����ֱ��

RIYADH: UK finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Monday she was confident a trade deal with Gulf countries can be done quickly after she had “really good” meetings in Riyadh about an agreement that could help her plan to speed up economic growth.

“I am really confident we can get that deal over the line,” she said at a forum held in the Saudi capital, adding she was hopeful that the agreement could be reached “very soon.”

Reeves, making the first visit to the region by a British finance minister in six years, will seek to advance trade talks while attending ����ֱ��’s flagship investment summit.

She planned to use the trip to speak with her counterparts from Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar to try to progress a trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council — a six-nation group.

British administrations have sought to reach an agreement with the GCC after the UK left the EU in 2020.

Reeves also expected to meet senior Saudi royals, members of President Donald Trump’s administration and business figures while in ����ֱ�� for a gathering of global political leaders and company chief executives.

Last year ����ֱ��’s Public Investment Fund bought a 15 percent stake in London’s Heathrow Airport from Spanish construction company Ferrovial and Britain said it expected further investment announcements this week.

New state-owned airline Riyadh Air, which ordered 25 partly British-built Airbus A350 aircraft in June, has announced its inaugural flight will be to Heathrow.

Britain’s finance ministry said it estimated a GCC trade deal would add £1.6 billion ($2.2 billion) a year to British economic output — equivalent to about 0.06 percent of annual gross domestic product.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited ����ֱ�� and the UAE last year.

RIYADH: QatarEnergy has acquired a 40 percent stake in the North Rafah exploration block offshore Egypt, in a move that deepens its investment in the Eastern Mediterranean’s gas basin.   

The deal, finalized through a farm-in agreement with Italian energy giant Eni, grants the Qatari state-owned corporation a 40 percent participating interest in the offshore concession.

Eni, which originally held the block, will remain the operator of the project and retains the remaining 60 percent interest, according to a press release.

The move, which has now received official approval from the Egyptian government, is consistent with QatarEnergy’s broader strategy to leverage its financial strength to secure future gas reserves across the globe, ensuring its long-term position as a top-tier energy supplier. 

Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, said: “We are pleased with our new position in the North Rafah offshore block, which further strengthens our presence in Egypt and marks another important step in advancing our ambitious international exploration strategy.” 

He added: “We extend our thanks to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Mineral Resources in Egypt, and our partner Eni for their valued support and cooperation. We look forward to working together to achieve our exploration objectives.” 

The North Rafah offshore block is a highly prospective area situated in the Mediterranean Sea, off the northeastern coast of Egypt.

The concession spans a substantial area of nearly 3,000 sq. km. The block presents a technical challenge, with water depths reaching up to 450 meters, requiring advanced deep-water drilling expertise, a specialty of operator Eni.   

The Eastern Mediterranean has emerged as a major global gas hub in recent years, with several massive discoveries.  

QatarEnergy has been expanding its portfolio through new agreements worldwide including offshore blocks in Namibia’s Orange Basin.    

In November, the state-owned energy firm signed a deal with TotalEnergies and acquired an additional 5.25 percent interest in block 2913B and an additional 4.7 percent interest in block 2912. 

This deal raised QatarEnergy’s share in these licenses to 35.25 percent in block 2913B and 33.025 percent in block 2912.