Issued by: Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street

Delivering on his Plan for Change, the Prime Minister will use his trip to the Gulf today (Sunday 8 December) to drive investment into cities and regions across the UK.

• Jobs boost in north of England following launch of world first new Graphene-enriched carbon fibre plant project in Saudi Arabia

• Comes as major green energy projects deliver wins for the UK and Saudi Arabia, creating more than 4,000 jobs and delivering on the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change

• Builds on strong partnership between the North East and Saudi Arabia, which is already accelerating regeneration in Newcastle, with progress towards new leading university partnership

Delivering on his Plan for Change, the Prime Minister will use his trip to the Gulf today to drive investment into cities and regions across the UK.

The Prime Minister is set to pursue closer ties with United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia this week, some of the UK’s most vital modern-day partners, to increase investment, deepen defence and security ties, and boost growth and new opportunities both at home and abroad to deliver change that is felt by working people.

The north of England will reap the immediate benefits from the closer cooperation, building on the close ties between Newcastle and Saudi Arabia.

Manchester based GIM – Graphene Innovation Manchester will today announce the launch of the world’s first commercial production of graphene-enriched carbon fibre, with Saudi Arabia’s NEOM Giga-Project – a groundbreaking step forward in environmentally sustainable advanced materials.

The project aims to generate £250 million of investment into a research and innovation hub in Greater Manchester and is expected to create more than 1,000 skilled jobs in the region.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

"Every region and nation in the United Kingdom should feel the impact of our Plan for Change, which is why I am in the Gulf forging closer ties and strengthening relationships that support our growth mission in every corner of the country.

"I am determined to ensure international diplomacy drives local results, whether that is discussing how we can support regeneration in the UK or supporting business deals that create jobs – my international agenda starts at home.

"Further boosting the green energy relationship between the UK and Saudi Arabia, Oxford-based private equity fund HYCAP is supporting Saudi Arabia’s plans to reach net zero emissions by 2060 by investing £785 million to develop hydrogen mobility clusters in Northern Ireland and across the UK, creating more than 1,000 jobs."

The project will deliver hydrogen buses, trucks, critical components and other elements of hydrogen production and distribution, while removing more than 25 million tons of transport-related CO2 over the lifetime of the project.

And the UK and Saudi Arabia are working together to establish a new Joint International Institute for Clean Hydrogen.

The Institute will be backed by a consortium of Saudi and British universities, including a leading role for Newcastle University, and develop state of the art expertise and skills in clean energy.

The joint research collaboration on clean energy between the UK and Saudi Arabia will cement the North East’s reputation as an academic engineering powerhouse.

North East Mayor, Kim McGuinness, will join the Prime Minister in Saudi Arabia to progress talks on further green energy investment and opportunities between Saudi Arabia and the North East.

A delegation from the universities is set to travel to Saudi in the coming months to progress the project.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said:

"Today’s agreements show how the UK is working with countries in the Gulf and elsewhere around the world to bring investment and jobs to Britain.

"Clean energy can be the source of the jobs of the future and these new investments and partnerships will deliver new jobs in new industries, boosting our country’s energy independence, and our economic growth.

"This is the government’s Plan for Change in action, to make us a clean energy superpower and deliver a decade of renewal."

Earlier this month, UK cleantech leader, Carbon Clean, signed a collaboration with Saudi-based firm Aramco to collaborate on innovative modular carbon capture technology, aiming to create 2,000 UK jobs.

UK based Sustainable Cement Company, Next Generation SCM and Saudi-based City Cement Company have also partnered to supply sustainable concrete, to produce 2.5 million tonnes a year of sustainable cement and concrete materials. The pioneering process is expected to drive £200 million of investment over the next five years and create more than 200 jobs in Saudi Arabia and the UK.

Greater Manchester is also benefitting from significant Saudi investment in housing, with International Investment Gate injecting £41 million into the regeneration of Brunswick Mill in Stockport, creating 277 flats and 24 commercial outlets, thereby supporting the Prime Minister’s milestone to build 1.5 million homes by the end of this Parliament.

Following meetings in the United Arab Emirates tomorrow morning, the Prime Minister is expected to fly to Saudi Arabia later in the day.

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