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Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Starts Official Visit to US

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef. (SPA)
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Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Starts Official Visit to US

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef. (SPA)

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef kicked off on Monday an official visit to the United States, seeking to bolster industry and mining cooperation, strengthen ties between the two nations, attract investments to the Kingdom, and explore investment opportunities in key industrial sectors, notably aviation and space.

In the course of his visit to the US, which will last until September 28, Alkhorayef will travel to the states of New York, California, and Nevada. He will meet with government officials and CEOs of prominent American companies to discuss transfer of knowledge, and innovation, advanced manufacturing technologies in strategic industrial sectors in the Kingdom, and to explore the latest smart solutions utilized in mining operations.

The minister starts his visit in New York, where he will meet with industry ministers and global leaders in industrial transformation at an event organized by the Kingdom in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

The event aims to garners support for hosting the 21st session of the UNIDO General Conference in Riyadh, in 2025, and the Multilateral Industrial Policy Forum (MIPF) in October this year, strengthen ties between the Kingdom and UNIDO, and develop innovative industrial solutions and policies that bolster regional and global industrial development.

The itinerary will also feature a tour of the New York Stock Exchange, the largest stock exchange market in the US, and a visit to Columbia University, where he will have the opportunity to engage with faculty members and students.

Alkhorayef will then travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, to attend "MINExpo", the world's premier mining exhibition, where he is slated to meet with representatives of leading mining companies and explore cutting-edge technologies used in mining operations.

The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources will participate in the exhibition, which is organized by the National Mining Association (NMA).

Alkhorayef will attend a roundtable meeting with heads of major US companies during his stay in Los Angeles, California, to discuss promising industrial sectors outlined in the National Industrial Strategy, the opportunities they present, and the potential and incentives granted by the Kingdom to foreign investors.

Bilateral meetings with several private sector leaders are also scheduled.

Alkhorayef will visit renowned companies in advanced industries, including JetZero, a California-based aviation enterprise, to explore collaboration in the aviation industry. Furthermore, he will visit SpaceX, a leading entity in space exploration technologies.

Alkhorayef's agenda in the US also includes meetings with a cohort of Saudi students pursuing studies there.

The Kingdom maintains robust economic ties with the US, with total non-oil Saudi exports to the US amounting to SAR10.08 billion in 2023, and total non-oil imports to the Kingdom in the same year valued at SAR67.61 billion.

Key exports are of chemical products, basic metals and their derivatives, aircraft and ship components, and transport equipment, while significant American imports comprise nuclear reactors, railway locomotives, optical instruments, electrical machinery and equipment, and pharmaceutical products.

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Business

US Economy Grew at Solid 3% Rate Last Quarter, Government Says in Final Estimate

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
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US Economy Grew at Solid 3% Rate Last Quarter, Government Says in Final Estimate

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

The American economy expanded at a healthy 3% annual pace from April through June, boosted by strong consumer spending and business investment, the government said Thursday, leaving its previous estimate unchanged.
The Commerce Department reported that the nation's gross domestic product — the nation's total output of goods and services — picked up sharply in the second quarter from the tepid 1.6% annual rate in the first three months of the year, The Associated Press reported.
Consumer spending, the primary driver of the economy, grew last quarter at a 2.8% pace, down slightly from the 2.9% rate the government had previously estimated. Business investment was also solid: It increased at a vigorous 8.3% annual pace last quarter, led by a 9.8% rise in investment in equipment.
The final GDP estimate for the April-June quarter included figures showing that inflation continues to ease, to just above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The central bank’s favored inflation gauge — the personal consumption expenditures index, or PCE — rose at a 2.5% annual rate last quarter, down from 3% in the first quarter of the year. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core PCE inflation grew at a 2.8% pace, down from 3.7% from January through March.
The US economy, the world's biggest, displayed remarkable resilience in the face of the 11 interest rate hikes the Fed carried out in 2022 and 2023 to fight the worst bout of inflation in four decades. Since peaking at 9.1% in mid-2022, annual inflation as measured by the consumer price index has tumbled to 2.5%.
Despite the surge in borrowing rates, the economy kept growing and employers kept hiring. Still, the job market has shown signs of weakness in recent months. From June through August, America's employers added an average of just 116,000 jobs a month, the lowest three-month average since mid-2020, when the COVID pandemic had paralyzed the economy. The unemployment rate has ticked up from a half-century low 3.4% last year to 4.2%, still relatively low.
Last week, responding to the steady drop in inflation and growing evidence of a more sluggish job market, the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate by an unusually large half-point. The rate cut, the Fed’s first in more than four years, reflected its new focus on shoring up the job market now that inflation has largely been tamed.
Some other barometers of the economy still look healthy. Americans last month increased their spending at retailers, for example, suggesting that consumers are still able and willing to spend more despite the cumulative impact of three years of excess inflation and high borrowing rates. The nation’s industrial production rebounded. The pace of single-family-home construction rose sharply from the pace a year earlier.
And this month, consumer sentiment rose for a third straight month, according to preliminary figures from the University of Michigan. The brighter outlook was driven by “more favorable prices as perceived by consumers” for cars, appliances, furniture and other long-lasting goods.
A category within GDP that measures the economy’s underlying strength rose at a healthy 2.7% annual rate, though that was down from 2.9% in the first quarter. This category includes consumer spending and private investment but excludes volatile items like exports, inventories and government spending.
Though the Fed now believes inflation is largely defeated, many Americans remain upset with still-high prices for groceries, gas, rent and other necessities. Former President Donald Trump blames the Biden-Harris administration for sparking an inflationary surge. Vice President Kamala Harris, in turn, has charged that Trump’s promise to slap tariffs on all imports would raise prices for consumers even further.
On Thursday, the Commerce Department also issued revisions to previous GDP estimates. From 2018 through 2023, growth was mostly higher — an average annual rate of 2.3%, up from a previously reported 2.1% — largely because of upward revisions to consumer spending. The revisions showed that GDP grew 2.9% last year, up from the 2.5% previously reported.
Thursday’s report was the government’s third and final estimate of GDP growth for the April-June quarter. It will release its initial estimate of July-September GDP growth on Oct. 30.