The second EU-GCC Business Forum will be held in Riyadh on Monday to discuss key economic development issues, such as transport, infrastructure and sustainable urban development. In parallel to the Forum, a roundtable luncheon meeting will be held between high-ranking Saudi officials and visiting EU officials on the various investment opportunities for EU businesses in support of the Saudi National Transformation Plan, as well as investment barriers faced by EU companies in the Kingdom. EU Commissioner for Transport Mrs Violeta Bulc is scheduled to arrive in Riyadh on Sunday to lead the EU delegation to both the discussions. The Saudi delegation to the roundtable will be hosted by Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority Acting Governor Prince Saud bin Khaled Al-Faisal and Violeta Bulc. It is intended to be an open debate between representatives of EU private sectors and Saudi officials. Elaborating on the strong EU-GCC economic relations within the framework on their bilateral agreement of 1985, a European Union press release says, "Trade volumes between the two regions have almost doubled during the past decade and stood at slightly more than €155 billion in 2015. The GCC countries together are the EU's fourth export market, and Saudi Arabia alone is Europe's 12th largest export market." The statement adds, "With the economic changes in the Gulf region and the most recently announced Saudi Vision 2030 as well as the corresponding National Transformation Plan, opportunities for both bilateral cooperation and increased trade and investment have been underlined even further." In 2014, the European Union launched the EU-GCC Trade and Business Cooperation Facility a three-year project aimed at strengthening trade, investment and business cooperation between the EU and the GCC through business networks, mutual understanding and dialogue. The first EU-GCC Business Forum was held in Brussels in May, 2016.
