WASHINGTON: Congressman Keith Ellison is traveling with the Minnesota Trade Office and eleven Minnesota companies on a trade mission to Saudi Arabia. The delegation is scheduled to arrive in the Kingdom today on a four-day mission.
Ellison made history by being the first Muslim to serve in the US Congress and the first African-American to represent Minnesota when, in November, 2006, he was elected from here to the US House of Representatives.
Saudi Arabia has increasingly become a significant export market for American businesses. Minnesota companies exported more than $66 million in manufactured goods to Saudi Arabia in 2008, an increase of 32 percent from 2007.
“Today’s economy demands we look for every market available to our companies. I am proud to join this trade mission to expand business opportunities,” Ellison said before his departure on Friday.
“Minnesota companies recognize the expanding range of business opportunities that exist in the Kingdom for US firms,” Ellison stated. “They are eager to cooperate with Saudi business partners to bring cutting edge Minnesota products and technology to them,” he said, adding that the 11 companies in the delegation offered products and services that responded to important national priorities in the Kingdom.
The mission is organized and led by the US Saudi Arabian Business Council (USSABC), which brings numerous missions to the Kingdom every year.
“We are particularly proud on this occasion to have Congressman Ellison joining us on our mission,” USSABC president, Edward Burton, said in a statement about the mission. “Congressman Ellison is committed to advancing political and commercial relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States.”
The mission agenda includes meetings arranged by the Business Council on behalf of the delegates with prospective agents, distributors and end-users as well as market briefings.