Saudi-US Relations Information Service


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High Oil Price Hasn’t Harmed World Growth: Saudi Minister [Jul 1]
"Higher oil prices have not had a negative impact on global growth, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister wrote in a French newspaper on Saturday, saying initiatives by oil producing states would stabilise the market sooner or later. Ali bin Ibrahim Al Naimi said recently perceived fears over prices were related to 'negativism, economic protectionism and so-called ’economic patriotism’'.. ..'The rise in oil prices has not had negative consequences on economic global growth.." [more]

Visitor Numbers on Rise in Saudi Arabia Report [Jul 1]
"There has been a huge increase in the flow of tourists into Saudi Arabia in recent years. According to the latest figures, the number of tourist trips to the kingdom during the first half of 2005 reached 3.278 million. There were about 6.817 million domestic tourism trips in the same period The money spent on dom-estic tourism reached 6.724 billion Saudi riyals.." [more]

Saudi Arabia Funding Somali Islamists: US [Jul 1]
"Funds are flowing into Somalia from Saudi Arabia and Yemen to support the Islamic Courts movement that seized the capital Mogadishu this month, said a senior US official on Thursday. The State Department’s point person on Africa, Jendayi Frazer, told a hearing on Capitol Hill that the United States and others were reaching out to the Arab League about the flow of funds into Somalia from Arab countries. 'I don’t want to say the Saudi government is supporting any particular (Islamic) court but I do know that there is money coming in from Saudi Arabia'.." [more]

Official, Envoy Review Saudi-Japanese Educational [Jul 1]
"Governor of the General Organization of Technical Education and Vocational Training (GOTEVT) Dr.Ali bin Nasser Al-Ghofeiss received here today Japanese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Shigeru Nakamura. During the reception, they discussed issues pertaining to aspects of cooperation in technical and vocational fields.." [more]

Move to Tap Phones Upsets Women Teachers [Jul 1]
"Women teachers and employees at the women’s section of the Ministry of Education in the Eastern Province have called upon authorities to reconsider a decision to monitor all incoming and outgoing telephone calls at the ministry offices and state-run schools.. ..The Ministry of Education decided to introduce radical measures to stop women employees and teachers from using telephones at work for their social and personal needs. The ministry aims to curb gigantic phone bills and hope employees will be able to fully apply themselves to work.." [more]

King Orders New College at KFUPM [Jul 1]
"Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has ordered the opening of a college for support studies and applied sciences in addition to a center for inventions at King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran.. ..The new colleges are in line with the council’s policy to develop qualified manpower to satisfy the needs of the jobmarket and developmental requirements.." [more]

Saudi Raises Interest Rates Before Likely Fed Hike [Jun 30]
"Saudi Arabia’s central bank raised interest rates by 20 basis points on Thursday before a widely expected rate rise in the United States, traders in Dubai said. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama) confirmed it had raised rates but did not say by how much. The riyal is pegged at 3.75 to the US dollar.." [more]

Iraq Seeks Saudi Backing on Reconciliation [Jun 30]
"Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is going to neighboring Saudi Arabia to seek support for his national
reconciliation initiative from leaders of the influential oil-rich kingdom, a government official said Friday..
..Al-Maliki, a member of Iraq's Shiite majority, plans to discuss his program for bridging the Shiite-Sunni divide in Iraq with Saudi leaders Saturday, said the Iraqi official, who insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.." [more]

Winds of Change [Jun 30]
"The Middle East is changing and changing fast. Today, across the Arab and Muslim world, there is growing talk of and craving for democratic reforms and greater participation of the people in the political and decision-making process. So it is only understandable that winds of change are sweeping Saudi Arabia, the leader of the Arab and Muslim world, too. Indeed, in the recent years, the world’s largest oil producing nation has been showing definite signs of gradual but decisive change.." [more]

Youth Leaders Asked to Help Fight Terrorism [Jun 30]
"The Governor of Assir Region, Prince Khalid Al Faisal, also chairman of the King Faisal Foundation, yesterday called on the youth leaders and scout captains to play an active role in combating terrorism. He also urged them to be exemplary models and ideal Muslims in all walks of life.." [more]

Arab Nations Voice Fears Over Crisis [Jun 30]
"Arab officials reacted with concern yesterday to the escalation of the Israeli-Palestiniain crisis. They criticised Israel for causing suffering to Gaza residents and cited Israeli warplanes' buzzing of the Syrian president's home as especially troubling. Qatar's foreign minister called the crisis 'a critical situation'.." [more]

Saudi Cut Shows Record Oil Defies Market Logic [Jun 29]
"Saudi Arabia has offered the most compelling proof yet that record high prices are divorced from the realities of supply and demand. The world's biggest crude exporter dared to make a huge cut in its production through the second quarter but growing demand for oil was still satisfied. From July 2004 to March 2006 the kingdom had been pumping well in excess of nine million barrels per day, in part to keep the world's top two consumers the US and China supplied.." [more]

Saudi Envoy to US Says Kingdom Will Have Democracy [Jun 29]
"Saudi Arabia will learn from the mistakes of the West in developing its own democratic system, the kingdom's ambassador to the United States has said. Within 10 years, a full democratic system ought to be in place that addresses human rights, social responsibility and economic development through elected officials and non-governmental organizations.." [more]

