Amr Al-Dabbagh, Governor and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), has called for the strengthening of Saudi-Russian relations. Speaking at the 5th Annual St. Petersburg Economic International Forum on Thursday, he said “Russia is an important but underrepresented potential collaborator on a number of fronts, but our potential for equitable bilateral trade has not been fully realized, perhaps due to a lack of formal institutions and mechanisms for doing so.” The Forum attracts leading Russian & Western political elite and captains of industry from all over the world, who attend to give speeches, presentations and participate in discussion sessions. Regionally, Russia-Arab trade has developed, in large part due to a favorable political climate, with trade turnover in 2009 approached $8 billion. Russian-Saudi trade, on the other hand, is very weak considering current potential, he pointed out. In 2007 the balance of trade was $903 million, with Saudi exporting $8.27 million compared to $911 million imported from Russia. The most important imported commodities during 2007 were bars and rods of refined copper, barley, refined copper wire, line pipe and drilling pipes used for oil or gas from iron or steel, and semi-finished products from iron and steel. “We have a lot in common,” said Al-Dabbagh, hearkening to the words of President Putin who became in 2007 the first Russian head of state to visit the Kingdom. “Russia and Saudi Arabia are the world's leading energy producers and exporters, and so there is considerable common ground for finding common values and understanding.” Saudi Arabia's relations with Russia (formerly the Soviet Union) date back to 1924, but were dormant for a period of nearly 50 years until the height of tensions in the Gulf, following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Then Crown Prince Abdullah traveled to Moscow in 2003, to became the most senior Saudi official to visit Russia since 1932. Al-Dabbagh was invited by Elvira Nabiullina, minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and chairwoman of the Forum Organizing Committee. Al-Dabbagh held also a series of bilateral meetings with Russian public and private sector leaders, including Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko and the Mayor of St. Petersburg, Valentina Ivanovna Matviyenko. __
