US companies now hope to draw into this swiftly growing market in Saudi, to be discussing new prospects there like energy transport, tourism, healthcare, Saudi-US Business Forum held recently in Riyadh and organized by Federation of Saudi Chambers in coordination with U.S Commerce Department in involving key people from US side and Kingdom of Saudi on the part of their respective administrations and business communities.
Guests for the forum also comprised Waleed Al-Orainan, the Secretary-General of the Federation of Saudi Chambers (FSC), and Alison Dilworth, Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia. The forum will target topics on Saudi Vision 2030, a nationwide program to diversify its economy and enhance trading and investing in the US and other nations around the world.
The US and Saudi Arabia share an excellent economic relationship. The US Department of State has indicated that from imports, Saudi Arabia was ranked as the third oil supplier to the US while providing about 500,000 barrels per day, but Saudi Arabia also leads in being the second-largest trading partner of the US in the Middle East region. Bilateral trade between the two countries in 2023 was estimated to be at about $34 billion, where exports from Saudi to the US were mineral products and fertilizers, while machinery and mechanical appliances dominated the list of US exports to the Kingdom.
One of the important focuses during the forum is the amount of government expenditure in the vision 2030 projected at around $7 trillion dedicated through development funds. It will be of great value and generate immense opportunities for American businesses mainly in infrastructure and technology and is also in relation to ambitious goals of developing the kingdom. It also underscored that there is ample scope for innovative US exports, products, and services in alignment with Saudi Arabia’s changing needs.
In addition, attention was specifically given to women-owned businesses-this is because Vision 2030 indeed entails women empowerment in the workforce and gender balance in the economic development of the Kingdom. Some of the US companies participating were led by women, which further supports the goals of creating a diverse and inclusive business environment. The forum highlighted the positive optimism between the two sides that events such as the Saudi-US Business Forum will keep on building economic bilateral relations further. It will promote mutual cooperation and investment between both countries.
