British Trade Minister Richard Caborn arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday for a visit that will include the opening of a factory run by a Saudi-British company, the official Saudi Press Agency said.
Caborn, who came to Riyadh after a stop in Bahrain, will meet during his visit with Saudi Trade Minister Osama Faqih and with Prince Abdullah bin Faysal bin Turki, head of the government's general investment body.
Accompanied by a business delegation, Caborn will attend the ribbon cutting for a lubricant plant set up by a Saudi-British company through an offsets program by which Britain invests in the kingdom in return for Saudi arms purchases.
Caborn's visit comes, as five British citizens remain detained in the kingdom for crimes related to alcohol, which is strictly forbidden in the Islamic kingdom. — (AFP, Riyadh)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
