tradeflow21.com

New US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia addresses the facts

See clips below from The National Newspaper’s coverage of James B. Smith’s (the recently appointed U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia) poignant talk to approximately 100 U.S. company representatives in Riyadh. TradeFlow21 lauds Ambassador Smith for his timely and critical assessment — hopefully a wake up call for businesses.

For information on the latest global economic competitiveness ranking and how the GCC ranks (note Saudi Arabia moved up to #13 this year and is knocking on the door for a top-10 spot), see Doing Business 2010: Saudi Arabia nears goal; UAE climbs ranks.

clipped from www.thenational.ae Diplomat warns US firms are losing edge RIYADH // The new US ambassador to Saudi Arabia yesterday warned American businesses to wake up to the fact that they are losing their edge in an increasingly competitive Saudi market. Ambassador James B Smith, a retired air force general, also told his audience of about 100 US company representatives that it was time for both Saudis and Americans to “rethink some opinions” of each other forged in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Noting that many US companies are “on the sidelines waiting to see what’s going to happen in Saudi Arabia”, he added: “My message back to them is: What’s happening is the train has already left the station. You are losing market share to India, China, Russia and if you don’t move you’re never gonna catch the train.”