Commerce promotes U.S.-Middle East trade

Commerce promotes U.S.-Middle East trade    A senior U.S. Commerce Department said the Obama administration plans to do more to promote trade between the United States and Middle East.
   Commerce's Undersecretary for International Trade Francisco S'nchez, during a luncheon hosted by the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce on Monday, emphasized the importance of commercial cooperation and highlighted opportunities for American firms in the Middle East and North Africa.
   According to the department, U.S. exports to the 17 Arab countries of the Middle East last year totaled an estimated $48 billion.
   'The countries of the Middle East and North Africa are important trading partners for the United States,' said Sanchez, who led a trade mission to Saudi Arabia late last year. 'The investment and growth in the region suggests that we can build on a trading relationship already worth tens of billions of dollars to U.S. companies.'

Sanchez

   He said the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, in particular, play a bigger role in expanding U.S. exports as they develop their positions as international business hubs.
   Commerce's International Trade Administration will lead a trade mission to Saudi Arabia in April 2-5, focusing on products and services in the information technology and communication sector.
      In 2009 Saudi Arabia ranked as the largest U.S. export market in the Middle East, with exports of $10.4 billion. The Saudi government plans a massive infrastructure investment of more than $400 billion in the next 10 years.
   The U.A.E. annually ranks as one of the top five destinations for U.S. exports in the Middle East. In 2009, the U.A.E. was the 18th-largest U.S. export market, and at $11.1 billion, its largest market in the Middle East.
   Commerce said U.S. commercial engagement with Qatar will become increasingly important with the country's successful bid to host the 2022 World Cup. Qatar plans to spend $100 billion on transportation infrastructure projects. In the next 10 years, it is estimated that Qatar will invest more than $120 billion on the development of the energy and industrial sectors and $50 billion on roads, infrastructure development, housing and real estate, health/medical and sanitation projects.
   In 2010, S'nchez led a number of trade missions to the region, taking 66 businesses to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, Libya and Algeria. In Saudi Arabia, the delegates developed more than 60 sales leads, and have $25 million in pending contracts, the department noted.