Last November, a group of Caribbean dignitaries
departed from Barbados and Miami in two private jets headed for Riyadh. Following the inaugural
CARICOM-Saudi Arabia Summit, they returned with a
$2.5 billion investment commitment for Caribbean development. The pledge,
announced by Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali, was one of many
outcomes from the high-profile gathering.
The agreement to increase investment in a cash-strapped region came along with the 15-member bloc’s support for Saudi Arabia’s bid to host
World Expo 2030, which the kingdom won easily later that month over South Korea and Italy.
Cooperation may play out on an even larger scale as Saudi Arabia seeks further investment opportunities at its first
Priority Summit in Latin America from June 11-13 in Rio de Janeiro. The Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute, whose founding partner is the kingdom’s
$925 billion sovereign wealth fund, is set to
gather industry leaders, government officials, and several former Latin American heads of state. Earlier this year, the FII Institute also held the second edition of
Priority Summit Miami, part of the kingdom’s mission to become a major force in Latin America’s business sphere.
“You see the Saudis being much more aggressive in strengthening ties around the world… and Latin America is certainly part of that,” Gerald Feierstein, former U.S. ambassador to Yemen and current director of the
Middle East Institute’s Arabian Peninsula Affairs Program, told
AQ.
Accustomed to spending lavishly around the world, Saudi Arabia’s moves in the region have been met without much fanfare but signal broad ambition. The kingdom is considering a
production line for some of Brazil’s Embraer airliners and is mulling
opening an embassy in Colombia. Aramco, its national oil company, recently
acquired a Chilean fuel retailer. And last August, Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih toured
seven nations in the region “with the aim of exploring opportunities to strengthen and deepen investment partnerships.” Like
China,
India, and the
European Union, the kingdom is chasing a more significant footprint in the hemisphere, hoping to secure raw materials, market access and investment opportunities.
Pivoting on its longstanding ties with Brazil while making inroads in other parts of the region, the kingdom’s
increasing interest in the Western Hemisphere comes as it pursues
Vision 2030, a plan launched in 2016 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to diversify the economy away from oil and harness investment.
Deepening Brazil ties
Next week’s Saudi-run summit in Rio is the latest step in the Gulf nation’s increased engagement with the region.
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