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Features

October 30th, 2010

Week in Review – The Week’s Most Important Headlines

Zahid Marks 60 Years With Caterpillar: ARAB NEWS

Roger Harrison | 10/26/10

“Customers, Zahid managers and staff together with senior representatives from Caterpillar marked one of the most fortuitous chance meetings in Saudi business history that saw the beginning of a long association that quite literally has moved mountains and played a large part in changing the landscape of the Kingdom.”

Ease of Doing Business In Saudi Arabia: WORLD BANK

Saudi Arabia ranks 13th overall in the world out of 183 in the World Bank’s “Ease of Doing Business” report for 2010. Click for an overview to see how Saudi Arabia matches up.

The Kingdom Of Oil Goes ‘Green’: FINANCIAL TIMES

Abeer Allam | 10/27/10

“The kingdom, after all, depends on oil revenues for its livelihood and any attempts to cut consumption may hit its wallet. But at home, the world’s largest oil exporter is starting efforts to slow the runaway growth in domestic energy and desalinated water consumption by asking property developers and the construction industry to adopt more environmentally friendly technologies.”

Prince Turki Al-Faisal on US-Saudi Relations – AUSPC: SUSRIS

Pat Ryan | 10/25/10

In his remarks at the Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference in Washington on Friday he was direct in renewing his criticism of the Obama Administration’s Middle East policies, especially regarding the Peace Process. RELATED: Also on the sidelines of the NCUSAR, Robert Lacey talks with SUSRIS.

Saudi Arabia Ranks High In Global Trade Confidence Index: ARAB NEWS

10/25/10

“Adel Al-Nasser, deputy managing director of SABB said: ‘The positive sentiments that we see across all markets are all significant indicators that trade remains one of the main drivers of economic growth globally and for Saudi Arabia. We are delighted the TCI is reflecting growing trade confidence within the country and with Kingdom’s trade partners in the world mainly in Asia and the Southern Hemisphere.’”

Competitiveness Gap Between GCC And Rest Of Arab World Widens: WEF: SAUDI GAZETTE

10/28/10

“The global economic crisis has further widened the competitiveness gap between the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the rest of the Arab world region, the Arab World Competitiveness Review 2010 showed.”

Saudi In Front On GCC Credit Growth – Expert: ARABIAN BUSINESS

Ed Attwood | 10/25/10

“Although private sector lending in the near future will remain muted in the UAE, Saudi Arabia is likely to witness a return to credit growth much sooner, one of the region’s leading economists has said.”

Saudi Aramco, Shell Extend Natural Gas Drilling To 2015: WALL STREET JOURNAL

Angus McDowall | Dow Jones Newswires | 10/26/10

“A joint venture between Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known as Saudi Aramco, and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) to drill for natural gas in the kingdom’s empty quarter has extended its exploration license by five years to 2015.”

Saudi Writer: Gulf Media More Open Now: MENAFN

10/28/10

Nimah Nawaab, a writer, activist, photographer and poet, said that there was a time when writing about sensitive issues had “limitations,” but these have “been expanded in recent times.”

SAGIA Offers $500bn Investment Bonanza: ARAB NEWS

Faiz Al-Mazrouei | 10/26/10

“Saudi Arabia offers new investment opportunities worth $500 billion in energy, transport and industrial projects, Amr Al-Dabbagh, governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, (SAGIA) announced here on Tuesday.”

Saudi Border With Yemen Is Still Inviting for Al Qaeda: NEW YORK TIMES

Robert F. Worth | 10/26/10

“The five Yemeni men, all of them rail-thin, clutched their knees as they sat staring across the sand at the narrow road, which separates the Arab world’s poorest country from its richest…”

Mideast Banks, Funds Seek to Tap Women’s Wealth: ASHARQ ALAWSAT

10/27/10

“Many affluent Muslim women …are increasingly turning to Islamic banks to manage their money. These women are looking beyond basic banking services to sophisticated products to grow their wealth while complying with Islamic principles that include a ban on interest.”

