Riyadh, 14 September 2022 (TDI): Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Mohammed bin Salman, on Tuesday met with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.

The agenda was to review existing cooperation between the Kingdom and European Union (EU) countries in different fields.

In the meeting, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman reviewed the relationship between the Kingdom and the EU countries based on cooperation in different fields.

During the meeting, they reviewed the historical relations and existing cooperation between the Kingdom and European Union countries in various fields, including energy, environment, and climate change.

In addition to that, they also discussed regional and international situations and the efforts exerted towards them.

The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, said that “the EU is undergoing key transitions” where mutual cooperation and working together are necessary.

During the meeting, he said that “with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman we engaged frankly on all aspects of our relationship.”

Moreover, “The EU remains committed to continue our cooperation notably on energy security, renewables, trade, human rights, & global stability,” he added.

Also read: EU Ambassador pays tribute to Pakistan

Saudi Arabia’s relations with the EU

Saudi Arabia enjoys good relations with the EU which are based on mutual cooperation, security, trade, and goodwill.

The EU is Saudi Arabia’s second trading partner, with 14.8% of Saudi Arabia’s global trade. China is the first with 18.7 % of Saudi’s trade.

Saudi Arabia is the EU’s 17th trading partner in goods, with a total trade of 40 billion euros and with an EU market share of 1.1 %.

Saudi Arabia mainly imports machinery and equipment from the EU while it mainly exports oil and petrochemicals to the EU. Furthermore, companies from EU Member States work with Saudi Arabia in several strategic sectors, established in the Saudi Vision 2030.

European countries see Gulf monarchies as key sources of green energy and investment partners in this sector especially Saudi Arabia which holds a unique place in the Gulf–EU relationship.

While Europeans are concerned about the geopolitical and military implications of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, they are already paying a high price in two other domains: energy and the economy.

With the EU decreasing its dependency on the Russian supply in the energy sector, and Russia (which is a strategic Saudi partner), likely to become a market share competitor in the future, the EU seeks good relations with KSA for its long strategic stakes in the region.

With that being said, the EU-GCC Dialogue on Economic Diversification project was launched in 2018.

The purpose was to promote trade, investment, and economic affairs through related policy analysis, dialogue, and cooperation between the EU and GCC at both regional and individual country levels.

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