Antigua and Barbuda supports Saudi Arabia

Antigua and Barbuda has been suggested to a team from Saudi Arabia as an
‘excellent’ place to invest, as that Kingdom seeks to expand its footprint globally.
The offer was made on Monday by Prime Minister Gaston Browne during a brief
meeting with the Chairman of the Saudi Fund for Development and Minister of
Tourism of Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Al Khateeb, who led a delegation on an official
visit to Antigua and Barbuda for high-level discussions with the government.
“We seek to attract investment from Saudi Arabia knowing that we offer your
businessmen and women the opportunity to invest in a stable country. A country
whose economy has been growing in a very robust way over the last decade and
which would provide stable returns for people,” he highlighted.
Additionally, PM Browne spoke of the possibilities for joint investments with the
Saudis on a governmental basis. He said there are many areas for possible
cooperation between the two countries and these are some of the areas that he
would wish the two delegations to discuss further.
“We hope that from our discussions we would be able to take our relationship to
the next level of cooperation,” he urged.
The Prime Minister also indicated that he held discussions previously with a
delegation from Saudi Arabia, during which he invited the Kingdom to establish an
embassy here, adding that the government would be willing to offer the land upon
which that embassy would be built. “This is to enable Saudi Arabia to have a
physical presence here in the Caribbean and we hope that you would give serious
consideration to the offer,” he added.
He said Antigua and Barbuda is not only committed to strengthening ties with the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but it wants to serve as a conduit for deeper ties
between the Kingdom and the rest of the Caribbean.
On the question of Saudi Arabia’s bid to host Expo 2030, the prime minister
assured the delegation that the Kingdom has Antigua and Barbuda’s full support.
“Other friends have approached us, but we indicated to all that our support for
Saudi Arabia is unshakeable,” PM Brown declared. Beyond Expo 2030, the prime
minister told the Saudi delegation that they can count on Antigua and Barbuda’s
support on other international issues such as climate change and other
environmental issues.