Private-equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) has hired the former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ford M. Fraker as a senior advisor to enhance its operations in the Middle East and North Africa region, the company said on Monday.

It is only last week the New York-based KKR received a license to operate in Dubai's income tax-free financial center. It is expected that the hiring of Fraker could help the company make inroads into Saudi Arabia, the Middle East's largest economy.

''Today's economic environment underscores the need for private capital globally and there are ample investment opportunities for experienced global investment firms throughout the region,'' Fraker said in the statement.

KKR is expecting a flood of merger and acquisition activity in the Middle East driven by excess liquidity and historically-low asset valuations.

Makram Azar, KKR's head of the Middle-East & North Africa said last week that the buyout firm is currently eyeing several private-equity opportunities in the Middle East.

According to Dealogic, Middle East targeted buyout volume totaled $24.6 billion from May 2008 to May 2009, a 26 per cent decrease from the $33.1 billion during the previous 12 month period.

Fraker was appointed ambassador to Saudi Arabia in April 2007.

The Obama administration had asked him to remain as ambassador until April 1 of this year. A replacement has not been named, and the post remains unfilled.

The former banker started working in the region's financial services industry in 1972, with postings that included Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. He also served as a consultant on the region and co-founded private investment firm Trinity Group Ltd.