlos reiterated the fundamental importance of the Kingdom to the Middle East and the Islamic world at large, saying the country has become a key player in the G-20 and in international forums.
Saudi Arabia is the second largest importer of Spanish goods in the Middle East, said Mazen Batterjee, vice chairman of the JCCI.
“The visit of King Juan Carlos and his delegation of prominent businessmen only serves to strengthen the relationship between the two countries,” he said.
Batterjee introduced the city of Jeddah to guests and reassured attendees that the leadership of both countries would endeavor to foster new relations in the business and economic domains.
“Today’s meeting will open new domains for mutual cooperation between Saudi and Spanish companies, creating job opportunities for youth,” he said. “We seek to build joint companies and production facilities together and engage in an exchange of knowledge and expertise to enhance the Kingdom’s development.”
Spanish companies are investors to both small and large-sized business ventures in the Kingdom, he said.
Abdullah Al-Rasheed, chairman of the Saudi-Spanish Business Council, said: “Several contracts have been signed between the Kingdom and Spanish companies for the development of our railway and tourism infrastructures and petrochemicals factories.
“Five partnership agreements between Saudi and Spanish companies were also signed in September 2013 and a joint trade meeting will be held in September in Madrid.”
According to the Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC), the two sides recently signed several joint contracts worth $13 billion with the Saudi Railways Organization (SRO) for a railway line linking the two holy mosques at Makkah and Madinah, in addition to contracts signed with petrochemical factories in companies such as SABIC and Aramco and the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC).