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By : Mohammed Bin Hamad Al-Mady

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:: The historic political and economic relations between Saudi Arabia and its ally the US are based on established principles and deep common interests between the two countries.

Despite eight decades of strategic ties, the present gives no doubt about the significance and clear strength of this relationship.

Two significant events are key to this. The first was the historic event that saw the first Saudi-American summit in 1945, which brought together King Abdul Aziz and former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The second event is the current visit of US President Donald Trump to the Kingdom, his first foreign trip since assuming office.

In terms of trade and economic ties, everyone knows that Saudi Arabia is closely and historically linked to the US, dating back to the 1930s, when Standard Oil of California was granted oil exploration rights in the Kingdom, followed by the first commercial oil shipment abroad. Such an event contributed to the joint interests of both countries.

A number of American companies also played a major role in the formation and establishment of Saudi Aramco, which is currently the top global oil company.

Since that time, economic relations between the two countries have been accelerating and improving.

During my work as head of the Saudi side of the US-Saudi Arabian Business Council, which aims to strengthen relations between private-sector institutions in the two countries and support trade and investment relations, I saw the extent of economic strength of both countries at the governmental and private levels.

During my term of CEO of SABIC, which is one of the leading producers of chemicals worldwide, I saw the benefits from the American market, both economically and technically.

Saudi Arabia is currently moving toward achieving the objectives of Vision 2030, which aims to realize economic transformation with a focus on preserving economic gains while diversifying income sources. In light of this, Saudi-US relations have reached new levels of cooperation in the recent period, with a greater number of meetings to discuss furthering economic ties, particularly those led by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with top US economic officials.

All indicators point to a more robust future for the two nations, especially on the economic and technical levels.

Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Mady

With Vision 2030, opportunities for cooperation will be greater than ever, particularly if we account for the multiple fields and areas covered by the reform program, such as oil, gas, chemicals, biotechnology, entertainment, economic cities and other investment areas.

In light of a long history of cooperation between the two countries economically, the US has benefited tremendously from investment agreements in the Kingdom due to its advanced technological capabilities that contributed to the progression of local manufacturing and great economic returns on the domestic level.

In other fields, the US also had an active role in spinning the wheel of development in the Kingdom through training and human development. In 1947, the US received the first mission of students from the Kingdom. The country has continued to receive more Saudi scholarship students since, many of whom returned to assume leadership positions in the Kingdom. The establishment of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Overseas Scholarship Program has also seen many Saudi students study at US universities, as per the desire of the government to meet labor market needs and develop national talent.

Bilateral relations also extend to other areas like military industries and manufacturing. The hope is that this cooperation will have a positive impact in realizing the Vision 2030 objective of nationalyzing more than 50 percent of military spending. This matter requires more direct investment and strategic partnerships with leading companies in this field, in order to transfer and nationalize technologies, and can be achieved by benefiting from the experiences and know-how of specialized companies in the US and elsewhere.

We are on the brink of a new economic revival aimed at an important shift in the Kingdom. In light of the expectations of our wise government, all indicators point to a more robust future for Saudi-US relations, especially on the economic and technical levels.

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Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Mady is president of Saudi Arabia’s General Organization for Military Industries.

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Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in the Column section are their own and do not reflect RiyadhVision’s point-of-view.

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