OREANDA-NEWS. May 22, 2012. Mohamed Al-Mady, SABIC Vice-Chairman and CEO, has called for more productive engagement between US companies and the Saudi private sector to further strengthen business relations in hopes of helping accelerate their respective global growth agendas.

Addressing a meeting of the US-Saudi Business Council in Seattle on May 16, Al-Mady, who is the Co-chairman of the Council, said, “I cannot overemphasize the importance of our continuing relationship and the bond which has developed over these many years.  In this context, and in my role within the US-Saudi Business Council, I see myself as a goodwill ambassador to American business enterprise.”

He called for Saudi and US business leaders to begin to more aggressively promote the many bilateral opportunities which exist within the two countries. “Greater US representation within the Kingdom is very welcomed – as it always has been. It is incumbent on all of us to engage in an ongoing campaign to strengthen the business ties that have made our relationship so important,” he said.

Speaking about Saudi Arabia’s strategic plan to support and develop local industry through the National Industrial Cluster Development Program, Al-Mady said that business leaders in both countries could play important roles in this plan. This program is crucial to Saudi Arabia’s future as it focuses on the importance of developing small and medium enterprises to help grow a strong entrepreneurial base and diversify its economy, he said.

SABIC, together with its affiliates, developed a robust downstream model which has become both a SABIC and Saudi Arabian success story. “SABIC has been the mainstay in converting associated production gas to valuable marketable products which have enabled the development of local downstream industries,” he said.

The U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council is an organization of business leaders in both countries working together to strengthen bilateral business relations through trade and investment by promoting a broader understanding among US and Saudi companies, as well as providing information on specific business opportunities. Al-Mady was named co-chairman of the Council effective March 1 this year.