Saudi Commerce and Industry Minister Leads Delegation Seeking Expanded Ties to U.S. Business

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A high-powered delegation of Saudi Arabian government leaders and U.S. business executives experienced in that country will be visiting New Brunswick, New Jersey on March 4 seeking to boost trade and investment ties between U.S. companies and Saudi Arabia. The group is being led by Abdullah Zainel Alireza, the Saudi Minister of Commerce and Industry, and includes Ford M. Fraker, former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia under President George W. Bush.

Minister Alireza and Ambassador Fraker will anchor a nearly full day program of seminars and presentations on doing business in Saudi Arabia that will be held at the Heldrich Hotel in New Brunswick.

"There is an economic boom underway in Saudi Arabia as the country is diversifying its economy away from heavy reliance on hydrocarbons," says Edward Burton, president and managing director of the U.S. Saudi Arabian Business Council, and a co-sponsor of the March 4 event. Saudi Arabia is the largest economy in the Middle East, and according to Burton, "the government is spending over $1 trillion through the year 2020 in virtually all sectors to achieve its economic diversification goals."

Joan Verplanck, president of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce and a co-sponsor of the seminar program shares Burton's enthusiasm for the opportunity the Saudi market presents to New Jersey businesses. "New Jersey has the cutting edge product, technology and service capabilities in manufacturing, construction, health, finance, education and more that Saudi Arabia needs to power its drive to a more diversified economy," Verplanck said. She noted that New Jersey was the 6th largest state exporter of products and services to the Kingdom in 2008 and predicted that the state's ranking "will only increase" once more state companies are aware of the opportunities that the Saudi market holds for them.

The New Brunswick program will focus on the national industrial development strategy of Saudi Arabia and the country's business, legal and trade environment.  Emblematic of the Saudi push for rapid economic development and the opportunity for international business in the country is the Six Economic Cities Program, a mega project to build six new, fully integrated cities from the ground up in locations around the Kingdom.  The Economic Cities are expected to generate 1.3 million jobs and accommodate a population of 4.5 million people. The cities offer a wide range of involvement opportunities for foreign businesses related to each city's specific anchor industry (petrochemicals, logistics, transportation, scientific research, energy and education) or the development of the actual metropolis itself.

"The opportunities are unprecedented," said Burton. He added that the Saudis have accomplished a long series of reforms leading up to the country's admission to the WTO in 2005. "These efforts have served to make the market accessible and transparent to international businesses," he said. He referenced a recent World Bank survey in which Saudi Arabia was ranked the 13th easiest country to do business in the world.

For more information on the seminar program visit the U.S. Saudi Arabian Business Council website at www.us-sabc.org.

About USSABC

The U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council (USSABC) is a non-profit organization with offices in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  Incorporated in December 1993, the Business Council's mission is to develop, foster, and expand the strategic business alliances between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia by promoting trade and investment. For more information about the USSABC, please visit www.us-sabc.org.

About the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce

The New Jersey Chamber of Commerce is a business advocacy organization based in Trenton. The State Chamber staff represents its members on a wide range of business and education issues at the State House and in Washington. The organization also links the state's local and regional chambers on issues of importance through its grassroots legislative network. For more information about the Chamber visit www.njchamber.com.

SOURCE U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council