Investors from Saudi Arabia are seeking to establish an office in T&T to strengthen diplomatic ties and to encourage investment between the two nations. The formal diplomatic ties were established in 1974 but have not been strengthened, according to 30-year-old Umar Khan, co-founder of the Trinidad/Saudi Chamber of Commerce. The chamber was established in 2014 and comprises 30 members from various sectors of T&T's economy.
"We wanted to proceed with some form of diplomatic appointment. We are asking the Saudis to invest here. They are accustomed investing in Europe or the US. They have representation (in those areas). There is no Saudi embassy in T&T and there is no T&T office in Saudi. If we are dealing with a country like Saudi we want to have direct relations. We want to invite the Saudis to set up an office here and we want to set up one there."
The type of diplomacy which T&T should pursue is cultural diplomacy.
"It is definitely a way to strengthen our ties."
Last week, a high-powered delegation from Saudi Arabia visited, on a fact-finding mission with the goal of investing as much as US$1 billion in T&T's economy. This is the third delegation visiting from that country upon invitation by the Trinidad/Saudi Chamber of Commerce located in St Augustine.
During last week's visit, the delegation met with Trade Minister Vasant Bharath, Tertiary Education Minister Fazal Karim and other stakeholders. Already, a decision has been made to sign a MoU between the University of the West Indies and Umm Al-Qura University, which is a public university in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is considered to be one of the most prestigious universities in the entire Islamic world due to its contributions in various fields over many decades as well as due to its unique location in Mecca.
Some of the sectors which the investors are interested in are:
�2 Energy
�2 Education
�2 Manufacturing
�2 Shipping
�2 Real Estate
�2 Tourism
�2 Air Transport
In addition to these sectors, the group is also seeking to talk about establishing a direct flight between T&T and Saudi Arabia.
Outlining the logistics, Khan suggested there is need for a feasibility study to be done to determine the competitiveness of the route. If destination T&T is marketed in Saudi offering luxury or high-end products, then, according to Khan, visitors would be attracted to the destination.
"We think it is very realistic. If they come into T&T and start developing the hotels, we will have high-end rooms available for tourists, the tourists from the Gulf are high spenders, so you create a product in which they would be interested."
The Saudis also have a robust manufacturing sectors: "China buys some finished goods from Saudi. If China is purchasing finished gods from Saudi, (it is a big deal) since China produces so much finished goods."
But setting up any office/embassy in Saudi would mean examining that country's external environment.
In mid-March 2015, the international news media, BBC, reported that the US embassy in Saudi Arabia had to close its doors for two days due to a security threat against its nationals.
Asked whether T&T should be concerned about security threats or terrorism, Khan said: "Security will always be a concern for any investor; it is a natural concern whether it is the United States (or any other country). Saudi Arabia is one of the most successful countries in counter-terrorism efforts. They have the largest contribution in the United Nations for sponsoring (events) on counter terrorism. Saudi is one of the leading nations in the world to fight against this type of behaviour. We don't expect anything negative with this relationship (between T&T and Saudi)."
Khan added that the stability of Saudi is "unmatched in the entire Middle East region."
"They (the Saudis) have a diplomatic gated community which is secured. This is why we need more information about Saudi as not enough is known."
Negative perceptions
Asked whether the media has contributed to the negative perception of that country, Khan said: "Too much of what people know about Saudi is through certain media narratives which are not always accurate. This is why we focus on face to face. We want to take the delegations from T&T into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
"Let them see for themselves, not through the eyes of the other narratives. Even though (negative reports have been made on Saudi) they (US and Europe) are still receiving so much investments from Saudi."
Part of setting up a business means having the labour/manpower resources to operate the business.
Currently, sections of the business community are grappling with the problem of shortage of labour, but Khan does not predict any shortage.
"One of the major objectives of the Saudi investors is to provide employment for the locals. In our discussions with Minister Fazal Karim, he mentioned we have thousands of graduates from our universities on a yearly basis. We believe with that amount of skilled labour, there would not be much of a shortage. Should it be necessary, we first want to employ locals to ensure they benefit. This would have to be looked at on a case-by-case basis. If we have to outsource labour, it would be based on a study."
Regarding immigration matters for the Saudis, he said the office in Uganda is not a feasible option as the chamber wants direct contact.
"This (immigration matters) is definitely an issue we raised over and over again. The only real way to resolve this is by (T&T) having an office in Saudi."
The fourth delegation is expected at the end of April or beginning of May comprising of investors within Saudi Arabia's energy sector.
Ease of Doing Business
In 2014, The World Bank ranked T&T at 79 out of 189 countries for the Ease of Doing Business. In that same report, Saudi Arabia was ranked 49.
Asked whether the investors would have an issue with ease of doing business here, Khan said: "Ease of business is always a concern for the investor. Bureaucracy and red tape do not always discourage an investor. When you have allocated a large amount of funds for investment time is money, once you lose time you lose money."
He said the investors described T&T's accomplishment in the Ease of Doing Business report as "noteable, as T&T is moving upward."
Saudi's external environment
According to a March 15, BBC report the embassy had to close due to a security threat. The report stated:
"The US embassy in the Saudi capital Riyadh has cancelled all consular services for Sunday and Monday due to heightened security concerns." In the statement, the embassy said consular services in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran would not be available. It urged US citizens to take extra precautions when travelling in Saudi Arabia and to keep a low profile.
"On Friday, the embassy warned that Western oil workers could be the target of militant attacks," the report stated.
Khan said: "In Trinidad, the delegation did one programme at a local mosque. They gave a lecture on: Islam–a religion of mercy and compassion. At that lecture, they raised the importance of living in a plural society in peace."