Multiple bilateral agreements will be signed and new licenses issued this week by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America at the inaugural Saudi-U.S. CEO Forum in Riyadh. Coinciding with the historic visit by the U.S. President Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia, the Forum will be attended by leading senior executives of the largest corporations and investment funds from both Saudi Arabia and the United States, and a number of Ministers from the Kingdom, under the theme of ‘partnership for generations'. Drawing on over 80 years of close partnership between Saudi Arabia and the U.S., the CEO Forum will focus on expanding trade leading to the creation of jobs in the Kingdom in line with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and as part of President Trump's commitment to provide jobs for the American people. A significant number of MoU's and announcements will be made at the Forum and new licenses issued for U.S. companies to establish their footprint in the Kingdom, further strengthening the established ties of economic inter-dependency. The strategic relationship and joint partnership between the two nations covers key sectors include oil and gas, aviation, healthcare, technology, manufacturing, industrials and infrastructure. Held under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Saudi-U.S. CEO Forum aims to develop actionable partnerships, collaboration and investment opportunities catalyzed by the Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 to create jobs and drive economic diversification. The Forum will feature four roundtable discussions. HE Khalid Al Falih, Saudi Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, will chair a session on industrial capacity building, while HE Dr. Majid Al Kassabi, Minister of Commerce and Investment, will lead a discussion on the progress the Kingdom has made to foster business partnerships. Two other sessions on privatization and Saudi investment opportunities will be chaired by HE Mohammad Al-Tuwaijri, Vice Minister of Economy and Planning, and HE Yasir Al Rumayyan, Managing Director of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, respectively. The Saudi-U.S. CEO Forum will also be addressed by Amin Al Nasser, President and CEO of Saudi Aramco, Dr. Ghassan Al Shabal, CEO of Saudi Research & Marketing Group, Loubna Olayan, CEO of Olayan Financing Co., Yousef Al-Benyan, CEO of SABIC and Essam Al Muhaidib, CEO of Al Muhaidib Group. Prominent speakers from the U.S. include Andrew Liveris, Chairman and CEO of Dow Chemical, Michael Corbat, CEO of Citigroup, Jeff Immelt, Chairman and CEO of GE, Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco and Laurence Fink, Chairman and CEO of Blackrock. The Saudi-U.S. CEO Forum will be held annually to drive investment and create further jobs between the two countries, continuing the strong strategic partnership between Saudi Arabia and the U.S.
