RIYADH: The American Chamber of Commerce Saudi Arabia signed a partnership with American Express Saudi Arabia to merge communities, spark networking and strengthen business corporations through golf during a signing ceremony at AMEX Saudi headquarters on Sunday. “I couldn’t be happier to renew this great partnership between American Express and the American Chamber. It’s a win-win situation for us and for American Express, and for the wider Saudi golf and sports community,” said Bill Foster, American Chamber of Commerce Saudi Arabia chair. The partnership will enable the two entities to collaborate within sports, supporting Saudi golf and the Saudi-American business corporations within the Kingdom. Through the cooperation, from March 9-10, the American Chamber of Commerce in Saudi Arabia and American Express have partnered to host the 27th Annual Golf Tournament at the Dirab Golf and Country Club in Riyadh. Representing American Express is CEO Fahad Al-Guthami, while the American Chamber of Commerce Saudi Arabia will be represented by Foster and Max Andrews, sports committee chairman. “It really represents a forum for the Saudi and American business communities to continue to work together and strengthen the bond they already have under Vision 2030 enabled by both AmCham and American Express,” said Foster. Although the focus is on golf, the partnership aims to strengthen cooperation between the two countries and improve the quality of life through events such as golf tournaments. “We at American Express Saudi Arabia have a strategy and vision that we really want to be, as they say, ‘glocal’: We are a global brand, but we are present locally here,” said Al-Guthami. Through the agreement, the two parties will cooperate on creating three upcoming golf tournaments. “This became a great opportunity for us to work together, and so we have been able to put together three golf tournament series, a three-year partnership,” said Andrews. One of the tournaments set to be hosted is geared toward ladies and juniors, while the others will be a mixture of fun and competitive events. “We are talking about golf right now, but these initiatives also go way beyond this because it is all about creating that Saudi sports ecosystem here for Vision 2030. I think this is really a great symbol of what kind of partnerships have to happen if sports are going to thrive and grow in this country. There will have to be more great partners that will come forward like American Express,” Andrews said. “I have a vision as well that this relationship with American Express is probably going to grow and build even beyond what we are seeing today with all of the amazing initiatives that are happening in this country,” he added.