DAMMAM: An American commercial delegation, headed by CEO of the US-Saudi Arabian Business Council (USSABC) Del Roosevelt, visited the Eastern Province (Asharqia) Chamber of Commerce. The delegation met with Bandar bin Rafie Al-Jabri, chamber board member and head of its logistics committee, in the presence of Abdul Hakim Al-Khaldi, chamber board chairman, Najeeb Al-Saihati, a board member, Abdul Rahman Al-Wabil, the chamber’s secretary-general, Abdullah Jum’a, head of the Saudi side of the USSABC, and Rachna Kurhonen, the American consul in Dhahran. Al-Jabri noted the strong links between the Kingdom and the US and the depth of the two countries’ trade and economic relations. He pointed out that the Kingdom was witnessing a major economic and industrial boom as it kept pace with global developments in the logistical sector in order to achieve the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030 reform plan. The chamber’s logistics chief added that the Kingdom currently owned 13 international and 14 domestic airports, at which the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) was responsible for safety, operations and navigation services. A number of new airports were also being built, he said, such as King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah and Neom Bay Airport in the north of the country. It was expected that the Red Sea Airport, designed to serve 1 million passengers annually, will start operating by 2022. Roosevelt said that the main goal of the meeting was to search for promising investment opportunities and feasible projects offered by the most prominent manufacturers operating in the airports’ sector. Moreover, there were great commercial opportunities in the Saudi aviation industry, he added. Meanwhile, Jum’a said that the USSABC had played an important role in developing and expanding trade cooperation between American and Saudi companies since its establishment in 1993.