Local Press: Jeddah Chamber And Gender-Mixing: ARAB NEWS

Abdul Aziz Al-Suweigh | 10/26/10

“Mixing religion with social customs is a frequently debated issue in Saudi Arabia. Although Islam is a religion of simplicity, some people have made it complex by inventing new customs and burdening the succeeding generations with restrictions extraneous to the religion to the extent that people are led to believe that such outmoded customs are true Islamic values.”

Kingdom Breaks World Record: SAUDI GAZETTE

Fouzia Kahn | 10/29/10

“Saudi Arabia entered the Guinness Book of World Records by forming the world’s largest human pink ribbon chain at the Ministry of Education Sports Stadium in Al-Rawdah Thursday.”

20 Pct Drop in Saudi Religious Police’s Operations: ASHARQ ALAWSAT

Turki Al-Saheil | 10/26/10

“The General Presidency of the Saudi Arabian Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice [CPVPV], in a report presented before the Shura Council yesterday, acknowledged that its operations were down 20 percent from last year. This was as a result of the CPVPV’s fear of the consequences of negative media reports on its operations.”

Saudi Prince Backs Moving Planned NYC Mosque: ASSOCIATED PRESS

10/28/10

“A Saudi prince who has aided the imam spearheading a proposed Islamic center near New York’s ground zero is appealing for another site not associated with the ‘wound’ of the Sept. 11 attacks, a report said Thursday.” RELATED: “The imam co-leading a drive to build an Islamic community center near the World Trade Center has politely brushed aside a suggestion by one of his past benefactors that the project be moved to a different spot,” David B. Carouso (Washington Post) reports.

Zahid Marks 60 Years With Caterpillar: ARAB NEWS Roger Harrison | 10/26/10 “Customers, Zahid managers and staff together with senior representatives from Caterpillar marked one of the most fortuitous chance meetings in Saudi business history that saw the beginning of a long association that quite literally has moved mountains and played a large part in [...]

October 26th, 2010

VIDEO: Robert Lacey talks with SUSRIS

SUSRIS Editor Pat Ryan talks with Author of “Inside the Kingdom” Robert Lacey.

October 22nd, 2010

Ambassador Al-Jubeir Remarks – NCUSAR Annual Conference

October 21, 2010 – Washington, D.C.

His Excellency Adel Al-Jubeir, Saudi Ambassador to the United States.

