Governor Rick Perry is in Davos, Switzerland for the annual World Economic Forum. The governor is touting Texas economic growth and keeping his own profile high as he considers another run for president.
Appearing on CNBC Wednesday, Governor Perry was asked about a photo of him and Khalid Al-Falih, the CEO of the Saudi state-owned oil company, Aramco, and how hydraulic fracturing is making a Texas a bigger world player in energy production.
“That picture of me and Khalid is a little bit of Aggie gatherdom, if you will," Perry said. "He’s a Class of 1982 from Texas A&M and obviously we did talk about the hydraulic fracturing, and the Saudis are actually looking at some of those techniques themselves.”
Perry said he sees energy production as a key to economic growth and even improving income equality.
“For the world to continue to grow, for job creation, for inequality of wages to close and for all the ships in the harbor to be raised, if you will, you’re going to see energy as a very important part of that. Saudi Arabia will continue to be a major player,” Perry said.
Governor Perry was invited to the forum to appear on panels whose topics include drug legalization and health care.
Also making the trip from Austin is Dell Inc. CEO Michael Dell, whose company went private last year as part of an effort to shift focus in a changing computer industry.
