News – 2012.01.27

January 27, 2012

SUSRIS Daily News – Excerpts from International Media Reports
/Provided as a service from the Saudi-US Trade Group, Washington, DC/

Change and Reform: A Conversation with Khaled Al-Seif

January 22, 2012

In 2005 when SUSRIS first talked with distinguished businessman and then-Chairman of the Committee for International Trade, Khaled Al-Seif he was leading the largest ever Saudi trade mission to cites across the United States. He talked about the beginning of a period of significant economic expansion in Saudi Arabia, “What has been happening there is quite exciting. Saudi Arabia is seeing another boom in the making, an economic boom which, in my opinion, will be wider and deeper than the boom in the 70′s.” At that point there were $600 billion worth of investment projects on the table in the Kingdom. Three years later in an exclusive interview at the Arab-Economic Forum in Washington Al-Seif told SUSRIS that number had topped $1 trillion…

SUSRIS Project Now on iPhone

January 17, 2012

Since 2003 the Saudi-US Relations Information Service (SUSRIS) project has provided thousands of articles, interviews, special reports, maps, photos, videos and other hard to find resources for your use in understanding the past, present and future of the relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States. We have constantly sought to improve the delivery of these important on-line information ‘nuggets’ to make them more useful to you and your colleagues. Today we are very pleased to announced the launch of SUSRIS as an iPhone App available in iTunes. The App will deliver SUSRIS articles, interviews, special reports and much more from a variety of sources to the palm of your hand wherever you travel.

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Business Forum: Delivery of Medical Services – Dr. Rabeeah

January 17, 2012

The recently concluded US-Saudi Business Opportunities Forum (Dec 5-7, Atlanta) not only featured an extremely rich assembly of senior government officials, business people and more, but a broad representation of industries and sectors as well. Among those who participated from the Kingdom were three serving ministers in the Government plus the Governor of SAMA, the central bank and dozens of other senior officials — all who provided the most complete and authoritative reviews of their respective areas of responsibility in keynote remarks and panel discussions. Among the sectors represented at panels were: energy and renewables, information technology, petrochemical and plastics, infrastructure, agriculture, education, healthcare, transportation and logistics, and water and electricity. One area where tremendous commercial opportunities for cooperation between Saudi and American business people was apparent is the health and medical services sector. Leading the Saudi delegation in that area was Minister of Health, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, who opened the plenary session titled, “Health and Medical Services: Delivering Top Quality Care.”

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Saudi Arabia Not Just for Multinationals – Alexandrides

January 10, 2012

American companies should always be open to new global markets and new overseas business alliances. but many companies miss opportunities because they do not have access to decision makers in foreign markets. A rare chance to meet a large group of decision makers in person came at the U.S.-Saudi Business Opportunities Forum. At the conclusion of the second annual forum, held in December 2011 in Atlanta, Omar Bahlaiwa, Secretary General of the Committee for International Trade (CIT) of the Saudi Chambers of Commerce, called the event a “great success.”

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Business Forum: A Stable Global Financial System – Al Jasser

January 10, 2012

The US-Saudi Business Opportunities Forum (Dec 5-7, Atlanta) was an incomparable gathering of top level Saudi Arabian government and business leaders who shared their knowledge of myriad areas of interest bearing on commercial openings for American businessmen in the Kingdom. The Forum, sponsored by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, was organized by the Committee for International Trade (CIT); the US-Saudi Arabian Business Council; and the Saudi-US Trade Group (SUSTG). It featured an extremely rich assembly of senior government officials, business people and more and their American counterparts. Among those who participated form the Kingdom were three serving ministers in the Government plus the Governor of SAMA, the central bank and dozens of other senior officials — all who provided the most complete and authoritative reviews of their respective areas of responsibility in keynote remarks and panel discussions. The Saudi delegation included, among the leadership, the Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) Dr. Muhammad Al-Jasser. At the Forum he led a key panel titled, “Maintaining a Stable Global Financial System: Shared Responsibility,” and shared insights only possible from the vantage point of a Group of Twenty (G-20) member nation central bank chief.

