HOUSTON, 9 February 2006 — Saudi ambassador to Washington, Prince Turki Al-Faisal, yesterday invited American businessmen to invest in projects worth $624 billion offered by his country, especially in petrochemicals, gas, electricity, information technology railways and agriculture.
Addressing a joint conference of the Council of International Affairs and the Arab-American Chamber, the ambassador emphasized the historic and deep-rooted relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States.
Prince Turki underlined Riyadh’s efforts to stabilize the international oil market and meet the world’s growing oil needs.
He referred to the meeting between Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and President George W. Bush in his Texas ranch in April 2005, adding that the Crawford Ranch meeting set off a strategic dialogue between the two countries.
The ambassador also spoke about the world energy forum based in Riyadh, which was proposed by King Abdullah to promote dialogue between oil producers and consumers and achieve oil market stability and security. He hoped that Saudi Arabia’s accession to the World Trade Organization last year would open new opportunities for Saudi and foreign investors.
Prince Turki was bullish about growing trade relations between Saudi Arabia and the US as the volume of bilateral trade rose from $160 million in 1970 to more than $26 billion in 2004.
He underscored the Saudi government’s efforts to promote education of its citizens, adding that there are more than five million students enrolled at Saudi schools and universities. “We have a plan to send about 10,000 Saudi students to the US for higher studies,” he said.
Prince Turki’s speech also covered the Kingdom’s endeavors to achieve a just and lasting peace in the Middle East and combat terrorism.