The US catalog show at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) on Wednesday featured 45 companies representing America’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that have great expertise in certain areas.

Speaking about the catalog show, US Consul General Todd C. Holmstrom said: “We see new potential for expanding partnerships between the companies of the two countries,” adding that the areas identified for partnerships include health care, water/waste water, and education. These are in addition to some of the most traditional areas for partnerships like trade and business exchanges, including franchise, infrastructure and energy, Holmstrom said.

According to him, the catalog show is designed to be one-stop-shop for any Saudi businessman who is interested in doing business with the United States. “For creating a new partnership if they need to travel to the United States, we have people from the consular section to give more information and also to expedite visas and other things they may need,” he added.

“In the US economy, the vast majority of the GDP (gross domestic product) is produced by our SMEs and so we are doing this event in cooperation with JCCI, Holmstrom said.

The US SMEs are best placed for exploring and making use of business opportunities most effectively. Firstly, they are motivated and they work hard in developing the business opportunities because of their size. Secondly, they are flexible. Thirdly, they bring specialties and technology at every opportunity. “So SMEs from our perspective are the most important element of our economy, with new growth and new opportunity,” Holmstrom said.

“This program today highlights or matches some of the sectors we see with new growth opportunities in Saudi Arabia. With the US partners, we have a proven track record of success with excellent capabilities,” he added.

Holmstrom said SMEs play a very important role in the US energy sector. “They provide technology and I see there is great interest and hunger in Saudi Arabia for new technology. They provide services in managing specific elements.”

In fact, SMEs are playing a very important role in expanding energy production in the United States, especially in the oil and gas sector. So SMEs are also very important in renewable energy sector. “And we think there is expanded interest in Saudi Arabia to do more for all these sectors.”

The partnership with JCCI is very important and our bilateral trade is expanding. For the United States, Saudi Arabia is currently No. 1 trading partner in the MENA region.

The bilateral trade in 2013 was $70 billion, which represents 300 percent increase over the last decade. Trade is large between the two counties and it is growing. We think the key in expanding trade further is to find new areas where we can grow, and SMEs is one area, Holmstrom said.

Ziad Bassam Al-Bassam, vice chairman, JCCI, said: “Actually, we are focusing on various things to support SMEs such as training, providing technical support and financing. What we do jointly with the US Consulate here is to find new opportunities for SMEs. The catalog show offers a great opportunity.”

Al-Bassam added: “We would like to see what kind of new opportunities we can bring from other parts of the world, and what best success stories and businesses in the world we can replicate and how to have relations with them. Through the US catalog show, we are getting them to support SMEs here.”

Charles Ranado, commercial consul at the US consulate in Jeddah, said the US companies are participating in the catalog show to foster trade links for building partnerships.

The catalog show marks the continued strengthening of bilateral relationships between our two countries.

The structure of the catalog show is designed to foster commercial engagement by facilitating introductions and communications between US and Saudi companies. This gives companies the opportunity to discuss prospective business potential and explore avenues for collaboration.

The US companies from key industries such as health care, infrastructure, water and waste water, energy and power have all recognized the potential synergies with their Saudi counterparts, Ranado added.

About the SelectUSA Investment Summit, Ranado said: “Under President Barack Obama, we have launched the SelectUSA initiative, which aims to bring more foreign direct investment (FDI) to the United States. We will be hosting our second SelectUSA 2015 Investment Summit from March 23-24 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center near Washington.

“The idea is to invite delegations from all over the world, business persons who are interested in going back to the United States to explore investment opportunities there.

So, it will be a great opportunity for Saudis in general and business partners in particular to attend the forum. We are hopeful to get a very large delegation from Saudi Arabia as you know the United States is a very attractive market for investment,” Ranado said.

President Obama has made it clear that the United States is "open for business" because it warmly welcomes foreign investors to operate in a transparent, stable and open market.

SelectUSA provides world-class services for international firms of all sizes as they consider investing in the United States, he added.