DP Calls for Support to Boost US-Arab Trade Accord [Jun 29]
"At the recently concluded US-Arab Economic Forum in Texas, Dubai Properties (DP) highlighted the strategic value of conducting business in the Middle East through bilateral trade agreements between the United States and Arab States. Addressing over 1,500 business leaders and policymakers, Haiyan Mujarkech, chief officer, Dubai Properties, said: 'If we’re to change perceptions of US-Arab trade, we must show that ‘strategic value’ translates into tangible benefits, that people understand how these benefits have been made possible by trade'.." [more]

Saudi Index Rises Ahead of Q2 Results [Jun 29]
"Saudi shares edged higher yesterday’s end-of-week trading as funds bought heavyweight stocks ahead of second-quarter results while retail investors took profits on smaller companies, analysts said. The all-share index, Sasi, of the largest Arab bourse ended up 0.54% at 13,145.26 points, with total turnover of 29.4bn riyals ($7.8bn), down from 36.5bn riyals ($9.7bn) on Tuesday. Major funds and institutional investors have been accumulating blue-chip stocks all week in anticipation of good earnings.." [more]

US Ambassador [to Iraq] Visited Saudi Arabia to Discuss Iraq [Jun 29]
"US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad visited Saudi Arabia where he discussed with the kingdom's top officials the situation in the country weeks after a new government was formed and amid attempts to bring Sunni insurgents into the political process, according to news reports yesterday. State-run Saudi Press Agency said that Khalilzad met Tuesday with King Abdullah, Crown prince Sultan Bin Abdel Aziz and Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal.." [more]

United States Absent From Saudi Economic Boom [Jun 28]
"Despite the close ties between Saudi Arabia and the United States, American companies are failing to take advantage of Saudi's economic boom, Abdullah Alireza, Saudi Arabia's Minister of State, said Wednesday. "Without a doubt the Americans have missed out," Alireza said. While other countries like China, Japan, India and Australia continue to expand their presence throughout Saudi Arabia, the United States remains absent, he said.." [more]

Shoura Rejects Three Proposals for Commission [Jun 28]
"The Shoura Council has rejected three recommendations made for the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.. ..According to Shoura Council members, this is the first time in the council’s history that recommendations made by one of its major committees have been rejected.. ..The members were involved in serious discussion of complaints made against the commission and its activities by many members of the public.." [more]

Trade Surplus of Oil Exporters Jumps to $450 Billion in 2005 [Jun 28]
"The trade surplus of oil exporters jumped to more than $450 billion in 2005, equivalent to more than half of total oil revenues. The primarily oil-exporting emerging economies, which accounted for the lion’s share of this increase, spent only about half of the rise in oil receipts on additional imports of goods and services, according to the 76th Annual Report of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).." [more]

Arab Women Seek Support, Respect As Economic Factors [Jun 28]
"Women have a tremendous contribution to make to the economies of the Arab world, but they must support each other and need the support of their governments and business communities to achieve their potential, according to Arab businesswomen speaking at a panel on Arab women's empowerment at the U.S.-Arab Economic Forum in Houston June 28.. ..The panelists said that the mere presence of women in the workplace is not enough. They said women must be taken
seriously.." [more]

U.S.-Arab Economic Forum Announces Exchange Initiatives [Jun 28]
"Arab American leaders pledged to promote greater interaction between the United States and the Arab world at the close of the U.S.-Arab Economic Forum in Houston June 28. Forum directors announced three new initiatives aimed at increasing person-to-person contacts between Americans and the people of the Middle East. The U.S.-Arab leadership program will take 1,000 young American leaders to the Arab world each year in an effort to foster a first-hand understanding of the region and its people.." [more]

New Economic City in Saudi Arabia Set to Become the Largest Transportation and Logistics Hub in the Middle East [Jun 27]
"The second in a series of new economic cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia being planned by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), the Prince AbdulAziz Bin Mousaed Economic City is a key element in Saudi Arabia's recent initiative to further develop its economy, generate regional growth, and create employment opportunities for its youthful population. The new city will be developed at Hail in the Northern region of the Kingdom under the supervision of SAGIA.." [more]

Saudi King Offers Amnesty to Al Qaeda Terrorists [Jun 27]
"King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has announced an amnesty for Islamist terrorists, Saudi newspaper reports said on Tuesday. A similar move two years ago encouraged six extremists within Al Qaeda cells in Saudi Arabia to give themselves up to police within the space of one month. They were released after five months.." [more]

W-H Energy Gets Saudi, Brazil Contract [Jun 27]
"Oilfield services company W-H Energy Services Inc. said Tuesday its PathFinder Energy Services unit won service contracts in Saudi Arabia and Brazil. Financial terms weren't disclosed. The contract with Saudi Aramco is a four year contract for provision of measurement- and logging-while-drilling and directional drilling services.." [more]

