US companies have a “huge opportunity” to develop trade with Saudi Arabia, the president of the Federation of Saudi Chambers said on the eve of President Joe Biden’s visit to the Kingdom.
Ajlan bin Abdul Aziz Al-Ajlan has insisted there are potential avenues for increased business between the two countries, with Saudi-US trade reaching SR114 billion ($30 billion) last year alone.
The energy sector was flagged as one area of possible growth, as were tech and space.
Speaking to Asharq, Al-Ajlan said: “The Saudi-US relationship is old, extended and fruitful for both sides, even on economic level where trade reached SR114 billion last year, and over SR600 billion in the past five years, and today, in line with Vision 2030, there are huge opportunities for US companies in the Kingdom.”
A recent report by the Federation of Saudi Chambers showed the US ranks sixth for countries to which the Kingdom exports, while it comes in second to the countries from which the Kingdom imports.
The most important non-oil exports of goods to the US in 2021 were organic chemical products, at SR1.9 billion; fertilizers at SR1.6 billion; and aluminum and its products at SR1.3 billion.
The most important commodities imported from the US during the same year were machines, devices, tools, and mechanisms and their parts at an amount of SR9.6 billion; transportation equipment and its parts such as vehicles at SR8.5 billion; and arms, ammunition and their parts and fittings with an amount of SR7.7 billion.
The US and Saudi Arabia already share more than $100 billion in active foreign military sales, and defense ties have been further cemented by Lockheed Martin’s space technology partnership with the Kingdom.
Other key areas of trade involve electrical equipment, the digital economy, and e-commerce.
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