His Excellency the Saudi Minister of Finance, Mr. Mohammed Aljadaan, headed the Saudi delegation participating in the 4th Saudi-Swiss Financial Dialogue held today, June 20th, 2024, in Zurich, Switzerland. The delegation included a number of senior officials from the Saudi Ministry of Finance, Saudi Central Bank, Insurance Authority, Financial Sector Development Program, and Fintech Saudi.
Minister Aljadaan, accompanied by the Head of the Federal Department of Finance & Vice President of the Swiss Federal Council, Ms. Karin Keller-Sutter, inaugurated the dialogue with an opening statement where He emphasized the importance of the dialogue in strengthening bilateral relations and achieving the common economic and financial sector interests. He noted that Switzerland is an important trading partner, with over 100 Swiss companies currently operating in the Kingdom.
Minister Aljadaan pointed out that Saudi Arabia is looking forward to exploring new areas for collaboration to further deepen collaboration in between the two countries— including insurance field—while tapping new markets and implementing best practices. He also reiterated the importance of building on the ongoing collaboration in Fintech, leveraging on the depth of expertise and large investments from both countries in this area.
Minister Keller-Sutter emphasised the importance of international cooperation in the financial sector, as she says: "Cooperation within the framework of international financial institutions plays a key role in preventing financial crises. Switzerland actively contributes to this with its expertise and capitalises on its cooperation with Saudi Arabia in multilateral bodies".
The dialogue included discussions on new opportunities for collaboration between the two nations, the macroeconomic outlook, international multilateral cooperation, developments in the financial sector, in addition to an overview of the latest developments in banking, digital finance, insurance, and sustainable finance.