January 16, 2008 Dinner Program
5:30 - 8:30 pm at the Kasbah Moroccan Restaurant
1471 NW 85th St., Seattle, WA 98117

Your Access to a $700 Billion Market Opportunity

The Saudi economy is booming! Saudi Arabia is the top trading and investment partner for Northeast U.S. companies doing business in the Middle East, and the U.S. is the Kingdom’s largest trading partner. Total bilateral trade with the U.S. in 2006 was more than $40 billion.

Saudi Arabia is the largest economy in the Middle East, comprising 25 percent of the Arab world's GDP. It is the world's leading oil exporter, possessing one-fourth of the worlds proven oil reserves. For more than 35 years, Saudi Arabian economic development has been broadly governed by five-year economic development plans. Early plans developed the Kingdom's infrastructure. Now the focus increasingly is on human resource and private-sector development. The 8th Plan, approved in 2005, emphasizes economic diversification and the increased importance of developing the non-oil sector. Keys to that process include the ongoing development of six new cities in Saudi with a wide array of supporting products and services.

We invite you to join us and learn more about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s fascinating cultural, economic, and business environment.  Your company will become aware of business opportunities in Saudi Arabia while enjoying a delicious Moroccan meal.  While the focus of the discussion will be Saudi Arabia, the speakers will address the Kingdom as it relates to other Middle Eastern countries, as well as its role in the global economy.  We will also provide information on the growing Saudi Arabian-American business community here in Seattle and how it affects the growing trade between Saudi Arabia and Washington State.

The opportunities for American business are extensive. Better understanding of the culture is essential for effective commercial and financial enterprise. This is a unique opportunity to realize all of these elements and of the opportunities at hand.

Panel Speakers:

Edward Burton, President, US-Saudi Arabian Business Council,

Washington, DC

Edward Burton was appointed President of the US-Saudi Arabian Business Council in March 2006. The U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council was established in December 1993 to improve the mutual knowledge and understanding between the private sectors of the United States and Saudi Arabia, and to promote trade and investment between the two countries.  Prior to joining the Business Council, Mr. Burton served as the Commercial Attaché at the American Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  Prior to being assigned to the Embassy in Riyadh, Mr. Burton was the Director of the U.S. Export Assistance Center in Philadelphia.  Mr. Burton holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Charleston and a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the Dickinson School of Law.

Lee Monson, Sr. Vice President – Middle East and Africa Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes

Lee Monson was named vice president of Commercial Airplane Sales for the Middle East and Africa region in August 2004.  Prior to joining BCA sales, Lee was president of Boeing Business Jets, the joint venture established in July 1996 by The Boeing Company and General Electric to market a derivative of the Next-Generation 737-700 as a corporate and VIP airplane. In June 2001, Monson was named to succeed Boeing Business Jets President Borge Boeskov, who retired in early 2002.  Monson previously served as Boeing Business Jets vice president of Sales, managing the worldwide sales and marketing activities for the company.  In addition, he was responsible for coordinating the overall sales campaign with Executive Jet Inc. for the Boeing-NetJets BBJ fractional-ownership program.

Testimonials

It was an incredibly diverse and high-quality bunch of people from many different sectors and, I thought, an exceptional quality of interaction by those who were there.  So.....Credit where credit is due department....these things don't happen by accident. – Lew MacFarlane, PNWA Jan 08

The event was a phenomenal success. I was so happy to see so many people there obviously getting hearts and minds opened up and filled with GOOD information. Well done to make this happen.  Thanks for the several introductions you made, and for the great energy that you brought to the proceedings.  - DAN NYE. Senior Attorney
Alaska Airlines, Inc

I really enjoyed the event last night. It was a great succcess.  – Andrew Watts, Watts Media.