Sweden to train female Saudi entrepreneurs

RIYADH: Sweden will train female Saudi entrepreneurs under a new agreement signed on the sidelines of the first SaudiSwedish Joint Committee meeting in Riyadh early this week.

The agreement was inked by Ghassan Ahmed Al-Sulaiman, governor of the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and Annika Rembe, director general of the Swedish Institute in the presence of Commerce and Investment Minister Majid Al-Qassabi and Swedish Minister of Trade Ann Linde, who visited the capital to attend the joint committee meeting.

According to a diplomat from the Swedish Embassy in Riyadh, under the training program, initially 20 Saudi female entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to avail themselves of the program. These programs will be carried out both here and in Sweden according to the nature of the programs.

During the opening session of the Saudi-Swedish Joint Committee, Al-Qassabi stressed the need to build bridges of fruitful and constructive cooperation between the two countries. “Having strong relations and common interests between Saudi Arabia and Sweden is an important incentive for increasing trade and economic relations, and for developing joint ties among the business communities in both countries,” he added.

“The rapid changes in global conditions and the transformations based on advanced and modern technology have made it important for Saudi Arabia to adopt Vision 2030, which is based on a diversified economy and an open market. It is imperative for us to work together with our partners around the world to achieve our common goals and interests,” the minister said.

“This is a great advantage for further cooperation to develop trade and investment, and for realizing the aspirations of the leaders of the two countries,” Al-Qassabi noted.

Linde praised the achievements of the Kingdom in the last decades at all levels, especially in the fields of infrastructure, health, education and others, stressing the desire of the Swedish private sector to build business and investment partnerships with the Kingdom.

During a visit to the Swedish Embassy, Linde inaugurated the solar panels that now provide energy to the entire embassy and residence, which will decrease their emissions by 540 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

The buildings of the mission used 110,000-120,000 kWh per year. “The solar panels installed will produce approximately 142,000 kWh per year, covering the needs for the embassy buildings and charging two batteries for use during the nights and cloudy days,” the official said.