Saudi, Austria in talks to boost bilateral cooperation

27 Nov 2014

(MENAFN) Saudi’s Ministry of Economy planning said it has held talks
with Austria’s Ministry of Foreign Economic policy to discuss expanding bilateral cooperation, Arab News reported.

Austria said that the purpose of these talks is to take advantage of the strong relations it has with the Kingdom to boost the bilateral relations, especially with the availability of plenty of opportunities to expand and increase cooperation between the two countries.

These talks come after the bilateral trade between the two countries has
amounted to USD1.41 billion, with the help of The Austrian Foreign Trade Promotion Organization (FTPO), which facilitates Austrian companies to enter the Saudi market and assists in enhancing economic cooperation between the two countries.

The trade resulted in Austrian exports to Saudi Arabia to amount to USD853.85 million in 2013, while Austrian imports from the Kingdom totaled USD461.84 million for the same year, Austrian exports including pharmaceuticals, timber, paper, special vehicles, machines, steel and plastic products, railway tracks and furniture while their imports from Saudi are mainly crude oil and petrochemicals.

“Plenty of opportunities exist in the Kingdom, which is marked by rapid economic developments, especially metro projects in Riyadh and Jeddah, high-speed Haramain railway from Jeddah to Madinah and several financial city projects under way,” FTPO said after the talks concluded.