Prince Mohammad bin Nawaf, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the UK.

Your Royal Highness, it's a pleasure to meet you. Obviously ties between the UK and Saudi Arabia are currently very good. Can you please start by telling us a bit about this relationship, and how the Saudi Arabian embassy in London is working to cultivate this relationship for the future?

The current relationship between the two countries is one of friendship. It is a strong and long-standing relationship that is continually strengthened by many factors - the bond between the two royal families, for example. Each year more and more students from Saudi Arabia are choosing to pursue further education in the United Kingdom. The UK has recognised and honoured its Saudi population by becoming the first predominantly Christian country to organise an official Hajj delegation to assist the 20,000 UK pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. At the same time there are over 25,000 UK nationals living in Saudi Arabia, foreign residents who we welcome with open arms.

As a result of this continual exchange of friendship, trade ties between the UK and Saudi Arabia are very strong. Saudi Arabia is the UK's largest export market in the Middle East, with export values reaching £2 billion annually. These ties are constantly being fortified. Last year we established the "Two Kingdoms Dialogue" to help bolster bilateral ties between the two countries. These dialogues are important as they allow us to discuss how we as very different - yet very similar - countries, can work together to realise our common goals. We had the second dialog in Riyadh just last month where, thanks to our strong relationship, difficult topics such as terrorism, investment ties, and regional issues were discussed openly and publicly, without the fear of damaging diplomatic ties between the two Kingdoms. Saudi Arabia is also very grateful to the UK for aiding in our recent membership to the World Trade Organisation.

Yes, you're touching on the next question I wanted to ask you. Thanks to Saudi Arabia's accession to the World Trade Organization on December 11, 2005, your country is one of the world's hottest investment destinations. Can you please share your thoughts on how being a member of the WTO has changed the investment climate in your country?

As you know, being a member to the WTO has many advantages, specifically it enables higher economic growth. It is a gateway to an easier, more fluid-like system of trade between the other members, which will allow us to become a stronger player in the international market. Also, I believe it shows that Saudi Arabia is making a very strong effort to interact more and more with the international community. Of course the benefits of this will flow on to the people of our country in terms of more choice of products for example, higher incomes, etc. At the same time, we are very proud to have successfully combined our operation within this international system with our tradition of Islamic governance. It is very important that we compete in the international market whilst maintaining our national Islamic identity. All of this clearly makes the Kingdom more attractive to international investors. Our reputation as one of the world's best investment destinations is something we are continually improving upon - this is the message that we are sending to the international community.

With global energy prices reaching record levels, the energy industry is Saudi Arabia's driving force. The country sits on 25% of the world's known oil reserves, and oil accounts for almost 40% of your country's GDP. Despite this, it is well known that at some stage oil reserves must come to an end. Can you please explain what your Kingdom is doing to diversify its revenue base?

Saudi Arabia is constantly evolving and developing as a society. Although oil-revenues still continue to bring great wealth to the Kingdom, we are continually aware of the need to diversify. The current government has consistently pursued various procedures to enable the privatisation of government-owned enterprises to reduce the dependence on oil as a main source of revenue. At present the non-oil economy now represents 60% of GDP. Very recently, in 2005, SAGIA issued out more than 600 licences for projects through foreign investment. As an example, the total financing for industrial ventures, real estate, infrastructure, high-tech and other non-energy sectors has reached £30 billion.

Trade is obviously another very important sector we are focusing on, especially trade between our two kingdoms, and trade outside of the oil-sector in particular. As I have mentioned, UK-Saudi trade links are already very strong, however we are continually seeking to strengthen and develop these ties. At the moment the trade between our countries is slightly imbalanced. The United Kingdom sends many containers to Saudi Arabia, yet these containers go back to the UK empty. This is a problem that we need to address, and one that we are already trying to fix by announcing to the UK and to the international community the benefits of investing in, and importing from, Saudi Arabia. A prime example was the recent strategic forum titled 'Trade and Investment Opportunities for British Companies in Saudi Arabia' we held in January this year. Our goal was to outline the emerging market opportunities in Saudi over the coming 15 years, and to promote further investment benefits between both countries. We also wanted to make it clear that these opportunities weren't just available to those in the oil sector. King Abdullah had announced development projects for the Kingdom reaching US$624 billion. This is an enormous sum by anyone's standards, so we then had to say to the business community that we needed their help to spend the money on the right projects, to expand our industries - which would in turn enable us as a Kingdom to take the next important step in our development.