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Saudi Economy: Jadwa January 2012 Chartbook

January 10, 2012

The Jadwa Investment firm in Riyadh produces the “Saudi Chartbook” as a quick, chart-based briefing on the key developments and trends in the Saudi economy and stock market for the previous month. SUSRIS is pleased to provide the January 2012 Saudi Chartbook and a link to the complete report which is rich with illuminating charts and graphs. We also commend to your attention the recently published “Saudi Economy in 2012″ by Jadwa which provides an excellent survey of the overall economic and financial picture in the Kingdom. Other reports are included among links below.

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Business Forum: Education – Investing in Human Capital: Prince Faisal

January 9, 2012

The recently concluded US-Saudi Business Opportunities Forum (Dec 5-7, Atlanta) featured an extremely rich assembly of senior government officials, business people and more. Among those who participated form the Kingdom were three serving ministers in the Government plus the Governor of SAMA, the central bank and dozens of other senior officials — all who provided the most complete and authoritative reviews of their respective areas of responsibility in keynote remarks and panel discussions. The Saudi delegation also included among the leadership HH Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah Al-Saud, Minister of Education who provided an overview of the Kingdom’s education efforts in the first plenary session. Saudi Arabia, as Commerce Minister Alireza told the Forum, is “a knowledge-based economy, [where] what you earn depends on what you learn. The real wealth of any nation is its people. And Saudi Arabia is proud to be investing in this asset.”

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Event: Gulf Competitiveness Forum 2012

January 2, 2012

The 6th Annual Global Competitiveness Forum (GCF) organized by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) is set to open in Riyadh later this month. This year’s Forum, titled “The Entrepreneurship Imperative,” will touch on all forms of entrepreneurship, according to the GCF Web site, “from social entrepreneurship to government; corporate and intrapreneruship to the importance of failure, the value of risk as well as the anatomy of an entrepreneur, amongst many more.” Among the speakers are Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, Minister of Education and Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies. Today we bring you the Forum announcement provided by SAGIA.

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Change is the Only Constant – Prince Turki

January 2, 2012

The recent “Gulf and the Globe” conference in Riyadh featured top level Saudi and other GCC officials who addressed regional security issues in a global context. The forum which was held December 4-5, 2011, was jointly organized by the Institute of Diplomatic Studies (IDS) and the Gulf Research Center (GRC). Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies and a former ambassador to the U.S., made headlines with remarks at the conference regarding acquisition of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs). Prince Turki is not a member of the government but his frequent speeches and comments on foreign affairs are often interpreted as reflecting inside thinking..

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Annual Summary of Articles, Interviews and Special Reports – 2011

January 1, 2012

As we turn the page from 2011 to 2012 it’s time to take stock of the year past, a remarkable year for the Arab world and for those who follow developments in the historic relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia. Part of our taking stock is sharing with you a useful list of the 2011 SUSRIS items. Today we present for your use a valuable resource we provide every year, the summary of SUSRIS articles, interviews, special reports and more. Among the highlights are hard to find views and insights of newsmakers and decisionmakers who have shared their perspectives with SUSRIS as well as on-scene, global coverage of critical meetings and conferences like the US-Saudi Business Opportunities Forum, the Arab-US Policymakers Conference, the Saudi-European Economic Forum, and the Opportunity Arabia Conference.

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The Saudi Economy in 2012: Jadwa

December 31, 2011

The Jadwa Investment firm in Riyadh released “The Saudi Economy in 2012″ report today. It is an excellent look at trends and prospects to arm you with insight and perspective on the direction and challenges for the domestic situation and the Kingdom’s significant role in the global economy. SUSRIS thanks Jadwa Investment’s Chief Economist, Brad Bourland, and Head of Research, Paul Gamble, for providing this important report for your consideration.

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Business Forum: Economy Overview and Modon – Dr. Rabiah

December 31, 2011

The recently concluded US-Saudi Business Opportunities Forum (Dec 5-7, Atlanta) featured an extremely rich assembly of senior government officials, business people and more. Among those who participated form the Kingdom were three serving ministers in the Government plus the Governor of SAMA, the central bank and dozens of other senior officials — all who provided the most complete and authoritative reviews of their respective areas of responsibility in keynote remarks and panel discussions. The Saudi delegation also included Dr. Tawfiq Rabiah, the Director General for the Saudi Industrial Property Authority, or Modon. He too would hold the title of Minister in the Saudi Arabian Council of Ministers with the announcement a week later that he was named to head the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Today we provide for your consideration the remarks of Dr. Rabiah, in his capacity as chief of Modon, in which he touched on growth in the economy, the Saudi industrial strategy and the role of Modon. We suggest you open the embedded slides from Dr. Rabiah’s brief to further illuminate these topics as you review his comments. We have also included the video recording of his presentation.

