The United States and Saudi Arabia Advance Decades of Cooperation – News

Office
of
the
Spokesperson

“Ever
since
President
Franklin
Delano
Roosevelt
and
King
Abdul
Aziz
Al
Saud
first
laid
the
foundation
for
our
ties
75
years
ago,
Saudi
Arabia
has
been
an
important
partner
in
this
volatile
region.
 The
relationship
between
our
people
has
grown
since
that
time,
and
it’s
distinguished
today
by
deep
and
steady
cooperation
between
our
two
nations.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
–
Secretary
Michael
R.
Pompeo,
October
14,
2020

Secretary
Michael
R.
Pompeo
will
travel
on
November
22 to
Saudi
Arabia
where
he
will
meet
with
Crown
Prince
Mohammed
bin
Salman
bin
Abdulaziz Al
Saud
to discuss the
strong
bilateral
security
and
economic
partnership
between
the
United
States
and
Saudi
Arabia,
progress
made
under
the
U.S-Saudi
Arabia
Strategic
Dialogue
held
last
month
in
Washington,
and issues
related
to
Iran’s
malign
influence in
the
region.

THE
UNITED
STATES
AND
SAUDI
ARABIA:
A
BEDROCK
RELATIONSHIP

• For
  more
  than
  75
  years,
  the
  United
  States
  and
  Saudi
  Arabia
  have
  built
  a
  strong
  partnership
  in
  energy
  and
  investment
  cooperation,
  trade,
  counterterrorism,
  and
  security.
• In
  October,
  the
  two
  countries
  launched
  a
  strategic
  dialogue
  to
  advance
  economic
  and
  security
  objectives
  through
  working
  groups
  on
  defense,
  economics
  and
  energy
  cooperation,
  and
  culture
  and
  education
  exchanges.
• The
  United
  States
  recognizes
  Saudi
  Arabia’s
  progress
  toward
  transforming
  its
  economy
  under
  the
  Vision
  2030
  plan
  while
  emphasizing
  the
  importance
  of
  continued
  human
  rights
  reform
  and
  strengthening
  of
  civil
  society.

ECONOMIC
PARTNERSHIPS
BUILD
PROSPERITY

• The
  United
  States
  and
  Saudi
  Arabia
  support
  global
  economic
  growth
  and
  stable
  energy
  markets
  as
  two
  of
  the
  world’s
  largest
  suppliers
  of
  oil
  and
  gas. Two-way
  trade
  of
  goods
  and
  services
  between
  Saudi
  Arabia
  and
  the
  United
  States
  totals
  nearly
  $40 billion
  annually
  and
  supports
  some
  165,000
  American
  jobs.
• U.S.
  companies
  are
  key
  investment
  partners
  in
  strategic
  Saudi
  industries
  –
  not
  just
  traditional
  industries
  such
  as
  oil
  and
  gas.
  AMC
  opened
  the
  first
  cinema
  in
  the
  country
  in
  35
  years.
   Six
  Flags
  signed
  an
  agreement
  to
  establish
  the
  world’s
  largest
  theme
  park
  near
  Riyadh.

REGIONAL
SECURITY
INITIATIVES
BRING
STABILITY
TO
THE
GULF

• Saudi
  Arabia
  is
  a
  founding
  member
  of
  the
  Coalition
  to
  Defeat
  ISIS
  and
  assists
  U.S.
  efforts
  to
  combat
  al
  Qa’ida
  in
  the
  Arabian
  Peninsula
  (AQAP).
• Saudi
  Arabia
  co-chairs
  the
  Terrorist
  Financing
  Targeting
  Center
  (TFTC)
  and
  hosts
  the
  center
  in
  Riyadh.
  The
  TFTC
  is
  a
  platform
  for
  information
  sharing,
  multilateral
  coordination,
  and
  capacity
  building
  aimed
  at
  tracking
  and
  disrupting
  illicit
  financial
  flows
  to
  terrorist
  groups
  throughout
  the
  world.
• Saudi
  Arabia
  plays
  a
  key
  role
  in
  deterring
  Iranian
  malign
  activities
  in
  the
  region.
  The
  Saudi-led
  Coalition
  helps
  the
  legitimate
  Yemeni
  government
  defend
  its
  territory
  from
  attacks
  on
  civilian
  targets.
• Saudi
  Arabia
  and
  other
  members
  of
  the
  Gulf
  Cooperation
  Council
  work
  with
  the
  United
  States
  on
  border
  security,
  maritime
  security,
  and
  cybersecurity.

PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE
TIES
CREATE
NEW
VISIONS
FOR
THE
FUTURE

• About
  37,000
  Saudi
  students
  are
  enrolled
  in
  U.S.
  schools
  –
  the
  fourth
  highest
  number
  from
  across
  the
  world.
  When
  these
  students
  return
  home,
  they
  are
  helping
  to
  drive
  Saudi
  Arabia’s
  transformation
  taking
  place
  under
  the
  Vision
  2030
  plan.