JEDDAH: Keith Ellison, Minnesota member of the US Congress, says his current visit to Saudi Arabia has convinced him of tremendous scope for further improving economic relations between the two countries.
“Minnesota with its manufacturing prowess has the most buoyant economy in the United States and is not affected by the global economic crisis,” Ellison, who is leading a 22-member Minnesota business development trade mission, organized by the US-Saudi Arabian Business Council, told Arab News in an interview on Monday.
The purpose of the mission is to build and strengthen bilateral relations between the Kingdom and Minnesota. The delegation met with the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) and the Jeddah Municipality. “We had successful meetings with both and are looking forward to one with the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Riyadh,” he said.
The Kingdom’s six new economic cities including the King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh, north of Jeddah, hold tremendous potential for Minnesota’s businessmen, said Ellison, one of the two Muslim members of the Congress. “This is because Minnesota has diverse businesses. We have 18 Fortune 500 companies, the largest number that any state can boast,” he said, adding that meetings with Saudi businessmen and organizations indicate that Minnesota’s materials and expertise could have bright prospects in the Kingdom, especially in the fields of construction, waste water treatment, desalination plants and industrial cleaning,
The economy of Minnesota, which exports to 190 countries, has transformed in the past 200 years from one based on raw materials to one based on finished products and services. The earliest industries were fur trading and agriculture.
Agriculture is still a major part of the economy. Minnesota is the US’ largest producer of sugar beets, sweet corn, and green peas for processing and farm-raised turkeys. State agribusiness has changed from production to processing and the manufacturing of value-added food products by companies. Forestry, another early industry, remains strong with logging, pulpwood processing, forest products manufacturing, and paper production.
Minnesota, with 14,000 lakes and attractions like parks, skiing and fishing, was famous for its soft-ore iron mines, which produced a significant portion of the world’s iron ore for over a century. Although the pure ore is now depleted, taconite mining remains strong using processes developed locally to save the industry.
Manufacturing was not left out, either. “Today, the most salient characteristic of the economy is its diversity,” Ellison said, adding that the relative outputs of its business sectors closely match the United States as a whole. Manufacturing of industrial, medical, electrical and electronic, and information technology equipment is among Minnesota’s forte. “Today, Minnesota companies have the highest per capita income among American firms,” he said. “We concentrate on and promote small and medium enterprises. What’s more, we lead in research,” he added.
According to Ellison, the United States is the Kingdom’s largest trading partner and the Kingdom is the 14th largest trading partner for the United States. The United States is the No.1 source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom is the world’s 17th largest exporter and 27th largest importer of products and services.
The US-Saudi bilateral trade totaled $67.3 billion in 2008. Saudi exports to the United States were worth $54.8 billion and Saudi imports from the United States $12.5 billion. There are 357 US-Saudi joint ventures worth $21.9 billion.