Jordan, Saudi Arabia to Demarcate Maritime Borders [Jun 27]
"Foreign Minister Abdel Ilah Khatib met on Tuesday with Saudi director of military survey Murei' ben Hassan al Shahrani and his accompanying delegation, currently visiting Jordan to finalize an agreement on demarcating maritime borders between Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Khatib stressed, during the meeting, Jordan's keens on strengthening ties with Saudi Arabia in all fields.." [more]

Saudi Insurgents Offered Pardons [Jun 27]
"Saudi ruler King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has promised that insurgents who turn themselves in to the authorities will be pardoned, according to media reports. The promise of royal pardons comes two years after the issuance of a one-month long amnesty designed to encourage al-Qaida followers to lay down their weapons.. ..The royal amnesty offer may indicate that the authorities feel they have broken the back of the insurgency with recent arrests, as indications grow that the security forces have garnered key intelligence information on militant networks.." [more]

Saudi Index Tops 13,000 [Jun 27]
"Saudi stocks pulled up over the 13,000-points level yesterday, with large funds buying heavily in industrial giant Sabic while other blue chips were hit by profit-taking, traders said. Analysts say investors are accumulating in big-caps ahead of half year results in mid-July which are expected to be positive.." [more]

Reliance to Set Up Two Fiber Optic Cable Stations in Kingdom [Jun 27]
"Anil Ambani, chairman of the Reliance Group, one of India’s biggest companies, has made $60 million investment in the Kingdom for setting up two submarine fiber optic cable landing stations in Alkhobar and Jeddah for facilitating access to international bandwidth and providing value-added services to the users.." [more]

The King Approves $ 1 Million for Palestinian Sports Projects [Jun 27]
"The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King "Abdullah bin Abdulaziz has approved $ 1 million for supporting the costs of sports projects nearing completion in Gaza Strip and West Bank in Palestine within the framework of the Kingdom’s efforts in support of the Palestinian people. The financial support will be documented when it is presented to the International organizations and international, Arab and Palestinian football associations.." [more]

Al-Sudairi: Saudi Arabia Protects Human Rights [Jun 27]
"The Chairman of Human Rights Commission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Turki bin Khalid Al-Sudairi has called on a newly elected U.N. Human Rights Council to take the required measures for implementing its decisions to achieve security and stability in the region and protect human rights.. ..He pointed out that the Kingdom has given a great significance to strengthen and protect human rights in a way that preserves the societies’ special characteristics and moral and cultural values.." [more]

Women Advisors on Saudi Council [Jun 27]
"Saudi women have been appointed as advisors to the rubber stamp Consultative Council, reflecting a bid by the Muslim conservative kingdom to introduce change. A source at the rubber stamp 150-man council was quoted by Saudi daily Okaz on Monday as saying that six women, including academics and professionals, have started working as part-time advisors. 'The contribution of the women advisors will tackle all aspects related to the council, internally and externally.." [more]

Dry Up Terror Sources: Naif [Jun 26]
"Minister of Interior Prince Naif said terror cells would continue to exist unless international action was taken to dry up their sources. Referring to the success of security forces in recent operations that resulted in the killings of six suspected terrorists and the arrest of 43 others in the Kingdom, Prince Naif said those arrested or killed had helped terrorists in one way or another.." [more]

Sinopec Drilling for Gas in Saudi Arabia [Jun 26]
"China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) has begun to drill for gas in Saudi Arabia, according to a vice president of Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco). “The joint ventures are gathering data, some of them started drilling, like Sinopec,” said Salim Al Aydh of the state-owned oil company. Sinopec is one of several companies that has won the rights to develop gas reserves in Saudi Arabia’s southeastern desert, known as the Empty Quarter.." [more]

Saudi Arabia Supports Calls to Close Jail at Guantanamo [Jun 26]
"Saudi Arabia said yesterday it backs international calls to close the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, where around 450 suspects including some 90 Saudis are being held outside the jurisdiction of international law. 'Of course we support this and hopefully all the Saudis there will be returned to their homeland,' Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz told reporters.." [more]

Saudi Cash Boost for Black Stars [Jun 25]
"Saudi prince Al-Waleed Abdul Aziz Al-Saud has donated US$100,000 to Ghana for their performance at the World Cup in Germany.. ..Al-Saud made the pledge during a telephone call to Ghana president John Agyekum Kufuor to congratulate him on the performance of the Black Stars at the tournament.." [more]

14 at Guantanamo Sent to Saudi Arabia [Jun 25]
"Fourteen Saudi Arabians were transferred Saturday from detention at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and sent to their home country, the Pentagon said. U.S. officials determined that one of them is no longer an enemy combatant. The others were transferred after administrative reviews.." [more]

US-Arab Economic Forum Aims to Bridge Cultures, Boost Investment [Jun 25]
"This week US and Arab diplomats will join in what is known as the oil capital of the United States- Houston, Texas- for a forum that aims to bridge cultures and enhance the economic relationship between the United States and the Middle East, said organizers of the event.. ..The event is sponsored by the Gulf Cooperation Council and Arab governments such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia as well as private companies such as General Motors.." [more]

The SUSRIS project -- an independent, private-sector information resource - offers objective, comprehensive news and information on the history, breadth and depth of the US-Saudi Arabia relationship.
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