H.E. Ambassador Adel Al-Jubeir

Remarks to the 19th annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference
Thank you, John for a great introduction. You gave me more credit than I deserve.
The Joint Information Bureau in Dhahran was set up by a number of officials from the
Ministry of Information as well as from the Embassy, and I personally was one of the
junior people in the efforts so I don’ t—while I appreciate the credit—I certainly don’ t
deserve it. But in any case, thank you for the very kind words and allow me to express
my appreciation to the National Council for hosting this very conference once again.
The subject matter of my talk is the “ Ambassador’ s View from Washington.” That’ s a
fairly tall order. There are many many views in Washington and many many ambassadors
in Washington. So I will talk a little bit about the history of our bilateral relationship, the
challenges that it faces, the state of our relationship today, and the steps that the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia has taken and continues to take in order to bring our worlds closer
together. And then I will be happy to take questions. Hopefully I will have a little more
time for you than my colleague, Ambassador Crocker.
The relationship between our two countries is now in its seventh decade. In the 1930s,
when your Army Corps of Engineers was building the Golden Gate Bridge in San
Francisco, your business community built an 8,000 mile bridge to Saudi Arabia.
Americans came. They discovered oil. They put down roots among us. They launched
what was to become a very important relationship to both countries as well as to the
world.
The relationship took on a political dimension when the late King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud
met with the late President Franklin Roosevelt on the USS Quincy at The Great Salt Lake
in Egypt in 1945 at the end of World War II. That cemented the diplomatic aspect of the
relationship. And then of course the military relationship began in the early 1950s when
the U.S. started its first military training mission to Saudi Arabia.
Over the past seven decades, our relationship has seen the coming and breaking of many
storms. We have dealt jointly and effectively in facing the challenges to our respective
nations as well as to the [Middle East] region. And with every decade and with every
experience, our relationship has come out stronger than it was before.
Allow me to very quickly go through some of the history of that relationship, because
people tend to forget or not put things in their proper context.
In the 1950s and 60s, when it was not fashionable to be America’ s friend, Saudi Arabia
was. In the 1950s and 60s, when our Region was consumed by radicalism, the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia and the United States were able to confront that radicalism, and in
fact prevail over it. In the 1970s and 80s, when the Soviet Union was…expanding its
influence or seeking to expand its influence in Central Asia, in the Horn of Africa,
and even in the Middle East, it was Saudi Arabia that was one of the key countries in
preventing a Soviet takeover of the Region.
Of course, we all remember the joint effort between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and
the United States in the 1980s in support of the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, which led to
their defeat of the Soviet Union, the withdrawal of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan
and subsequent to that the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The relationship was again tested and came out with flying colors in 1990/1991, when
Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and when our two countries put together a coalition of
over 30 countries to liberate Kuwait and restore its legitimate government.
Then of course our next big challenge was the terrorist attacks of 9/11, when we
discovered that 15 of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. It was devastating to us.
It was a big blow potentially to the relationship. It cast doubts in the minds of Americans
about Saudi Arabia. It unleashed a tremendously critical and negative portrayal of Saudi
Arabia in the United States and in the rest of the world. We in the Kingdom dealt with
this issue. And [the Kingdom and the U.S.] examined the threat that we faced. We
confronted it head-on and we came out of this experience…with a much healthier and
much stronger relationship than we had before the events.
Today, when I look at our relationship, I like to quote…Ronald Reagan. He used to
say that “ facts are stubborn things.” And when we look at the facts of the relationship
between our two countries today versus where they were even as recently as 10 years
ago, I think the numbers are staggering.
Today as we speak, we have over 30,000 Saudi students studying at American colleges
and universities. This is an all-time high number. we have never had that many students
studying in the United States. They will come back and they will be advocates of the
bilateral relationship. They will be ambassadors for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia while
they’ re here. And they will be ambassadors for the United States when they go back.
This is a very important and strategic step and decision that was made by the Custodian
of the Two Holy Mosques after his meeting with President Bush in Crawford in 2005.
To put the number in perspective…in 2003, the number of students in the United States
did not exceed 3,000. So we have ten times as many students today as we had back then.
Another example is the travel between our respective countries. The number of visas
[issued by] the American Embassy and consulates in Saudi Arabia last year, to Saudi
citizens was about 70,000. That is an all-time high number. And then number of visas
that our Embassy and consulates in the United States issued to Americans is about
65,000. That also is an all-time high number.
When I look at investments between the two countries, they’ re at record numbers. We are
on track to double the American investment in Saudi Arabia over a 60-year period in a