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US-Saudi Arms Package Moves Forward

December 30, 2011

The United States and Saudi Arabia edged closer to delivery of 84 advanced F-15 fighter aircraft and upgrades to 70 F-15s already in the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) inventory, a defense package worth $29.4 billion, with the conclusion of an agreement this week. According to Pentagon officials the letter of offer and acceptance was signed over the weekend between the parties. The total package announced last year is valued at some $60 billion that includes helicopters and upgrades to naval forces in addition to the aircraft sales and upgrades. The announcement comes during a period of heightened tension in the Gulf as Iranian forces exercised in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz demonstrating a threat to freedom of navigation in the vital chokepoint and causing oil markets to react with an uptick in prices. Defense policy chief, Dr. James Miller, said the sale demonstrated that, “The United States is firmly committed to the security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as we have been for nearly seven decades, and that more broadly, the United States and Saudi Arabia have a strong mutual interest in the security and stability of the Gulf.” He added that the “ten-plus years” of support that was part of the agreement showed “sustained commitment between the U.S. and Saudi Governments, and both for Saudi security and U.S.-Saudi relations.”

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Budget for 2012 Reviewed: Jadwa

December 28, 2011

The Saudi Arabian budget for 2012, released Monday, contains a 19 percent increase over the amount budgeted for 2011 according to Jadwa Investment, as reported by Arab News today. The Jadwa report was a comprehensive review of the budget details and a general economic outlook for 2012. Among the highlights from the 2012 budget report: total expenditure of SR690 billion ($183.9 billion); 24 percent is set for education and the largest sector increases are in transportation, health and social affairs; revenue is forecast to grow by 30 percent (suggesting a less conservative oil price assumption than in the past); the surplus forecast is SR91 billion ($24.2 billion). The report also provided other key performance data, such as: 2011 real GDP rose 6.8 percent up from 4.1 in 2010 (2012 growth is forecast to slip to 2.7 percent); 2011 nonoil private sector growth hit 8.3 percent with manufacturing alone up 15 percent; inflation in the Kingdom averaged 4.9 percent over the first eleven months of 2011; and the current account surplus hit a new all-time high of SR598 billion ($159.4 billion).

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Distinguished Saudi Women Shine at Business Forum

December 26, 2011

The participation by highly competent and professional Saudi women certainly contributed to the success of the “US Saudi Business Opportunities Forum” held in Atlanta.. ..Not many people outside our borders are aware of the existence of exceptional women in Saudi Arabia so the presence of such qualified women was a great surprise to a lot of attendees at the forum.. ..The keynote speech was delivered by Lubna Al-Olayan with great eloquence. In her opening remarks, she brilliantly summarized the geopolitical challenges that the US and Saudi Arabia face today and gave an optimistic view of the future cooperation between the two countries. Lubna Olayan is a highly experienced financial leader and globally known. She is the CEO of Olayan Company, a private multinational enterprise. She was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world..

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32nd GCC Summit Final Statement and Riyadh Declaration

December 21, 2011

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah, played host to the 32nd Supreme Council of the GCC, the Gulf Cooperation Council which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman. The two-day event produced agreement to a proposal of King Abdullah to explore development of a “single entity” for the GCC, a push along the path from cooperation to union. SUSRIS has provided a wrap-up report of the Summit along with a separate report of Prince Saud Al-Faisal’s remarks at a press conference. This report provides the Summit Final Communique and Riyadh Declaration as reported by the Saudi Press Agency.

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The 32nd Supreme Council of the GCC Wrap-up – SPA

December 21, 2011

Leaders from the six states of the Gulf Cooperation Council — Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Oman — met Dec 19-20, 2011 in Riyadh for the 32nd Supreme Council. Today we are pleased to share for your consideration a wrap-up report from the Saudi Press Agency that puts the Council’s This presentation will be followed by postings of the Summit Communique and other relevant documents on SUSRIS.com.

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