Saudi Ambassador to the United States Adel Al Jubeir on Thursday spoke of the historically strong ties between the United States and the Kingdom, saying that they continue to strengthen those ties. Al Jubeir's comments came during an “Ambassador's Panel” made up of the current U.S., and Saudi Ambassadors, and previous U.S. Ambassadors to the Kingdom, as part of the 18th annual National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations conference. Al Jubeir said that the “historic” U.S.-Saudi relationship, which began in the 1930s, is now growing “broader, and deeper, and stronger” than ever, due to the efforts of both countries to expand on political, economic, and social exchanges. Both the Saudi ambassador and the other panelists touted the some 21,000 Saudi students now studying in the United States as a great example of the exchange. Former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (from 2002 to 2003) Robert Jordan, echoed the praise for King Abdullah, saying “King Abdullah is a perfect example of actions speaking louder than words.” Al Jubeir pointed to the newly-created King Abdullah University of Science and Technology shows Saudi's commitment to “building bridges” both within the Kingdom, and outside of it. Newly-appointed U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, James Smith attributed the Saudi-US stronger ties to the efforts of King Abdullah and President Obama.
