Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has identified priority regions for investment arising from recent Gulf trade agreements.

The Chancellor is committed to building strong relationships with Gulf countries and Sovereign Wealth Funds, as reflected in her attendance of the Future Investment Initiative Conference in Saudi Arabia. She engaged with key partners to explore opportunities that could benefit regions across the UK and progress negotiations on a free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council. The visit also helped unlock £6.4bn in two-way trade and investment between the UK and Saudi Arabia, including a £5bn MoU between UK Export Finance and the Saudi Public Investment Fund to support jobs and manufacturing across the UK.

Attracting investment into every region of the UK is central to this government’s mission to drive national growth. Partnering with the private sector is essential and is why at the Regional Investment Summit last month the Chancellor announced the creation of the Sterling 20. The new grouping of institutional investors will further support mobilising institutional investment by raising awareness among investors of government-led programmes and initiatives. This will allow members to help shape and co-design investment opportunities, so they are attractive, unlocking capital for UK infrastructure throughout the UK.