The U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council (USSABC) and the Committee for International Trade (CIT) hosted the second annual U.S.-Saudi Business Opportunities Forum that took place at the Omni CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 5-7, 2011.  Strengthening U.S.-Saudi commercial ties, the three-day event was attended by nearly 1,200 U.S. and Saudi businesspeople and government officials, surpassing participation at the 2010 Chicago Forum, and featured a number of plenary discussions, business workshops, Davos-style panels, outreach events, and networking luncheons.  The event also witnessed the signing of memoranda of understanding between U.S. and Saudi businesses in the fields of marine construction, offshore oil and gas technology, and infant healthcare.  The Forum was organized in collaboration with the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the U.S. Department of Commerce along with leading Atlanta business organizations.

The Saudi delegation to the event was led by H.H. Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah Al-Saud, Minister of Education, and included several ministers and other high-ranking Saudi Government officials.  Among them were Minister of Commerce and Industry H.E. Abdullah Alireza, Minister of Health H.E. Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al-Jasser, and Director General of the Saudi Industrial Property Authority (MODON) Dr. Tawfig Al-Rabiah.

From the U.S. side, attendees included The Honorable Nathan Deal, Governor of Georgia; The Honorable Anthony Miller, Deputy Secretary of Education; The Honorable Rebecca Blank, Acting Deputy Secretary of Commerce; The Honorable Daniel Poneman, Deputy Secretary of Energy; and The Honorable Kasim Reed, Mayor of Atlanta.  Senior executives from the U.S. and Saudi private sectors comprised the majority of attendees, including representatives from The Boeing Company, The Coca-Cola Company, The Dow Chemical Company, ExxonMobil, General Electric Company, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Saudi Aramco, and The Shaw Group Inc.

The Forum discussed business opportunities across all sectors of the Saudi economy.  Concurrent panels were dedicated to new developments in education, downstream petrochemicals, industrial infrastructure, agriculture, finance, oil and gas, healthcare, nuclear and renewable energy, water and electricity, and the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises.

The USSABC would like to thank forum speakers, sponsors, and its Atlanta partners. For conference video and photos, please click here.

Tags: Homepage