RIYADH — Saudi Arabia and Singapore enjoy strategic trade relations, as the trade volume between the two countries is estimated at $12 billion, Minister of Commerce Dr. Majid Al-Qasabi said. He added that there are great opportunities to expand and diversify the volume of bilateral trade. Dr. Al-Qasabi made these remarks during the Saudi-Singapore Business Forum, which witnessed the participation of 300 leaders from both the government and private sectors in the two countries. He confirmed that the Vision launched by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Salman has brought about transformations in the Saudi economy that made it different from what it was 5 years ago. Saudi Arabia is working to transform into a global center for trade and logistics services, thanks to the soft and hard infrastructure and the economic zones that it launched this year, he said He added that the Kingdom also achieved the highest growth rate of GDP among all G20 countries in 2022 at a rate of 8.7%, with a total output of $1.1 trillion. This is in addition to the fact that 12% of the volume of global trade in 2021 is in Saudi Arabia. The minister noted that the Saudi e-commerce market ranks 27th globally. From his side, Dr. Tan See Leng, minister for manpower and second minister for trade and industry in Singapore, stated at the forum that Kingdom and Singapore enjoy close economic relations with strong trade and investment ties. He added that there is great progress in enhancing economic cooperation in many fields such as communication and energy. Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 is very impressive, and opens opportunities for Singaporean companies, the minister said, adding that the Saudi-Singapore Business Forum will strengthen trade ties between the two countries. "The forum will push this partnership forward in fields such as low-carbon alternatives, digital transformation, ports and logistics services," he said. In turn, Dr. Iman Al-Mutairi, deputy minister of commerce and CEO of the National Competitiveness Center (NCC), reviewed the most prominent reforms implemented to enhance the Kingdom's competitiveness, and the promising opportunities in vital sectors. Dr. Al-Mutairi said that there are more than 700 economic reforms implemented by 60 government agencies in the Kingdom since 2016 in 9 main areas that have enhanced Saudi Arabia's competitiveness. The reforms are: efficiency of government services, business environment, work and investment, financing, technical innovation, transparency and accountability, health care, education, and sustainable development. She also indicated that 1,200 regulations have been issued and updated that have contributed to making the business environment one of the leading destinations at the global level in attracting companies and business owners. The CEO of Singapore Business Federation (SBF) Kok Ping Soon thanked the Ministry of Commerce, NCC, and the Saudi Chambers for organizing the forum. He also stated that the business sector in the two countries are coming together to explore deepening cooperation in the targeted sectors in the field of logistics services, e-commerce, and tourism. He said that Saudi Arabia is considered as the main trade partner for Singapore in the Middle East, noting that the total value of annual trade rose by 47% in 2022 over 2021, and that Singaporean companies are following the remarkable growth achieved by the Kingdom over the past few years. "Singaporean companies are seeking to seize the new opportunities presented by Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030," he added. From his side, the secretary-general of the Federation of Saudi Chambers Waleed Al-Erainan said that the dynamism of the Singaporean and Saudi economies motivates business owners and senior officials in the two countries to activate economic partnerships. The Singaporean economy is considered as one of the most integrated economies in the global economy, Al-Erainan said, noting that the value of its trade is approaching $1 trillion. He also noted that the Saudi economy is considered the economy of the future, regionally and globally, as it has joined the trillion-dollar economies club since 2022. It is noteworthy that the Saudi-Singapore Business Forum coincided with a working visit by a high-level Saudi delegation headed by the Minister of Commerce, which included 36 officials from the public and private sectors. The visit aims to enhance bilateral trade in products and services, and raising the level of economic partnership between the two countries. The forum witnessed the announcement of the launch of the Saudi-Singaporean Business Council, as well as the signing of memorandums of understanding between a number of companies on both sides. The sidelines of the forum witnessed the holding of an accompanying exhibition for a number of Saudi and Singaporean companies operating in the e-commerce sector.