matter of five years, if we exclude the investments in [Aramco]. I can cite a joint venture
between [Aramco] and Dow Chemicals that will amount to over 20 billion dollars. Alcoa
is doing a joint venture with [Madden] to produce one of the biggest aluminum smelting
complexes in the world at the value of over 14 billion dollars, and the list goes on.
So when I look at the numbers and the facts, I see a very healthy and robust relationship.
When I look at the interaction between our two governments, we have worked very hard,
both of us, over the last six or seven years, to institutionalize our relationship. To build
bridges directly between different agencies of our government so that they can handle
problems at a working level rather than have each problem grow and literally grow out of
context.
We are able to deal with counselor matters that involve visas and duration of visas and
child custody cases. We are able to deal with commercial issues like commercial disputes
between companies. We put them in channels where they can be dealt with at a working
level rather than turning them into political problems. We have a very close cooperation
in the field of counterterrorism and terror finance. We have programs in term for critical
infrastructure protection. We have programs for exchanging information on identifying
radicalism and extremism and ways of dealing with it. I believe these issues have helped
to solidify and cement a very strong and very important relationship.
The arms package that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is discussing with the United States
is a testament to the strength of the relationship. It is the largest package in the history of
the two countries’ [relationship], and I believe that it reinforces the commitment of both
nations to the relationship as well as to the security to our Region.
Though having said all of this, it doesn’ t mean we don’ t have disagreements. We do in
a number of areas. And where we do have these disagreements, we don’ t shy away from
expressing them. We are frank and open with each other. We believe that honesty is the
most important element in any relationship—honesty and clarity. And we make sure that,
we try our best, to make sure that we are very clear and direct with our American friends
on a number of issues and also on the challenges that we believe we need to pay attention
to.
I don’ t have to remind you that our Region is full of challenges, whether it’ s Afghanistan,
Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, the situation in Lebanon, the peace process, or the situation in
Yemen, [even] in Somalia we have to worry about terrorism and pirates. We have a
financial crisis globally that we have worked closely and with our G20 partners to
overcome. And then of course there is the continuing situation involving energy security
and the supply demand situation in energy.
Having said this I would like to give you a sense on the Kingdom’ s view on how we
see our role in the Region as well as in the world. The Kingdom’ s objective is to seek
stability and security for its people and for the Region. Saudi Arabia is a status quo
power. We have no ambitions beyond our borders. We would like to live in a safe
peaceful and prosperous neighborhood. Our efforts have been geared towards building
bridges, not burning them.
You see this [approach] translated domestically in the launching of the national dialogues
in Saudi Arabia so that we bring our nation together to face the challenges that we have
to confront or deal with as a nation.
Externally, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has launched an Interfaith Dialogue
that began in Makkah with the gathering of over 600 scholars and religious figures from
the Islamic world representing all sects in order to look at the issue of dealing with each
other and dealing with other faiths. That was subsequently followed by an interfaith
conference in Madrid that was attended by representatives of all the major religions and
cultures, and it culminated in November of 2008 at a high-level meeting at the United
Nations that brought together all representatives of all the faiths in order to reinforce the
common values handed to us by our Creator and in order to use religion and the values
enshrined in all religions to bring people together rather than to divide them.
Irrespective of one’ s faith, we believe that all faiths believe in the principles of
compassion and mercy and love and peace and taking care of the less fortunate. All
religions reject violence and extremism and crime. All people of faith share the same
values when it comes to the importance of maintaining the integrity of the family, the
importance of protecting the environment, because if one part of our globe suffers, the
rest of the globe suffers with it. And so faith, as part of this initiative, is to be used as an
objective to bring people together rather than divide them.
You also see it in the universities that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has launched.
I mentioned earlier that we send our students abroad. We also established the King
Abdullah University for Science and Technology that is essentially an international
university. Its students and faculty hail from over 50 countries. It has cooperative
relationships with over 40 of the world’ s top academic institutions. We share research.
We share knowledge. We share students. And this is another way of connecting with the
world.
So go back to the original headline, or title of my talk, “ An Ambassador’ s View from
Washington” , I believe that the view of the relationship is a very positive and healthy
one. I think the future of our bilateral relationship will continue to grow stronger and
deeper and more robust. I have no doubts about this. I believe that the ability of our two
countries to deal with the challenges either that they both face or that the relationship will
inevitably face from time to time is a very pragmatic one and I think a very solid one. So
I’ m very optimistic that the future, God willing, will be even better than the past.

