Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Mr.
Fenton, thank you for the kind introduction.
And thank you for welcoming me to your fine
city.
Since becoming Ambassador a little over a
year ago, I have traveled widely throughout the
US. In fact, I have visited almost 20
states, but this is the first time I will have
come to Delaware. In keeping with your
state�s heritage, I understand, Delaware
should have been the �first state� I
visited. But I am glad to finally be here.
This morning, I had the privilege of visiting
the Tower Hill School, where I spoke with
students about the Middle East. As I�m
sure you know, these are very bright, very
capable young adults. We should all be
encouraged by the fact that they will be among
the leaders of tomorrow.
I first came to the United States when I was
14 years old. I came to attend a high
school very similar to the Tower Hill
School. After that, I attended college at
Georgetown. This has provided me with a
great deal of exposure to the US and the
American way of life. And this is
not unique to me. Over the years, literally
hundreds of thousands of Saudis have traveled to
the United States seeking education or
healthcare, to conduct business, or simply to
visit.
The friendships and partnerships that have
formed since well before our governments had
official relations are lasting, because � at
the bottom of it � Saudis and Americans are
very similar to each other. We�re
plainspoken and straightforward, and we both
believe in the importance of faith and
family. We want the same things for us and
for our children that you do: security,
opportunity, good health and education, and a
bright future.
Today, Saudi Arabia and the US are doing a
lot to maintain relations between our
governments and our people. Certainly,
we�ve gone through ups and downs.
We�ve gone through difficult periods and easy
periods, and it will continue to be this
way. But this is the nature of any
relationship, whether between friends or between
countries. Ultimately, we always return to
seeing the real reason why we stick it out with
one another: Quite simply, we work well
together.
So for more than 60 years we�ve had a
mutually beneficial relationship, and I can
proudly say that it is a relationship not just
of oil for security but, more broadly speaking,
a relationship of people to people.
If you look at the Kingdom today, it is a
country that is moving forward at great speed
economically and socially, and even politically
� despite what some people say.
We have over $650 billion worth of investment
opportunities in Saudi Arabia over the next 15
years, and American business should take
advantage of that. In December we
officially joined the World Trade
Organization. This is providing us with
great opportunities to increase foreign
investment and to diversify our economy so it
will not rely so much on oil.
We are focusing on growing our industries,
such as information technology, financial
services, and tourism, industries with which you
are all familiar. We are also creating
centers of commerce and business, like the King
Abdullah Economic City. This $26 billion
mega-project will be a next generation center of
finance, healthcare, and technological
development. It will be like a Wilmington,
Delaware on the Red Sea, if you will. And
similar to Delaware, we can also boast that we
are home to �tax-free shopping.�
Of course, this is because the Kingdom as a
whole is tax free.
I invite all of you to come and visit.
Recently, Saudi Arabia passed new laws that ease
obtaining a visa for businesspeople. So
please, if you can, come see for yourselves our
growth and opportunities.
And while economic reform is a key driver in
our society, we are also pursuing an agenda of
social and political reform. We are providing
our citizens with the training to succeed in the
global economy. We have undertaken a
multi-year modernization program of our
education system, including teacher training and
new textbooks and curricula. Through a
scholarship program, we are sending our students
to be educated around the globe.
Many of our students will be coming to the
United States. More than 10,000 are
already studying here. They will not only
be receiving a world-class education; they will
be forming the next generation of friendships
and bonds between Saudis and Americans. They
will be the true ambassadors.
Saudi Arabia has also undertaken a strategic
multi-year program to improve the level of
education in the Kingdom to be competitive
internationally, and this program is emphasizing
critical thinking and math and science, which
are important to success in the global economy.
Our municipal councils have now all been
officially formed and have begun to meet.
Members of these councils were elected to office
last year. This is an important step as
the Saudi people learn how the electoral process
works, and we will continue to expand citizen
participation.
These developments, which are only a few of
many, are not just for the Saudi people.
We live in a global community, so if we are to
benefit ourselves, we are benefiting those in
the world with whom we interact. And in
particular, we interact a great deal with the
US.
If you look at the problems we�re facing
today � the war on terrorism, Iraq, Iran,
Afghanistan, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, energy,
the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
� none of these problems can be faced alone.
We must work together to find solutions to these
challenges.
Saudi Arabia and the United States must
cooperate with each other to redefine our
relationship as world events evolve. As
Ambassador to your great country, I am
privileged to contribute to developing this
relationship.
Now, if I can help contribute a bit more to
your own understanding, I would be glad to
answer any questions that you may have.
