‘Political Solution Only Way To End Yemen Conflict’: Saudi Crown Prince And PM May Agree

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Britain and Saudi Arabia set out an ambition to build £65 billion ($90.29 billion) of trade and investment ties in coming years, the prime minister’s office said on Wednesday, calling the agreement a vote of confidence in the British economy ahead of Brexit.

“The meeting agreed a landmark ambition for around 65 billion pounds of mutual trade and investment opportunities over the coming years, including direct investment in the UK and new Saudi public procurement with UK companies,” a spokeswoman from Prime Minister Theresa May’s office said in a statement.

“This is a significant boost for UK prosperity and a clear demonstration of the strong international confidence in our economy as we prepare to leave the European Union.”

Prime Minister Theresa May discussed bilateral relations with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

The meeting at 10 Downing Street was preceded by a meeting with Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham palace.

The PM office released a statement detailing the discussion between the two delegations.

PM May and the Saudi crown prince agreed on the importance of working together to counter Iran’s destabilising regional activity.

On Yemen, London and Riyadh agreed on the importance of full and unfettered humanitarian and commercial access, including ports access.

PM May agreed with Mohammed Bin Salman that a political solution is only way to end the conflict and humanitarian suffering in Yemen.

Later on Wednesday, the Saudi Arabian and British foreign ministers held a joint press conference to lay out agreements between the two countries.

The UK and Saudi Arabian FMs agreed to monitor the navigation routes in preparation of the reopening of the ports in Yemen.

UK’s Boris Johnson said that the UK has called for an international meeting to discuss with Saudi Arabia a political solution in Yemen. He said that the world understood Saudi Arabia’s right to protect its borders.

Saudi Arabia’s Adel Al-Jubeir said that Saudi Arabia supported the transitional process and political dialogue in Yemen and the war in the country was imposed on Saudi Arabia, but that the Kingdom will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Yemen after the war’s conclusion.

He also added that Riyadh and London agreed on the necessity to deter Iran and stop its support terrorism, while Johnson said Iran was playing a disruptive and dangerous role in Yemen and destabilizing the region.

Meanwhile, Al-Jubeir said that there were great opportunities for cooperation with the UK to achieve the Crown Prince’s Vision 2030 in Saudi Arabia.

Arab News

Arab News is Saudi Arabia's first English-language newspaper. It was founded in 1975 by Hisham and Mohammed Ali Hafiz. Today, it is one of 29 publications produced by Saudi Research & Publishing Company (SRPC), a subsidiary of Saudi Research & Marketing Group (SRMG).

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