The country is also a major supplier of financial aid to other Islamic countries. However, aid volumes were cut back from 1993 as part of the financial retrenchment necessitated by overspending during the previous decade. This stalled economic growth in the next few years but did restore the country's fiscal integrity. Japan and the USA are the largest exporters to Saudi Arabia, while most of the kingdom's oil is sold to Germany, Italy, France and South Korea. Britain is also an important and long-established trading partner, and the Saudis' principal arms supplier.
Appointments are necessary.
Visiting cards printed in English with an Arab translation are usually exchanged. Men should wear suits for business meetings and formal social occasions. Thursday and Friday are official holidays. Columbus Press Ltd 1999.