The Saudi-American Business Forum – U.S. Business Forum in September 2015 in the form of 10 major initiatives that strengthen and support the Saudi-U.S. Strategic Partnership for the 21st Century, which were in line with the outcomes of the visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz – may God support him – to the United States in September 2015, and will serve as the foundation upon which new, more productive economic and trade relations between the two countries will be built.
The Ten Key Initiatives
1- Localization of the consumer goods and spare parts industry. In addition to operations and maintenance related to railways and public transportation, under the strategic plan prepared by the Saudi government, which includes connecting the Kingdom’s regions and provinces through a network of rail lines, roads, and bridges by empowering investors from both sides in this field and in cooperation with the General Investment Authority.
2- Establishing an online portal dedicated to drawing up a preliminary roadmap of commercial and industrial opportunities available for joint bilateral investment in both countries, providing all relevant information and statistics on the performance of key economic activities and how to utilize them in preliminary feasibility studies for joint cooperation projects, with the Council of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in both countries overseeing and implementing this important portal.
3- Encouraging mergers, alliances, and strategic acquisitions among companies of various sizes in both countries with the aim of gaining competitive advantages on the one hand, and, on the other hand, to overcome the problems of project failures faced by many countries around the world, with the national engineering associations in both countries empowering and facilitating the transfer of expertise and implementing this strategic approach.
4- Establish an office to facilitate procedures for businesspeople and investors from both countries while they are in the other country and provide them with all administrative and governmental services through a unified business service window(One-Stop Shop) at the chambers of commerce and industry in both countries, with the councils of the chambers of commerce and industry on both sides implementing this initiative through a memorandum of understanding signed by both parties
5- Encouraging studies, scholarships, research, and scientific and research cooperation programs between the two countries, and establishing a joint network for the exchange of knowledge, science, and research in all vital fields of life; universities in both countries have been invited to implement this initiative.
6- An initiative to use and apply modern technologies in the medical field, including VAST communication systems and robotic surgery, with healthcare providers—in both the public and private sectors—as the primary beneficiaries of these applications; the Ministries of Health will serve as coordinators in the cooperation process between the two sides.
7- Creating a unified electronic database for patient medical records in the Kingdom, with the Ministries of Health and specialized agencies in both countries tasked with implementing this initiative.
8- An initiative to establish e-health to provide remote health services.
9- Providing social services to those in need, including health, medical, and awareness services to the general public in the Kingdom and abroad (Tele Health).
10- Strengthening the role of embassies in both countries through their commercial attaché offices, particularly with regard to promoting investment and trade opportunities in both countries and facilitating business transactions and contracts.
