Editor’s Note:
SUSRIS is in Chicago this week to cover the US-Saudi Business Opportunities Forum, a major event bringing together over one thousand Americans and Saudis to advance their mutual business interests through panel discussions and networking. The Forum was organized by the Committee for International Trade (CIT) of the Saudi Council of Chambers of Commerce in Riyadh and the U.S.-Saudi Business Council in Washington. Today SUSRIS had a chance to catch up with Mr. Omar Bahlaiwa, Secretary General of CIT, in Chicago to talk about the Forum.
U.S.-Saudi Business Opportunities Forum Perspectives
Omar Bahlaiwa, Secretary General, Committee for International Trade
April 25, 2010
SUSRIS: Congratulations to you and the Committee for International Trade for orchestrating such an important conference – the U.S.-Saudi Business Opportunities Forum. With over 1000 participants expected how does this rank in terms of bilateral conferences?
Mr. Omar Bahlaiwa: Thank you. We believe this is the largest event of its kind in the over 70-year history of the U.S.-Saudi business relationship.
SUSRIS: Tell us about the vision and objectives for the forum.
Bahlaiwa: The vision of this conference is to build new bridges between Saudi Arabia and the United States and the best way for that is to expand the business bridges. The U.S.-Saudi relationship is strong and will remain strong and we value that relationship. It is built on mutual understanding, mutual respect, and mutual benefit. It is not only the economic connections but also the overarching common interests. This is the vision.
The mission of the forum is to help connect the opportunities that exist in Saudi Arabia with American businesses and not just for the large corporations. We are interested in helping the small- and medium businesses discover these opportunities as well.
We also want to focus our efforts on America’s Midwest. So we came to the largest economy in the Midwest – the region around Chicago. And we have found terrific hospitality from the people of the city starting with Mayor Richard Daley and the former Secretary of Commerce William Daley, Chairman of the forum steering committee. The Chicagoland Chamber and many other organizations we have worked with have been especially welcoming.
Of course I should mention the hard work of the Saudi-US Trade Group and the U.S.-Saudi Business Council. Both did a great job in organizing the forum, and the Committee for International Trade has enjoyed working with all of the groups involved.
SUSRIS: There are a number of events this week that aren’t normally associated with conferences, such as cultural and educational outreach opportunities in the community for many of the 200 Saudi Arabians coming to Chicago. Tell us about the purpose and scope of the outreach program.
Bahlaiwa: One of the goals of CIT and the U.S.-Saudi Business Council in designing this forum was to be more than a business conference. We wanted to expand the bridges between Americans and Saudis and to leave a legacy of this event.
There are three pillars to the forum. The first, obviously, is to develop business-to-business connections, a very important component of our bilateral relationship. The second is the political element where we must have an understanding of our mutual interests. The third is cultural, which includes all forms of connections among people.
Cultural relations, building new bridges at the people to people level, was an important component of the forum and that’s what motivated the week-long outreach agenda. These visits, programs and dialogues are too numerous to detail here but they include many of the Saudi men and women, all distinguished professionals in a variety of fields, who have traveled to Chicago for this purpose.
Let me give you some examples. On Monday a group will visit the Lindblom School where a local classroom is connecting through the Internet to a classroom in Saudi Arabia for Arabic language training. Her Royal Highness Princess Loulwa Al-Faisal will be leading a delegation of Saudi women to a number of interactions throughout the week with Chicago business groups and educators. Saudi delegates will be meeting with Chicago groups like the Board of Trade, international student groups and participants at an interfaith dialogue symposia. Like many conferences that people attend the discussions at panels may fade in memory over time but the 200-plus Saudis who came to Chicago will be very busy this week creating relationships – not just at the forum sessions, but through outreach as well – that will leave a legacy from the forum with our friends in Chicago and the Midwest.
SUSRIS: The Saudi Arabian Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Alireza, commented that the forum marked a view to the future. How do you interpret that concept?
Bahlaiwa: We value highly the history of the relationship, the bonds that we have had for the last seven decades and the work Americans and Saudis have done together. However, Saudi Arabia is a young country and still has much work ahead to reach its goals for the future. We are looking for partners as we work toward the future we see for Saudi Arabia and we couldn’t find a better partner than the United States.
Saudi Arabia is a country with a very large youth component. It is a country that is generating tremendous business opportunities. It is a country that is stable and has a solid environment for sustaining economic growth. It is a country that wants partners to share the future opportunities with. We see the United States as one of the best strategic partners to share in that future.
ABOUT OMAR BAHLAIWA
Omar Bahlaiwa is the Secretary General for the Saudi Committee for the Development of International Trade (CIT) of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Prior to this position, Mr. Bahlaiwa was the Assistant Secretary General for Foreign Affairs for the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry. From 1997 to 1999, he was a general manager of the Saudi company for manufacturing carpet materials (Mattex) and prior to this worked as the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at the Saudi Industrial Export Company. From 1983 to 1989, Mr. Bahlaiwa worked with the Saudi Industrial Development Fund as a technical analyst in the Project and Portfolios and Electric Utilities Departments.
Mr. Bahlaiwa holds a B.S. in Electric Engineering from the King Saud University.
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