Closer partnership with Saudi Arabia will deliver thousands of jobs and drive investment in the regions across the UK, the government has said as Sir Keir Starmer visits the Persian Gulf for the first time as prime minister.
On Monday, Downing Street outlined a number of UK–Saudi projects intended to boost growth, particularly in north of England.
A deal between a Manchester-based company specialising in wonder material graphene and Saudi Arabia’s NEOM Giga-Project aims to generate £250 million of investment into a research and innovation hub in Greater Manchester.
Graphene-enriched carbon fibre will be used in the NEOM project, part of which is the construction of a huge urban area, stretching more than 100 miles long. The deal is expected to create more than 1,000 skilled jobs in the Greater Manchester region.
The government also announced plans for an international institute for clean hydrogen, backed by a consortium of universities and led by Newcastle University.
“The north of England will reap the immediate benefits from the closer cooperation, building on the close ties between Newcastle and Saudi Arabia,” Number 10 said in a statement.
Other areas of collaboration with “UK’s most vital modern-day partners”—the UAE and Saudi Arabia—include a partnership to supply sustainable concrete and a £41 million Saudi investment in housing in Stockport.
Ahead of the meetings with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, Starmer said that closer ties in the Gulf support Labour’s growth mission.
“I am determined to ensure international diplomacy drives local results, whether that is discussing how we can support regeneration in the UK or supporting business deals that create jobs – my international agenda starts at home.
“Further boosting the green energy relationship between the UK and Saudi Arabia, Oxford-based private equity fund HYCAP is supporting Saudi Arabia’s plans to reach net zero emissions by 2060 by investing £785 million to develop hydrogen mobility clusters in Northern Ireland and across the UK, creating more than 1,000 jobs,” Starmer said.
Human Rights Record
Britain’s trade with the UAE totals £22.6 billion, while trade with Saudi Arabia is worth £16.9 billion. The Middle East is the largest market for UK defence exports, with Saudi Arabia accounting for £3.8 billion a year in British exports.In the past decade, major deals between the UK and Saudi Arabia included the sale of Typhoon fighter jets and military support services.
The conflict in Yemen, which began in 2015, has drawn attention to UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Campaign groups have actively lobbied the government to stop the supply of weapons to the Gulf state, suggesting they were used in violation of international law during military operations in Yemen.
The use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia has also been a point of contention, as the UK opposes capital punishment as a matter of principle. In March 2022 Saudi Arabia executed 81 people in a single day, while this year, according to U.N. data, the figure stands at 304 executions.
Human rights legal group Reprieve has called on Starmer to address the “execution crisis” issue with Saudi leaders during his visit to the Gulf.
Reprieve’s Deputy Executive Director Dan Dolan said: “When [former Prime Minister] Boris Johnson visited Mohammed bin Salman in 2022, three days after the mass execution of 81 people, Sir Keir Starmer was rightly scathing of Johnson’s unconditional embrace of one of the world’s most prolific executioners of protesters.
“Now he is the Prime Minister, he has the opportunity to address the escalating execution crisis in Saudi Arabia.”
The previous Conservative government has raised the use of the death penalty and restrictions on freedom of expression with Saudi officials. Prior to becoming prime minister, Starmer advocated for halting arms sales to Saudi Arabia owing to humanitarian concerns in relation to the conflict in Yemen.
