RIYADH, 2 February 2003 — US Ambassador Robert Jordan held talks yesterday with Commerce Minister Osama Faqeeh over ways to boost trade ties, as Washington’s exports to the Kingdom continue to slide.
Jordan and Faqeeh “reviewed economic and trade relations between the two countries and means to boost them... and increase the size of trade volume,” the Commerce Ministry said in a statement.
Faqeeh also held talks yesterday with a delegation of businessmen from Texas, led by Hurbert Hunt, chairman of the board of directors of Petrohunt oil company, on aspects of trade cooperation between the Kingdom and the US, and the opportunities available for joint investment projects.
US exports to Saudi Arabia plunged 21.2 percent in the first 11 months of 2002 from the year-earlier period, according to US figures.
The value of US exports to the Kingdom at the end of November last year reached $4.353 billion compared with $5.527 billion.
The figure is 25.1 percent down in terms of value over the first 11 months of 2000 and 54.7 percent below the all-time record of $9.6 billion made by the end of November 1998.
US exports to Saudi Arabia dropped to their lowest level since 1990 at the end of September 2002, sliding by 25.6 percent to $3.457 billion over the same period in 2001. Washington’s exports dropped 30.5 percent in the first half of 2002, as fallout from the September 11 attacks continued to trouble ties.
Saudi exports to its main Western ally also dropped 7.5 percent by the end of November last year to $11.7 billion from $12.6 billion in the year-earlier period. A grass-roots campaign to boycott US products in Saudi Arabia was launched in April following US support for an Israeli military offensive against the Palestinians.
Saudi Arabia is the main US trading partner in the Middle East, with US civilian and military exports valued at $5.9 billion and imports at $13.3 billion in 2001, according to official figures.
The Kingdom is the second largest importer from the US in the Middle East after Israel, but tops the list of exporters.
The two countries have a total of 337 joint ventures with investments reaching $22 billion.
