Connecticut State Treasurer Shawn Wooden speaks in Greenwich on Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018.
Connecticut has $22 million in Treasury investments in Saudi Arabia, the Treasury Office told CT Insider, as senior public officials increasingly question dating between American governments and companies and a foreign force described as autocratic or authoritarian.
About 94% of the $22 million is Saudi government bonds and Saudi oil, a spokesman for Treasurer Shawn Wood said. The spokesman declined to say whether the officials had parted ways with Saudi Arabia.
In total, investments in Saudi Arabia constitute a small fraction of about $43 billion in pension budget and trusts controlled through the Treasurer’s Office.
Economic ties with Saudi Arabia have drawn attention in recent days, both locally — due to the Saudi government’s resolve to cut oil production, in an obvious bid to Russia — and in Connecticut — over the revelation that Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski has consulted on a Saudi-backed allocation since 2019.
When asked Monday about Connecticut’s investments in Saudi Arabia, Gov. Ned Lamont wasn’t worried.
“I think as long as I’m transparent about it and don’t seek to hide anything, I don’t need to create boycotts,” he said.
Although Lamont, who is facing Stefanowski in his re-election bid, criticized his opponent for his “poor judgment” in consulting a Saudi-funded green energy project, he said the state’s investment portfolio is another unrelated story.
“I don’t think that’s the point,” he said. The fact is, he applies for a public workplace and gets paid through the Saudis, and other people have a right to know, and I can see why my opponent had something to hide. “. “
Stefanowski last week defended his paintings in Saudi Arabia, saying that “just because you know a country doesn’t mean you agree with all its policies and procedures. “
The Saudi government is expanding scrutiny of its human rights record, adding its brutal war in Yemen and the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, allegedly ordered through Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
In recent weeks, President Joe Biden has threatened to reconsider U. S. -Saudi relations, after the latter partnered with Russia to reduce oil production. The measure was backed by Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, who has long opposed U. S. proximity to Saudi Arabia. .
“I’ve been arguing for almost 10 years that Saudi Arabia is an increasingly unreliable partner,” Murphy, a Democrat, told CT Insider. “I think it took a long time for the foreign policy consensus in Washington to perceive that, but other people seem to be recovering nonetheless. “
Last week, Connecticut’s other senator, fellow Democrat Richard Blumenthal, co-authored an op-ed proposing to halt U. S. gun sales. The U. S. Department of Defense is in Saudi Arabia in light of its relationship with Russia, arguing that the U. S. is not in the U. S. “U. S. ” It should not provide such unlimited defense systems. “strategy to an obvious best friend of our greatest enemy. “
Dan Haar contributed to this report.
alex. putterman@hearstmediact. com.