Well before this, in 2000, SAGIA was created to coincide with the passing of the Foreign Investment Law. The two were created to encourage and simplify international investment in our country. For example, it is now possible for regional and global investors to set up their own projects without a Saudi Arabian partner. This, along with the streamlining of our business regulations and the Kingdom's thriving stock market, is very good news for investors worldwide.

The entire Gulf area is presently experiencing major changes in regards to civil rights. What would you like to tell the world about the depth and substance of political and social transformations occurring in Saudi Arabia today?

It is important to remember that there are always those who support change, and those who oppose change. There is still a large sector within the Saudi community that does not support the advancement of civil rights within the Kingdom. They believe things should remain as they were in the past. For this reason, the progress is slower than it could be, however it is not the wish of the Saudi government to cause conflict within its society. Our goal is to go from strength to strength, without the need to take a step backwards. Despite this, you can see that the progress we are making is formidable. Despite the opposing sectors, we are now seeing many changes in regards to civil rights within the Kingdom. The first and most obvious improvement is how we are channelling the revenue from the oil sector, and now our other growing economic sectors. Saudi's current government is committed to the development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. At the moment we are enjoying increased revenue due to a rise in world oil prices. We are investing very significant proportions into the Kingdom's healthcare, education, and social programmes. This year the Saudi government announced allocated £12.6 billion to build over 2,500 new schools. That is an increase of twenty-five per cent from the previous year. Employment is also high on our agenda. The King Abdullah Economic City mega project was announced last year. When complete, the site is expected to generate over 500,000 new jobs for the country. Other jobs are also being generated through foreign investment and the Saudi government is actively attracting investors with this in mind. Also very important is the issue of women's rights within Saudi Arabia. It is important to highlight the current rise and evidence of women in Saudi's society, in particular their presence in business communities. This increase is largely due to the efforts made by King Abdullah who is one of the country's most prominent supporters of women's rights.

You've already had much experience as the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Italy and Malta. As a message to our readers, can you please share your goals as the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United Kingdom?

As the Saudi Ambassador for the United Kingdom my primary task is to ensure that the bond of friendship between the two countries continues to evolve. After seeing so much positive growth in my country, especially within the last five years, it is my aim to bring this to the attention of both the UK and the world. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia presents an amazing opportunity to many, many people. Investors from many major economic sectors such as oil, infrastructure, and trade can now enjoy business in Saudi, which was ranked by the 2006 Index of Economic Freedom as the fourth most open Arab economy. Our improved business practices, our plans to launch a multitude of new business opportunities, our recent inclusion in the World Trade Organisation - all of these things say that Saudi Arabia is right for business. At the same time it is very important to stress that the Saudi-British partnership is not based solely on economic interests. It is one of mutual respect, and it vehemently encourages the exchange of cultural and educational ideas. Saudi Arabia and the UK are both very committed to the fight against terrorism. Our recent security operations have enabled the arrest of many terrorists in our country. Security in the Kingdom is being maintained at a high level, that will continue to ensure the safety of everyone who resides in Saudi Arabia. Many people constantly refer to an old image they have of our part of the world and our way of life which unfortunately impacts negatively on how they deal with us. This is something else I am eager to dispel, because recently the Muslim world has been strongly related to terrorism and extremism. It must be known that terrorism is an evil which works against the people of all faiths and communities worldwide. This image does not reflect the people, nor the community of Saudi Arabia. It is damaging, and in light of the immense progress we have made as a nation, it is saddening that it continues to stick. It is my dream that the people of Britain get to know the new Saudi Arabia, the real Saudi Arabia, from Mekka to Riyadh, from the rural communities to our beautiful coast.