RIYADH, 2 February 2006 — The Board of Directors of the US-Saudi Arabian Business Council has announced that Edward Burton, commercial attache at the US Embassy in Riyadh, will become its new president and managing director from March 1.
Burton succeeds Medlej Al-Medlej who has retired. Al-Medlej served as the US-Saudi Arabian Business Council’s executive director since its founding.
Burton is responsible for all US Foreign Commercial Service (USFCS) operations in Saudi Arabia and oversees. He was appointed directly by former US Commerce Secretary Donald Evans to serve as the USFCS Regional Coordinator for the Iraq Reconstruction Regional Initiative. Prior to being assigned to Riyadh, Burton was the director of the US Export Assistance Center in Philadelphia and before that, he was the State of New Jersey’s international trade director.
Speaking to Arab News, Burton said his priorities as the president of the council would be to promote US-Saudi joint ventures in the Kingdom and also bilateral trade, which amounted to $26 billion in 2004.
He said he would seek to educate American businessmen on the enormous investment opportunities in the Kingdom. Currently, over 360 US-Saudi joint ventures are operating in different sectors in the Kingdom.
Asked about visa restrictions on Saudi businessmen wishing to do business with the US, Burton said he could not comment as he was a diplomat in the US Embassy. Nor did he comment when asked why US trade delegations were not visiting Saudi Arabia.
“I am not going to comment on visa and security issues,” he observed. Burton, however, indicated that the council would strive to address the concerns of Saudi businessmen in this regard.
According to Omar Bahlaiwa, secretary-general of the Committee for International Trade at the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce & Industry, on a visit to the US last year, his colleagues took three hours to clear US Customs.
He also said that apart from the grilling to which Saudi visitors to the US are subjected, they also have to fulfill a “sign out” requirement as well. “If you forget to sign out, you will not be able to return to the US for the next five years. This is unbelievable,” Bahlaiwa observed.
Burton did not comment beyond saying, “To my knowledge, this requirement is still in force.”
The US-Saudi Arabian Business Council was established in December 1993 to improve the mutual knowledge and understanding between the private sectors of the United States and Saudi Arabia, and to promote trade and investment between the two countries.
The council’s activities include trade missions, conferences and seminars, and high level networking events. The council also publishes updated documents including “A Business Guide to Saudi Arabia,” a quarterly newsletter, the US-Saudi Business Brief, and specialized industrial sector reports. These activities are now focused on highlighting the more than $620 billion in market opportunities projected for the Saudi economy over the next 15 years.
