US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is scheduled to deliver a speech on the “Global Financial Crisis and the Future” Tuesday at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). The visit, the first by the treasury secretary of the Obama administration, offers Saudi businesspeople, economists and investors an opportunity to hear first-hand from Geithner how the US is coping with the crisis. JCCI Chairman Mohammed Abdul Qader Al-Fadl said the Saudi economy has so far succeeded in containing the ramifications of the global crisis thanks to precautionary measures taken by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA). Saudi Arabia is the No.1 trade partner of the US in the Middle East. Bilateral trade volume has risen from $41 billion in 2006 to $53 billion in 2008, Al-Fadl said. Foreign investment in Saudi Arabia does not exceed 12 percent of the investments by local banks. In comparison, Saudi banks have invested no more than 6 percent of their assets abroad, Al-Fadl said, noting that the country is hence largely insulated from the global crisis.
