US President starts official visit to Saudi Arabia today

Flags of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the US

US President Joe Biden will start an official visit to Saudi Arabia on July 15-16.

Biden will meet with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The visit confirms the strength and depth of strategic ties between the Kingdom and the US, as well as the importance of coordination between the two countries to face the common challenges at the regional and international levels. In addition, the visit reflects the US administration's keenness to strengthen the strategic partnership with the Kingdom.

Biden’s visit shows the Kingdom’s successful foreign policies, whose rules were set by King Salman and the Crown Prince, which made the country an influential player in drawing the course of regional and global events.

The Kingdom's leading role in the Arab world and its strategic location contribute to strengthening the bilateral ties with the US, as well as maintaining the stability, security and prosperity of the GCC and Middle East.

80 Years of Strategic Ties and Partnership Based on Mutual Confidence

The historic meeting between King Abdulaziz Al Saud and US President Franklin Roosevelt in 1945 established 80 years of strategic ties and partnership that are based on mutual confidence between the two countries.

The visit of King Salman to the US in 2015 and the two historic visits of the Crown Prince in 2016 and 2018 contributed to strengthening the strategic ties between Riyadh and Washington, based on their common interests in various fields.

742 US Companies Operate in Saudi Arabia, Trade Exchange Exceed $25 bln

A total of 742 US companies with SAR 90.6 billion in capital operate in the Kingdom. In addition, there are more than 21,034 US brands in Saudi Arabia.

The trade exchange between the countries reached $25.07 billion in 2021. The US is the Kingdom's fourth commercial partner in terms of trade volume, the second in imports, and the sixth in exports, while the Kingdom ranked 28th as the biggest exporter to the US and 31st in terms imports.

Saudi Vision 2030, Mega Projects Provide Promising Opportunities for US Firms

Saudi Vision 2030 and other mega projects in the Kingdom offer promising investment opportunities for the US companies, particularly in the strategic sectors targeted by the vision, such as mining, petrochemicals, manufacturing, renewable energy, tourism, financial services, healthcare and pharmaceuticals.

Strong Educational Ties: 21,035 Saudi Students on US Scholarships

The total number of Saudi students on scholarships in the US reached 21,035. These students arrived in the US as part of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship Program, under which Saudi students in the US exceeded 500,000 since its launch in 2006.

GCC Summit with Participation of Iraqi, Egyptian and Jordanian Leaders

Biden’s visit to the Kingdom has special importance, being the US President’s first trip to the Middle East, where he will hold a Saudi-US summit and a GCC-US Summit with Iraqi, Egyptian and Jordanian leaders. This in turn underlines the pivotal role the Kingdom plays in the region’s security and stability and the keenness of Saudi Arabia and the US to strengthen strategic partnership.

The summit will be held at the invitation of King Salman together. It aims to affirm the historical partnership among those countries and strengthen cooperation in various fields.