Saudi Arabia and US deepen economic ties with focus on tech and energy

Tuesday 18 November 2025 - 16:50

By: Dakir Madiha

Saudi Arabia and US deepen economic ties with focus on tech and energy

Economic cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the United States is expanding across diverse sectors, including traditional and renewable energy, advanced technology, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing. This partnership aims to drive growth and investment, with deepening coordination in cybersecurity, military industries, and technology transfer. Trade and joint investments are central to the relationship, highlighted by the increasing presence of American companies in Saudi Vision 2030 projects and growing collaboration in healthcare, education, innovation, tourism, and entertainment.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's official working visit to the United States, at the invitation of US President Donald Trump, is expected to further strengthen bilateral relations and address issues of mutual interest. The US–Saudi Investment Forum 2025 aims to expand cooperation, focusing on exchanging expertise and investments to enhance integration and development.

Saudi Arabia and the United States are pursuing economic partnership opportunities valued at $600 billion, potentially increasing to one trillion dollars. Saudi investments in the United States currently exceed $770 billion, with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) playing a major role. The PIF's portfolio of American publicly listed companies reached $27 billion by the end of Q4 2024, and Saudi investments in U.S. Treasury bonds stood at nearly $127 billion in January 2025.

Saudi Arabia is the United States’ largest trading partner in the Middle East, with trade between the two countries amounting to about $500 billion from 2013 to 2024. Saudi non-oil exports reached roughly $82 billion last year. Under Vision 2030, international companies, including major American firms like Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, PepsiCo, Bechtel, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, are establishing regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Aramco is investing $3.4 billion to expand its refinery in the United States and has signed agreements with US firms, including one with Sempra for the supply of liquefied natural gas. Aramco and its subsidiaries have also signed 34 memoranda of understanding and agreements with major American companies across various fields, with a potential value nearing $90 billion.

The United States is a primary destination for the Public Investment Fund, allocating around 40 percent of its global investments to the American market, reflecting confidence in the innovation capacity of the US economy. The AI sector is a key area of cooperation, with Saudi Arabia aiming to secure deals in artificial intelligence as part of its Vision 2030 plan. Discussions are underway for an agreement that would allow American chips companies to export advanced semiconductors to Saudi Arabia.