October 21, 2010 – Washington, D.C. H.E. Ambassador Adel Al-Jubeir Remarks to the 19th annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference Thank you, John for a great introduction. You gave me more credit than I deserve. The Joint Information Bureau in Dhahran was set up by a number of officials from the Ministry of Information as well as [...]

September 24th, 2010

CNN’s Mohammed Jamjoom interviews Rashad al-Alimi, Yemen’s deputy prime minister for defense and security.

September 16th, 2010

August 27th, 2010

New York City Islamic Center

July 28th, 2010

Saudi Arabian Treasures in Paris

“The most novel show of the year is now on view at the Louvre” wrote Souren Melikian of the New York Times about this exhibit at the famous Paris art museum. “It sets off the viewer’s mind dreaming like none other. The revelations to be found in hundreds of artifacts never before seen outside Saudi Arabia are startling.” The video is from CNN.

July 25th, 2010

Exploring the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Explore the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s history, traditions, music and images.

July 22nd, 2010

Meeting Saudi Infrastructure Needs

Meeting Saudi Arabias Infrastructure Needs from US-Saudi Forum on Vimeo.

The Saudi Government is in the midst of an aggressive national development plan to diversify the country’s economy and bolster operations and investments across all key economic sectors.

June 30th, 2010

Saudi King Abdullah Visits Washington

Aljazeera provides some background to the meeting between King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and US President Barack Obama.

June 28th, 2010

Robert Lacey on Saudi importance in the G20

Robert Lacey, author of “Inside the Kingdom,” discusses Saudi Arabia’s importance in the G-20.

June 25th, 2010

What role should the world’s superpowers play in solving the region’s problems?

What role should the world’s superpowers play in solving the region’s problems? Al Jazeera’s Inside Story asks if the US, China and Russia have shared interests and whether a stable Middle East really is in the best interests of all.

June 22nd, 2010

Education: Saudi Arabia’s Commitment to its Future

Education: Saudi Arabia’s Commitment to its Future from US-Saudi Forum on Vimeo.

Saudi Arabia has identified education as a vital component in the Kingdom’s efforts to diversify and expand its economy in order to compete in the global market.

June 18th, 2010

Opportunities in Water and Electricity in Saudi Arabia

Opportunities in Water and Electricity from US-Saudi Forum on Vimeo.

In an effort to meet the ever increasing demand for water and electricity in Saudi Arabia, while at the same time restructuring the industries for greater effectiveness, the Saudi Government has initiated private ownership through independent water and power projects (IWPP) across the Kingdom.

June 11th, 2010

Opportunities in Downstream Petrochemicals

The volume of the Saudi petrochemical industry is expected to triple. By 2015, Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) is set to be the largest producer of petrochemicals in the world.

June 1st, 2010

Riz Kahn interviews HRH Prince Turki al-Faisal

Riz Kahn interviews HRH Prince Turki Al-Faisal and asks, how long can Saudi Arabia remain a land of contradictions? For decades the country has been torn between its strong, traditional values and a push toward modernisation and change. How is today’s Saudi Arabia balancing tradition with progress?

May 28th, 2010

Opportunities in the Energy Sector

Opportunities in the Energy Sector from US-Saudi Forum on Vimeo.

Corporate experts within the field highlighted the current projects and developments within the Saudi energy sector, and outlined the wealth of opportunities that exist for American companies.

May 21st, 2010

Building A Knowledge-Based Society

Building a Knowledge-based Society from US-Saudi Forum on Vimeo.

The Saudi Government has placed the Kingdom on an accelerated track toward becoming a knowledge-based economy.

May 14th, 2010

Global Energy Interdependence, Global Responsibilities

Global Energy Interdependence, Global Responsibilities from US-Saudi Forum on Vimeo.

Holding 20 percent of the world’s oil supply, Saudi Arabia plays a critical role in fulfilling the energy demands of the global community, which is particularly relevant to the United States.

May 14th, 2010

Strategies to promote Saudi Economic Growth and the Saudi Industrial Strategy

Strategies to Promote Economic Growth/Saudi Industrial Strategy from US-Saudi Forum on Vimeo.

The National Industrial Strategy of Saudi Arabia is designed to further diversify and expand the Kingdom’s industrial sector and economy in order to position Saudi Arabia to compete in the global market.