A top US Chamber of Commerce official tells Arab News that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s upcoming visit will accelerate a new era of economic cooperation focused on innovation, digital infrastructure, and next-generation industries.
RIYADH: The strategic business relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States is exceptionally strong and rapidly pivoting toward future-focused sectors like artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and advanced manufacturing, according to a senior US Chamber of Commerce official.
In an interview with Arab News ahead of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the US, Steve Lutes, Vice President for Middle East Affairs at the Chamber, described the bilateral ties as “durable and resilient.” He emphasized that the high-level visit serves as a crucial milestone to build momentum for a partnership that is being redefined by Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
“It’s really important that everyone understand that in the current day we have very strong commercial and economic ties,” Lutes said. “They’re deep and they’re growing with our strategic partner, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
From Energy to AI: A Partnership Transformed
While energy and defense remain foundational pillars, the core of the commercial relationship is now expanding dramatically. US corporate interest is surging in line with the Kingdom’s diversification agenda, moving into high-tech sectors that form the backbone of a modern, knowledge-based economy.
Lutes highlighted that AI is at the forefront of this new wave of collaboration, pointing to recent deals like the partnership between HUMAIN and Qualcomm as emblematic of “the art of the possible.”
Such agreements, he noted, are “going to very much be at the heart of our bilateral economic relationship going forward.” This trend is further cemented by major investments from US tech giants like Google Cloud, Oracle, and Microsoft, which are establishing a significant digital infrastructure presence in the Kingdom.
Concrete Projects Fueling a New Narrative
The shift is not merely theoretical but is being driven by tangible, large-scale projects:
- Electric Vehicles: Lucid Motors, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is ramping up production at its $3.4 billion factory in King Abdullah Economic City.
- Clean Energy: The $8.4 billion NEOM Green Hydrogen Project, involving US firm Air Products, showcases collaboration in renewables.
- Digital Infrastructure: Billions of dollars are being committed by Saudi Arabia to build sovereign AI and computing capacity, creating prime opportunities for US technology and chip companies.
Lutes also connected the Kingdom’s energy capacity to its tech ambitions, noting that energy is a key enabler for powering the data centers required for these new industries.
Building Towards 2030 and Beyond
With Saudi Arabia set to host Expo 2030 and the FIFA World Cup 2034, Lutes stated that US companies are keen to be the “partner of choice,” not only in construction but across the entire “experience economy,” including smart mobility, digital services, and hospitality tech.
He credited Saudi leadership and institutions for creating a consultative policy environment that has encouraged this deep economic cooperation. The goal for the upcoming visit, Lutes revealed, is to lay out a roadmap to transform the US-Saudi economic relationship into a “future-built” alliance by 2035, ensuring it continues to evolve in more innovative and strategic ways for decades to come.
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