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ITEM OF INTEREST
May 8, 2009

U.S.-Saudi Relations in a World Without Equilibrium
Conference Transcripts -- Session 1 -- Introduction

 

Editor's Note:

Clicik here for the SUSRIS Special Section "U.S.-Saudi Relations in a World Without Equilibrium."Last week a major forum addressing the state of and prospects for the relationship between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was convened in Washington by the New America Foundation (NAF) and the Committee for International Trade (CIT) of the Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Distinguished speakers spent the day providing perspectives and insights on what the relationship should look like, how economics was shaping the national security picture vis a vis the relationship, the challenges for America in the region and what the perspective on these challenges look like from the Saudi Arabian point of view.

Today we are pleased to provide the transcripts from the introductions by Steve Clemons of the New America Foundation and Abdulaziz Al Fahad of the Committee for International Trade; and the first panel, "A Forward Projection of What the Saudi-U.S. Relationship Should Look Like and Needs to Achieve. Separate emails will provide each panelist's remarks and the question and answer period transcript. 

Transcripts for the remaining panels and luncheon remarks will be provided over the next few days. You can find all of the conference materials and related links at a new SUSRIS Special Section. [link below]

 "U.S.-Saudi Relations in a World Without Equilibrium" - Conference Special Section

Video  MP3

U.S.-Saudi Relations in a World Without Equilibrium
Washington, DC
April 27, 2009

Panel I:  A Forward Projection of What the Saudi-U.S. Relationship 
Should Look Like and Needs to Achieve



Introductory Remarks

Comments

Panelists

Moderator - Questions and Answers

U.S.-Saudi Relations in a World Without Equilibrium
Conference Transcripts -- Session 1 -- Introduction

Steve Clemons, Director, American Strategy Program, New America Foundation. (Photo: Patrick Ryan)Steve Clemons: Thank you very much for joining us. My name is Steve Clemons. I direct the American Strategy Program at an institution called the New America Foundation.

For many of you who don't know our think tank.. ..There are many new faces, hopefully new friends, and members of the media, other think tanks, and people who have flown in from all around the world for today's program. 

The New America Foundation is a think tank full of what we call radical centrists. We try to take a pragmatic solutions oriented approach to public policy questions around a wide variety of issues. 

I have had the pleasure of building with my colleagues the foreign policy and national security programs of the organization and working as well on our interactive economic activities. 

The reason that both of these strands of work are important is that we are going to be dealing with both of those today in our forum called" U.S.-Saudi Relations in a World without Equilibrium," where we'll be taking a look at and discussing both the geo-economic and geo-strategic consequences of the relationship on a whole wide variety of levels. And we have what I think is really a world class program. And we have had a world class partner in the Committee for International Trade of the Saudi Chambers of Commerce. 

I want to introduce Abdulaziz Al Fahad who is the incoming new chairman for the Committee for International Trade. ..I have invited him to say a few words. So please welcome Abdulaziz Al Fahad. 

Abdulaziz Al Fahad - Chairman, Committee for International Trade, Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry. (Photo: Patrick Ryan)Abdulaziz Al-Fahad: Thank you. ..Let me start by thanking everybody for coming to our conference. I also would like to thank especially Steve and The New America Foundation for all the tremendous efforts they have done to ensure the success of this conference.

Also, let me thank you colleagues at the CIT. They have been working for months on this and hopefully we will see the results today. All I can say today is welcome and thank you. 

Steve Clemons: Thank you so much. The reason we did this program.. ..And I want to make one special mention. There are so many people to thank today and to recognize; folks that were former Senators and former ambassadors. We will get to most of them.

Abdullah Alireza the minister of commerce right now of Saudi Arabia is really one of the godfathers in the Committee for International Trade. A couple of years ago I challenged him and he challenged me. 

I said, "You know, this relationship sort of hides in the shadows. It is not something that is discussed warts and all, strengths and weaknesses, where we are going in a more public way." And he said, "Well if you will help produce a forum that is fair.." In fact, Prince Turki who is here said, "Steve, I know you are going to be a fair taskmaster, " and we will. We are going to work today through a lot of these important questions. But I want to personally thank my friend Abdullah Alireza, the Minister of Commerce, for actually coming through in a huge way for us. 

This relationship is one where whether you are looking at Pakistan today, I understand there are a number of envoys in Saudi Arabia or on their way. Of course, Secretary of State Clinton is in the region. George Mitchell is in the region. 

There is a lot of stuff up right now, whether it is the AFPAC issues, the solvency of the Arab Peace Initiative, whether it is looking at what we just saw unfold in the last couple of days in the IMF. So this is very important and I want to thank all of you for being here. 

We are going to have a number of moderators today. I have the pleasure of moderating the next session with our very distinguished panel, each of whom are going to speak here for a few minutes and I have asked the co-chairman of the U.S. Saudi Arabian Business Council, so our chamber essentially in Saudi Arabia, Peter Robertson, who is the Vice Chairman of Chevron, to help say some remarks very quickly to help set up the context. Then we will invite Senator Hagel to join us and I will say a few words about our next panel. 

Thank you and please welcome Peter Robertson..

[Visit the SUSRIS Special Section "U.S.-Saudi Relations in a World Without Equilibrium" for the transcripts from this and other panels and additional resources.]

Video  MP3

Speaker Biographies:

Abdulaziz Al Fahad - Chairman, Committee for International Trade, Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry

The Honorable Abdulaziz Al Fahad is chairman of the Committee for International Trade (CIT), Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry.  He is the principal of the Law Office of Abdulaziz H. Fahad.  He occasionally writes and lectures on Middle Eastern laws, politics and economics.  He holds a bachelors degree in economics from Michigan State University, an M.A. in International Relations from John's Hopkins' SAIS and a Juris Doctorate from Yale University.

Steve Clemons - Director, American Strategy Program, New America Foundation

Steve Clemons directs the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation, which aims to promote a new American internationalism that combines a tough-minded realism about America's interests in the world with a pragmatic idealism about the kind of world order best suited to America's way of life.  He is also a senior fellow at New America, and previously served as executive vice president.  Publisher of the popular political blog The Washington Note, Mr. Clemons is a long-term policy practitioner and entrepreneur in Washington, D.C.  He has served as executive vice president of the Economic Strategy Institute, senior policy advisor on Economic and International Affairs to Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and was th4e first executive director of the Nixon Center.  Prior to moving to Washington, Mr. Clemons served for seven years as executive director of the Japan America Society of Southern California, and co-founded with Chalmers Johnson the Japan Policy Research Institute, of which he is still director.  Mr. Clemons writes frequently on matters of foreign policy, defense and international economic policy.  His work has appeared in many of the major op-ed pages, journals and magazines around the world.

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