Finance, transfer of technology, a conducive business environment and visas were among the main issues under discussion Monday between a United States business delegation and Saudi businesspeople. Former US secretary of defense William Cohen, the head of the delegation, also welcomed the development of the King Abdullah City of Atomic and Renewable Energy, which he said will contribute to global green energy initiatives. He was speaking Monday at a meeting with Saudi businessmen at the Council of Saudi Chambers in Riyadh. He said the two sides discussed several topics including financing, technology, energy and desalination. He said that Saudi-American economic relations were growing stronger but also called for more bilateral relations in new areas. Cohen said he has seen positive changes in Saudi Arabia in terms of the creation of a climate conducive for investment. He said the US embassy in the Kingdom has made an effort to facilitate getting visas for Saudis. US ambassador to the Kingdom James B. Smith, in response to a question about some businessmen's complaints that they face difficulties in obtaining visas, said the period for issuing visas differs because there are various criteria applied in certain cases. However, he said the period is normally two weeks to two months. The two sides discussed cooperation in the fields of communications, information technology and banking services, which they agreed had promising investment opportunities. The vice-chairman of the Council of Saudi Chambers, Abdulrahman Al-Juraisi, said that the US was one of the most important commercial partners of the Kingdom, emphasizing the importance of the business sectors of both countries in supporting efforts to strengthen economic bilateral relations. He added that the Kingdom is one of the largest markets in the Middle East and enjoys a distinguished economic and investment environment as a result of the economic and financial policies of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. Al-Juraisi said that a high-level Saudi delegation will head for Chicago in two weeks time for the Saudi-American business opportunities forum where the Kingdom will unveil a number of investment opportunities. It is expected that several cooperation agreements will be signed. The volume of Saudi-American commercial exchange amounted to about SR193.3 billion in 2008. A recent report expects American direct exports to Saudi Arabia to total SR63 billion in 2010.
