LONDON: The UK plans to deepen its relationship with Saudi Arabia in the areas of innovation and technology, a UK government minister said during a visit to the Kingdom.
Bringing together expertise from the two countries will help them both benefit from the rapid advances in new technologies, the UK’s Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology Peter Kyle told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.
The UK wants “to continue to work closely with Saudi Arabia to bring together our science and tech expertise so we can ensure potentially game-changing innovations can benefit both our nations,” Kyle said in the interview published on Thursday.
“The UK and Saudi Arabia are natural partners in these areas, with shared ambitions when it comes to both innovation and our strengths in science and technology. Right across the world, breakthrough technologies like AI, quantum, and engineering biology are starting to transform our economies and societies.”
Kyle said the UK and Saudi Arabia were also working together on clean energy and hydrogen technologies after they launched a joint energy partnership in January 2022.
The agreement was strengthened by a visit in December to Riyadh by the British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
During the trip, the UK and Saudi Arabia signed agreements covering environmentally-sustainable advanced materials and hydrogen.
“We have made becoming a clean energy superpower one of our key government missions, and the growing demand for clean energy is a massive shared opportunity — for growth, for green jobs, and for enhanced energy security,” Kyle said.
“By further building the commercial and investment ties between our two countries, we can drive research and innovation and build the skills we need to continue the net-zero transition — benefitting us all.”
During his visit to the Kingdom, the minister went to the King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center and met the medics who carried out the first robotic heart transplant in January.
He also visited King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology.
