The Council lead a delegation of 10 companies to Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative (FII). The mission, which began October 27th and ran until October 31st, entailed several briefings with major government entities and companies like SAGIA, Qiddiya and Mayer Brown along with tailored one-on-one meetings and attendance to the FII. The delegation, comprised of companies interested in joining Saudi Arabia’s ongoing transformation, represented a wide array of sectors including defense, pharmaceuticals, workforce training and development, information technology, digital manufacturing, autonomous vehicles, satellite technologies and cybersecurity among others.
American companies are increasingly looking to invest in the Kingdom, foreign investor licenses grew by 70% between 2018 and 2019 – evidence of the Saudi economy’s growing attractiveness to global investors. The Council has seen an evolution in the types of U.S. companies seeking to engage in the Saudi market. From a bilateral perspective, as of 2018 the Kingdom has more than $15.4 billion invested in the U.S., and the U.S. has more than $11.4 billion invested in the Kingdom. The number has consistently risen throughout the past decade.
Companies engaged in cutting edge technologies; building product and services in sectors like autonomous vehicles, sustainable development, industry 4.0 and workforce development are showing increased interest in the Kingdom. The Council is honored to play a continuing part in making Vision 2030 a rapid developing reality through education and by fostering commercial relations between U.S. and Saudi Arabia.
