The American Chamber of Commerce Saudi Arabia

Launches Its New Chapter in Jeddah

November 11th, 2021

Jeddah

The American Chamber of Commerce Saudi Arabia (AmChamKSA) launched its Jeddah Chapter on Thursday, November 11, 2021. Resentatives of the AmChamKSA board of directors and chairs welcomed a delegation from the U.S. Mission to Saudi Arabia led by Chargé d’Affaires Martina Strong, and senior executives from prominent American and Saudi companies in Jeddah for the historic occasion. The expansion to Jeddah comes just one month after the launch of the American Chamber of Commerce’s Eastern Province Chapter, serving as one more step towards unifying the voice of the American business community across the Kingdom and fostering opportunities for furthering American business ties in Saudi Arabia.

The charter signing event was held at King Abdullah Economic City’s Royal Greens and included a reception with opening remarks made by AmChamKSA Chairman Tarik Solomon, of Shamis Technologies and AmChamKSA Jeddah Chapter President Forrest P. Young, Jr. of Dar Al Tamleek. Keynote remarks were made by The U.S. Mission to Saudi Arabia’s Chargé d’Affaires Martina Strong and Commercial Counselor Mr. James Golson who congratulated the American Chamber of Commerce on its expansion across the Kingdom and celebrated the unified voice of American commercial interests throughout Saudi Arabia.

The official charter signing was part of a day-long event at KAEC’s Royal Greens where participants and guests had the opportunity to witness the charter signing and explore the greens.

In December 2020, the American Business Group of Riyadh transformed into the American Chamber of Commerce in Saudi Arabia, serving as a catalyst to unite the efforts of the American business communities throughout the Kingdom. The American Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that operates in over 100 countries around the world. It promotes American business interests abroad, seeks to advance trade and partnership with American businesses, and fosters goodwill between American businesses and their host country. Over the last 30 years, the American Business Group of Jeddah (ABJ) has supported the development and growth of commercial activity for the American and Saudi business community in Jeddah1. The ABJ Board Members felt the time was right to unify the American business community of Jeddah with the other American businesses throughout the Kingdom under one national organization, AmChamKSA.

President of AmChamKSA Jeddah Chapter, Forrest P. Young, Jr., was instrumental in taking the initiative to unify the American business community and broker the deal for ABJ members to join the American Chamber of Commerce Saudi Arabia, headquartered in Riyadh. Young noted, "The unification of the ABJ business community into AmChamKSA will provide tremendous value to our Jeddah members while providing a solid foundation for growth, enhance business opportunities, and enable a broader geographical reach to support American and Saudi business activity throughout the Kingdom."

The U.S. Mission to Saudi Arabia’s Chargé d’Affaires Martina Strong, noted in her keynote remarks that "the launch of the Jeddah Chapter of AmChamKSA signifies the continual growth of the relationship between the Kingdom and our American business community. Across the Kingdom American companies and their Saudi partners are working to capitalize on Vision 2030 and to deliver on the reform program’s promise.”

“Today’s launch represents the next milestone in the implementation of the board’s strategic plan to align AmChamKSA with the longstanding presence of AmChams around the world that serve the American business community under the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. I’m proud of our executive team’s efforts demonstrated today and of the collaboration with the Jeddah Chapter which is setting a strong foundation for deeper cross-regional industrial sector engagement. reflected AmChamKSA Executive Director Jaime Stansbury.

Tarik Solomon, Chairman of AmChamKSA, extended his congratulations to the chapter's board and members, noting that "the launch of the Jeddah Chapter marks an important win for our organization in that there is now representation from coast to coast. We look forward to further expansion, but in the meanwhile will be focused on building a conducive environment for private sector growth for American companies” as he welcomed companies that are committed to promoting American interests in Saudi Arabia and building a sustainable and dynamic commercial ecosystem to join. “The launch of the Jeddah Chapter is a step towards creating real progress for companies, individuals, and investors in this new era for American business in the Kingdom, now strengthened by our unity and diversity.”

Businesses and individuals within Jeddah that are interested in joining the American Chamber of Commerce and supporting American business interests within the Kingdom can visit amchamksa.com/membership or contact membership@amchamksa.com for more details.