Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman responded firmly when asked what he expects will happen to the U.S.-Saudi energy relationship, after the fit which Washington has thrown over OPEC’s refusal to slash oil production as ordered: “I think we as Saudi Arabia decided to be the maturer guys and let the dice fall. We keep hearing `you are with us or against us.’ Is there any room for ‘we are with the people of Saudi Arabia'?”
The Energy Minister was speaking during the Saudi government’s big, three-day Future Investment Initiative (FII) forum, where global businessmen are invited to learn what investment opportunities are available in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 development plan.
According to a Reuters report on the forum, Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih had also spoken about what he called an “unwarranted spat” between the U.S. and his country. The two countries will get this spat, given long-standing close corporate, institutional, educational ties between the two, he assured people. But he also noted that while Saudi Arabia and the U.S. are “solid allies” for the long term, the kingdom is also “very strong” with its Asian partners including China, the largest importer of Saudi hydrocarbons.
