Rachel Reeves will lead a delegation of senior business leaders to Saudi Arabia on Monday as she hopes to deepen the UK’s relationship with a state that has been widely criticised for human rights abuses.
She is the first UK chancellor to visit the Gulf in six years and is expected to meet senior Saudi royals, US administration representatives and global business figures.
The visit comes as the UK continues its efforts to secure a trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which also includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The government hopes a deal with the GCC could add £1.6bn to the UK economy each year and contribute a further £600m to UK workers’ annual wages in the long term.
Reeves said: “Our number one priority is growth, so I am taking Britain’s offer – of stability, regulatory agility and world-class expertise – directly to one of the world’s most important trade and investment hubs, making that case in our national interest.”
She added that after deals were struck with the US, the EU and India, the government was determined to go “further and faster on partnerships that create good jobs, boost business and bring investment into communities across the UK”.
However, such a deal is likely to come under fresh fire from campaigners who have previously said the UK should not secure an agreement without legal commitments on areas such as human rights improvements.
The Trades Union Congress is among those who have urged caution over the deal and raised concerns with ministers. It has said: “Our view on trade deals is consistent: the government should not agree deals with countries that abuse human rights and workers’ rights, and violate international law.”
Reeves is expected to finalise a series of investments between the UK and Saudi Arabia this week, as the government prepares for its second budget on 26 November. Pressure is rising on the chancellor to announce further tax rises to plug a gap in public finances that could be as high as £30bn.
She will speak at the Fortune Global Forum in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia on Monday, and at the Future Investment Initiative, nicknamed Davos in the Desert, on Tuesday, to try to convince global business leaders that the UK is a good destination for investment at a time of global uncertainty.
The chancellor will be joined by the minister for investment, Jason Stockwood, as well as prominent British business leaders, including CS Venkatakrishnan, the chief executive of Barclays; Sir Jonathan Symonds, chair of GSK; Georges Elhedery, chief executive of HSBC, and Julia Hoggett, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange.
Trade with the Gulf is worth about £59bn a year, according to government estimates, as the UK’s seventh-largest export market. The deal with the GCC is expected to increase trade by about 16%. Sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have been some of the biggest foreign investors in the UK, with the Saudi Public Investment Fund buying a 15% stake in Heathrow airport last year.
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Last year Keir Starmer visited Saudi Arabia, saying the trip was needed to fulfil his “number one mission” of growing the UK economy.
When Boris Johnson met the Saudi crown prince in 2022, Starmer accused him of “going cap in hand from dictator to dictator”. A spokesperson for Starmer defended his trip at the time, saying it was about “driving growth and building a network of partners across the world who will invest in the UK”.
Reeves is expected to acknowledge “areas of divergence and cultural differences”, according to officials.
Stockwood said: “By deepening our economic ties with the region, alongside our ongoing trade talks with the GCC, we will open new doors for British exporters, attract high-value investment, and fuel growth in the UK.”
