§ Mr. Gorstasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance he was able to give to British exporters to Saudi Arabia by his visit to that country on 13th May; and whether there was any significance in his choice of a Friday, when officials and others may generally be expected not to be at work.
§ Dr. OwenI visited Saudi Arabia on 12th and 13th May. Despite the fact that my crowded schedule dictated a visit which overlapped with the Muslim weekend I had the honour to be received by His Majesty King Khalid and by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Fahd, and I had extremely useful and cordial discussions with them and with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Royal Highness Prince Saud. These gave me the opportunity to emphasise the importance the British Government attach to the further expansion of British trade and co-operation with Saudi Arabia. Both sides expressed satisfaction at the successful outcome of the second meeting of the United Kingdom/Saudi Joint Economic Commission which took place in Riyadh from 9th to 11th May.