Investment Minister Eng. Khalid Al-Falih inaugurated on Monday the Saudi-European Investment Forum with the participation of more than 1,000 representatives of governmental and private sectors. The Saudi-European Investment Forum, held in Riyadh, witnessed the attendance of a number of officials and CEOs of major companies in Saudi Arabia and the European Union countries. Eng. Al-Falih highlighted the historic and qualitative transformation that Saudi Arabia is witnessing, and the Kingdom’s distinction with the diversification of its economy. This is in addition to the rapid improvement of the work environment, as well the country’s global competitive capabilities. He said that the partnership with the EU countries is strong and important, as there are more than 1,300 European companies who are investing in Saudi Arabia. “There are important Saudi investments in most European Union countries,” he added. The minister indicated that the foreign direct investment (FDI) from the European Union in Saudi Arabia showed a strong growth in several of different sectors in 2022, compared to 2021. The trade volume between Saudi Arabia and the EU amounted to €80 billion in 2022, representing an annual growth of 30%. It is noteworthy that the officials will present, during the forum, a number of topics, such as clean energy, net-zero industries and natural resources in Saudi Arabia, transportation, infrastructure, mining, manufacturing, supply chain, tourism, culture, sport, SMEs and entrepreneurship, medical sector including service provision, industry and biotechnology, in addition to the digital economy and AI. The forum will also witness the signing of a number of agreements and MoUs in different fields between the governmental and private agencies.