Vision 2030 Deepens Saudi-U.S. Business Ties
ON JULY 2016
has rejuvenated business, entrepreneurs and investors not just within the Kingdom, but opened opportunities to CEO’s across Europe, the Middle East and the United States to make the Kingdom’s economy thriving and ambitious.
So it was fitting perhaps that Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman’s longest foreign trip since assuming his role in the Kingdom was to the United States where he met with key leaders in the fields of technology, transportation, tourism and banking. At the center of coordinating many of these meetings on both the East and West Coasts, was the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council who’s CEO Edward Burton told Arabia Now, “Our economies are closely intertwined, and U.S. companies will play a crucial role in the execution of Vision 2030. In 2015 alone, the Kingdom imported more than $22 billion worth of products and services from the U.S, and with the new Vision initiative.”
PROMOTING BUSINESS TIES WITH THE KINGDOM
The mission of the
(USSABC) mission is to foster, develop, and expand the strategic business alliance between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia and contribute to the accurate depiction of the Saudi business environment. Established as a non-profit organization in 1993, USSABC provides networking and access leading to trade deals between the Saudi Arabia and the United States, and represents about 400 companies. The Business Council is co-chaired by Abdallah S. Jum’ah, Chairman of The Saudi Investment Bank (SAIB), and Peter J. Robertson, Former Vice Chairman of Chevron.
While on the West Coast of the United States, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with some of the best known companies in the world including Facebook and signing an MOU with the Six Flags Great Adventure Park. Speaking to Arabia Now, Ed Burton said, “I am confident that trade and investment across an array of industry sectors will continue to grow. In fact, we are already receiving very positive responses from many of our Business Council members exploring ways in which to be engaged in the market.”
Making transportation in Saudi Arabia more accessible and efficient is another key goal. When he announced Saudi Vision 2030 earlier this year, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman acknowledged, “Our cities have grown significantly in recent decades; a growth which has been accompanied by the steady development of their infrastructure. To ensure we can continue to enhance the quality of life for all and meet the needs and requirements of our citizens, we will continue to ensure high quality services such as water, electricity, public transport and roads are properly provided.”
With this in mind, in New York, USSABC arranged a roundtable discussion centered around the recently released National Transformation Program 2020 (NTP) and its impact on the U.S.-Saudi bilateral business relationship. During the event, the Saudi Government leaders detailed sector specific initiatives aimed at expanding U.S. business operations in Saudi Arabia as well as opportunities to establish new partnerships with both the public and private sector. The total cost of the five year program is estimated at $72 billion.
In an effort to maintain the high-level business dialogue and further enhance bilateral business relations, the US Saudi Arabian Business Council is currently organizing a conference on August 25th in Los Angeles, which will be attended by representatives from the US Department of Energy, and Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy. Saudi Vision 2030 is certainly providing hope and inspiration to entrepreneurs in the United States and Saudi Arabia
