Eleven mayors from the United States, including Bill Bell, mayor of Durham, North Carolina, are to visit Saudi Arabia, from May 7-14 on an official invitation from the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, DC. According to information made available to Saudi Gazette, among other things, the mayors, guests of the Saudi government, will have the opportunity to learn about the Kingdom's economy and educational system. They will meet leading Saudi business people, senior government officials as well as high school and university students and also visit an oilfield in the Eastern Province. “This mission will make it possible to learn more about this important long-term ally of our country,” Bell said in a press statement. “We appreciate this opportunity to gain insights into the government, culture, and people of this important Middle Eastern nation,” he added. Other members of the delegation include J. Christian Bollwage, Elizabeth, New Jersey; Ardell F. Brede, Rochester, Minnesota; Mark Burroughs, Denton, Texas; William D. ‘Bill' Euille, Alexandria, Virginia; Bill Gluba, Davenport, Indiana; Phil Gordon, Phoenix, Arizona; Mark Mallory, Cincinnati, Ohio; John Marks, Tallahassee, Florida; James J. Schmitt, Green Bay, Wisconsin and Mark Stodola, Little Rock, Arkansas. It may be recalled, that last November, the mayor of Stamford, Connecticut, Dannel Malloy visited Saudi Arabia as part of a delegation of American mayors. The trip was sponsored, organized and planned by the Saudi Embassy. Malloy was one of seven US mayors to join the trip as part of a delegation of the United States Conference of Mayors. They included mayors Martin J. Chavez of Albuquerque, New Mexico; David N. Cicilline of Providence, Rhode Island; T. M. Franklin Cownie of Des Moines, Iowa; John Robert Smith of Meridian, Mississippi; Meyera E. Oberndorf of Virginia Beach, Virginia and Douglas Wilder of Richmond, Virginia.
