DHAHRAN, 26 September — US Ambassador Robert Jordan paid a courtesy visit to the Eastern Province to renew ties with Saudi officials and businessmen in the area and welcome the new American Consul General Alfred F. Fonteneau.
Members of the local community were invited to a reception held on the occasion. US Consulate staff expressed surprise at the extremely high turnout of both Saudis and Americans at the event. Representatives from Saudi Aramco, local merchant families and government officials were all present.
During the reception, Jordan gave a speech expressing his delight at the number of Saudis at the gathering. He said that the goodwill shown at such an event proves that the ties of friendship between the United States and Saudi Arabia are still strong. He also mentioned that the US State Department was in the process of clearing the backlog of US visa applications that built up over the summer months.
Jordan also put forward his highest praise for the new consul general, emphasizing that based on his past performance, the US State Department has every confidence that Fonteneau will prove to be outstanding in his new position. He concluded his remarks by congratulating the staff of the US Consulate in Dhahran on the facility’s 58th anniversary.
Jordan was accompanied on this visit by his wife, Dr. Ann Jordan. While the US envoy arrived in the Kingdom nearly a year ago, his family was unable to join him until this July.
Dr. Jordan, who is an anthropologist, plans to continue her scholarly work through professional associations with the Kingdom’s top research institutes.
Dhahran’s new US consul general didn’t have to travel far to assume his new post. Fonteneau was previously stationed in Manama, where he served as the head of the Political and Economic Section of the US Embassy in Bahrain.
Fonteneau is quite serious about providing exemplary service in the region and is currently dedicating himself to becoming fluent in Arabic, having already studied the language intensively during his posting in Bahrain.
