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Saudis look to Yorkshire experts for trade advice

MEMBERS of an elite Saudi business organisation flew in to Yorkshire from Riyadh to learn the secrets of successful exporting from overseas trade specialists Chamber International.

It is the second time that representatives of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) have attended training sessions hosted by Chamber International, the Yorkshire-based import and export experts.

Talal Alsalem and Omar Alhusayani were among the delegates at Chamber International’s Understanding Exporting course at Bradford Chamber Business Park on Wednesday (February 17). They both work for the Saudi Export Program, part of the SFD which has the development and diversification of Saudi non-oil exports among its aims. Talal Alsalem was part of a Saudi delegation which attended an Export Network event as part of the We Are International programme run by the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and delivered by Chamber International.

He said: “We were very impressed on that occasion by the way Chamber International has built a network of businesses which it uses to promote and motivate businesses to explore overseas market.

“It is doing very good work in motivating companies to enter new markets and this is something the Saudi Export Programme is keen to capture.

Talal added: “That is why we were keen to attend the Understanding Export course and again it proved to be very useful - a well-structured course with many very beneficial elements for us.”

The Saudi Export Program includes two-way financial support to maximise the competitiveness of Saudi exports, by providing competitive credit terms both to Saudi exporters and also to importers from outside the Kingdom who are purchasing Saudi goods and services.

The country’s leaders are keen to expand exports beyond crude oil to minimise the country’s dependence on a single commodity. Plastics, steel and petro-chemical products leading the way with key customers including emerging countries in India and the African continent. To date it has provided support for exports worth $10.4bn to about 68 countries.

At the event on Wednesday, Chamber International senior associate Mike Strawson talked the delegates through the complexities of export documentation, demystifying the process for beginners and experienced people using his many years of experience. He brought the whole subject to life by illustrating important points with real examples, creating verbal pictures to illustrate and simplify complex situations.

Chamber International director Tim Bailey said: “We were very happy to welcome Talal back to our region and to work with him and his colleague to help them in their mission to increase the range and number of exports from Saudi. “It is good to know that the expertise we have accumulated and that we share regularly with UK businesses is benefiting a wider audience.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sarah Hyde .