JEDDAH — A number of Saudi officials and members of the diplomatic community gathered Saturday at Park Hyatt to attend a welcoming reception organized by US Ambassador James B. Smith in honor of Anne Casper, the newly appointed US Consul General in Jeddah. Smith was particularly proud to introduce to the public a young lady and an experienced diplomat who began her career as a public diplomacy officer at US missions in Morocco, Syria and Jerusalem and served more recently as Public Affairs Counselor in Bangkok and Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Kigali, Rwanda. “Casper is not here because she is a woman. She is here because she is the most qualified person within the US department for this position. I needed someone who would help us build up a family and represent the American people focusing on notions of mutual trust and mutual respect. Over the past three years we have been dedicated with great success on building up relations in the trade, medical and education sectors based on these concepts. Casper will continue to nourish these relations bringing with her new energies, visions and ideas,” said Smith. Casper, accompanied in Jeddah by her husband who is a registered nurse, looked self-confident and gave proof of closeness to the Arabic culture and knowledge of local customs beginning and concluding her speech in fluent Arabic. “It is a great honor for me to be here in Jeddah and to serve as the Consul General of the United States. Over the past two weeks since my husband and I arrived, we have been welcomed by the kindness, warmth and humor of the people we have met. I loved every minute up to now and I'm confident that this feeling will continue,” said Casper who was particularly attracted by the idea of working in Jeddah due to the very special relationship the United States and Saudi Arabia share. “Strong bonds of friendship exist between our two peoples and my consulate, colleagues and I will strive to strengthen these bonds even further. Since January this year our commercial section has led more than 150 Jeddah-based visits to participate in major trade events. Likewise, as a result of these visits, American business people are becoming more familiar with the local context and making the professional connections they need to help them enter, expand and succeed on the Saudi market,” she explained. After presenting the new US Commercial Consul Charles Ranado to attendees interested in the American business sector, Casper also introduced the rest of her team including the new Head of the US Consular Section. “We will continue to encourage travels to the United States. We now have more consular officers in Jeddah than ever before. In 2012 alone we expect to process close to 33,000 non-immigrant visa applications in Jeddah that will return us to the record set by our colleagues in the year 2000. Let me also add that we are processing more student visas than ever,” said Casper, who concluded her speech with gratitude and admiration for the Jeddawi people and their incredible sense of hospitality.
“Over the past two weeks there is no expression that I have heard as often or with as great affection as “Jeddah Ghair,” meaning “Jeddah is different”. It is clear to me already that the people of Jeddah are diverse, warm, dynamic and incredibly welcoming. This truly makes Jeddah a special place. Let me conclude by saying that my husband and I are delighted to be here in Jeddah and to call Jeddah our home,” she said. During her diplomatic career, Caspar has covered security cooperation issues in Albania as political-military officer and European counterterrorism issues in the State Department and served as the Near East bureau's liaison to the Arab media.
