Washington, D.C. -- Last
week, the New America Foundation hosted "U.S.-Saudi Relations in a
World Without Equilibrium," a major national policy forum meant to
bring the U.S.-Saudi relationship out of the closet and to promote an
open, honest dialogue between high-level American and Saudi
policymakers about the most important strategic issues facing each
country.
Delivering the conference's keynote address, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William J. Burns
praised Saudi Arabia's "bold posture" on the Arab-Israeli conflict and
identified a number of shared interests including "combating extremism,
advancing
security in Afghanistan and Pakistan, achieving a durable Arab Israeli
peace, ensuring that Iran does not acquire nuclear weapons' capacity or
become a regional hegemon and overcoming the current economic crisis." (Full Transcript)
Former National Security Advisor to Jimmy Carter Zbigniew Brzezinski
said that there is "an urgent need for an American-Saudi Arabian
genuine alliance for peace in the Middle East." He called on Washington
to become actively engaged in resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict and
urged Saudi Arabia "to provide affirmative, assertive, outspoken
leadership and not wait for others to act, but to be a partner." (Full Transcript)
Former Saudi Ambassador to the United Nations Prince Turki al-Faisal
urged the Obama administration to demand that Israel end its occupation
of parts of Lebanon and asked the U.S. Congress to play a more active
role in the bilateral relationship. (Full Transcript)
Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority Governor Muhammad Al-Jasser said that "the dollar still commands about 60 percent of global
reserves. And the reason is the depth and liquidity of the
dollar. It is not just the simple currency. It is the plethora
of financial assets, in different maturities." He said that "unless there were very serious dislocations or policy
failures ... affecting the dollar's status as the global
reserve currency of the world, then I don't see any change." (Video)
For all of the videos and transcripts of the event, please visit the conference homepage.
