RIYADH: Commercial activities are a “vital part” of the Saudi-US relationship, Alan Hallman, the US Embassy’s agriculture attache, said while inaugurating the Discover America festival at LuLu Hypermarket in Riyadh on Wednesday. The week-long festival showcases high-quality food products from the US. “To deepen our economic and commercial ties, the US Mission supports the bilateral relationship by helping US products to enter the Saudi market,” Hallman told Arab News. “Saudi Arabia has a growing and increasingly diverse economy that presents rich opportunities for US firms in the food sector.” While touring the festival, Hallman said: “US food producers are the world leaders in quality, safety and innovation. I’m happy to see the wide range of healthy US food products on display.” He added: “This is another fantastic example of the strong commercial relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia.” Last year, the Kingdom imported some $1.8 billion worth of US food and agricultural products, a third of them consumer-ready. Hallman said this highlights the robust and growing economic relationship between the two countries, a key component of the strong bilateral partnership. The festival’s opening ceremony concluded with an announcement of the winners of a competition organized ahead of the event. The winners will go on a sponsored trip to the NASA center in the US.