Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the United States Princess Reema bint Bandar said the US President Joe Biden’s upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia is “pivotal” for developing the US-Saudi partnership and ensuring mutual, and global peace and prosperity for both of "our peoples and the wider world", stressing that "we must redefine the contours of the next eight decades of this critical alliance."
In her OP-ED: "A New Shape for US-Saudi Relations", published by POLITICO on Thursday, Princess Reema said that the US and Saudi Arabia "worked together to defeat Soviet communism, guarantee global energy security, contain a revolutionary Iran, repel Saddam Hussein from Kuwait and, more recently, destroy al-Qaeda and ISIS."
"But there is still much more our countries can do together as partners, especially in these very perilous times," she added.
The Saudi Ambassador said as the Kingdom develops, so too, must the US-Saudi partnership.
"And that is why the upcoming visit by President Joe Biden to Saudi Arabia is so pivotal. For our relationship to deliver peace and prosperity for both of our peoples and the wider world, we must redefine the contours of the next eight decades of this critical alliance."
Princess Reema affirmed that the days when the US-Saudi relationship could be defined by the outdated and reductionist “oil for security” paradigm are long gone.
"The world has changed and the existential dangers facing us all, including food and energy security and climate change, cannot be resolved without an effective US-Saudi alliance. These priorities must guide the US-Saudi partnership of the 21st century, and we view the visit of President Biden as an important moment for laying out our shared vision for how to tackle the challenges that lie ahead."
She added that today, Saudi Arabia is barely recognizable from how it once looked, "even just five years ago."
"Today, we are not just a global leader in energy, but also in investment and sustainable development. Through hundreds of billions of dollars of investment in education, technology, economic diversification and green energy, we have launched a transformation agenda that is unlocking the enormous potential of our young men and women," stressing that now Saudi women have legal guarantees of equal pay and nondiscrimination in the workplace.
"Today, Saudi women outnumber men in our institutes of higher education. And women represent the same share of entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia as they do in the United States. We are entering sectors such as construction, mining and the military. We are creating companies, becoming CEOs and assuming top government posts, empowered by a government determined to see us succeed."
Princess Reema said she is the first Saudi woman to be appointed ambassador, which will allow her to speak "firsthand to the new realm of the possible we are establishing."
"It is a success story we hope others will emulate."
She noted that the US-Saudi efforts to ensure peace and security should focus on enhancing cooperation and reinforcing a rules-based system so that it delivers tangible benefits to all, adding: "In this way, we can confront the vision of chaos promoted by Iran with a vision of cooperation that people of region can see and feel."
"History has shown us that the United States and Saudi Arabia have emerged from every challenge stronger together, and the future should be no different. When we are united, we are a formidable force for good."
