GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, LEADERS EXPLORED TRADE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES MEETING IN WASHINGTON

Jeddah, 22 Dhulqa’dah 1436/6 September 2015 (MINA) – Senior Saudi and US government officials and business leaders explored trade and investment opportunities at a series of business meetings in Washington this week.

The talks took place on the sidelines of the visit of Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques King Salman to Washington, Arab News quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

A huge delegation of business leaders and government officials is in Washington to engage with US businessmen and highlight the investment opportunities available in the energy, transport, health, education, and other industrial and service areas.

“This is a valuable opportunity to meet representatives of a wide selection of Saudi government agencies that support, facilitate or influence businesses and present specific investment opportunities in the Kingdom,” said Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) Gov. Abdullarif Al-Othman.

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On Friday, SAGIA hosted the high-profile US-Saudi Investment Forum 2015 in Washington to highlight the diverse and exciting opportunities in the Kingdom.

Al-Othman said that the forum runs alongside an “Invest Saudi” exhibition, featuring a number of Saudi public and private sector organizations to showcase opportunities in the health, transport, ICT and mining sectors.

The SAGIA governor himself was leading a series of panels and bilateral meetings between the American and Saudi governmental and business communities to discuss the promising investment opportunities and investment climate the Kingdom has to offer, as well as initiatives to increase the volume of business between the two nations.

Prince Saud bin Khalid Al-Faisal, deputy governor of SAGIA, said that Saudi Arabia is an exciting place with a lot going on.

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During talks with top officials of the US Chamber of Commerce, he pointed to a variety of investment sectors in Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom’s GDP growth of more than 130 percent over the past 10 years.

Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue hosted the leadership of the SAGIA and the Council of Saudi Chambers for a roundtable discussion focused on a shared goal deepening and expanding bilateral trade and investment across a number of sectors.

Besides Prince Saud, the Saudi delegation included Abdul Rahman Al-Zamil, president of the Council of Saudi Chambers; Omar Bahlaiwa, secretary general of the Committee for International Trade of the Council of Saudi Chambers; and several prominent Saudi business leaders.

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They were joined at the Washington gathering by representatives from more than two dozen leading American businesses.

At the meeting, Prince Saud said the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia is strategic, and the two nations were coordinating on a number of critical global issues.

The chamber established a formal working relationship with the Council of Saudi Chambers last year at a ceremony in Riyadh in order to promote greater economic cooperation between the two countries.

The chamber also is partnering with SAGIA to develop a strategy to boost investment, competitiveness and innovation in a number of key sectors in the Kingdom, as well as explore how to strategically advance a vibrant and competitive future for Saudi Arabia’s biopharmaceutical, medical, ICT, renewable energy, petrochemical and other industries.(T/Imt/R04)