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  • Full Donald Trump speech at Miami FII investment summit hosted by Saudi Public Investment Fund

    President Donald Trump spoke at an investment summit in Miami on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund hosted the conference, which brought together global financiers and tech executives, including Elon Musk.

  • GCC aims for $188bln tourism income in 2030

    Gulf oil producers seeking to diversify their sources of income away from unpredictable crude exports have set a target to achieve nearly $188 billion in tourism revenues in 2030, a Gulf official has said.  Tourists who visited the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) spent a record high of nearly $110 billion in 2023, said Abdullah Al Rubai, Head of the GCC’s Human and Environmental Affairs Sector. Nearly 68.1 million tourists visited the six members in 2023 and almost 27 percent of them were GCC citizens, he told Qatar’s Alsharq newspaper this week. “The number of tourists who visited the GCC in 2023 accounted for nearly 52.9 percent of the 128.7 million targeted in 2030,” Al-Rubai said.“They spent a total $110 billion during that year…the figure accounts for nearly 58.7 percent of the $188 billion targeted in 2030.”

  • DAZN Sells Minority Stake to Saudi Arabia’s Surj Sports Investment in Landmark $1 Billion Deal

    The long-gestating deal — widely believed to involve PIF paying $1 billion in exchange for 10 per cent of DAZN — gives Saudi Arabia a piece of DAZN, which in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region rivals powerhouse beIN Sports, from neighboring Qatar. Qatar, incidentally, hosted the FIFA soccer World Cup in 2022, while Saudi Arabia will be hosting the 2034 edition of that event.  Founded in 2007, London-based DAZN, which has been dubbed the “Netflix of sports,” is now operating in more than 200 markets, having gone on a systematic sports rights’ buying spree that caused the streamer to report a £1.2 billion ($1.51 billion) loss for 2023. The deal with Surj Sports will certainly help shore up DAZN’s finances.

  • Who are the Russian officials meeting with US team in Saudi Arabia?

    Lavrov, aged 74 and in office since 2004, is Moscow's longest-serving foreign minister since Soviet times. A graduate of the prestigious Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), he speaks fluent English and French and also Sinhalese, having worked as a Soviet diplomat in Sri Lanka.  Before becoming foreign minister, Lavrov was Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations. He can be acerbic, especially with interlocutors whom he considers poorly prepared, but also dour, once remarking: "I am not paid to be an optimist."

  • Saudi Arabia’s Evolving Regulatory Framework for the Technology and Data Economy

    Saudi Arabia’s commitment to digital transformation is a cornerstone of its Vision 2030 initiative, which aims to diversify the economy and position the Kingdom as a global technology hub. With 66 out of the 99 Vision 2030 goals linked to data and Artificial Intelligence (AI), the country is witnessing a rapid evolution of its regulatory framework to facilitate technological innovation and investment. Businesses operating in Saudi Arabia’s technology and data sectors must navigate an increasingly complex legal landscape to ensure compliance and seize emerging opportunities. Below, we explore recent developments shaping the regulation of Saudi Arabia’s technology and data economy.

  • Trump-Putin meeting not imminent, as first US-Russia talks on Ukraine finish in Riyadh

    Negotiations Tuesday between Russia and the United States led by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio have concluded in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The bilateral talks lasted about 4.5 hours and, according to Russian leader Vladimir Putin's top aide Yuri Ushakov, the negotiations "went well." However, a summit between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump is unlikely to take place next week, as "intensive work" is needed first, according to the aide. The U.S. State Department called the meeting an "important step forward" as Lavrov and Rubio agreed to form high-level negotiating teams to discuss a settlement to the war in Ukraine “as soon as possible in a way that is enduring, sustainable, and acceptable to all sides.”

  • PIF’s $1bn Dazn deal creates new Mena sports streamer

    Surj Sports Investment, a unit of Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), has acquired a minority stake in UK-based global sports network Dazn. The deal, believed to be worth $1 billion, will establish new broadcasting joint venture Dazn Mena, which the companies say will broadcast live and on-demand sports from Saudi Arabia. The partnership will also capitalise “on the significant growth in demand for high-quality sports broadcasting,” the companies said – a signal that Dazn Mena could rival Qatari broadcasting giant Bein Sports. Danny Townsend, CEO at Surj Sports Investment, said the investment would help Surj “achieve its mandate of driving fan engagement, encouraging sports participation and unlocking game-changing opportunities, and further showcasing the region as a destination for world-class sports.”

  • Saudi Arabia to host first-ever Olympic Esports games in 2027: Video

    The first-ever Olympic Esports games will be held in Saudi Arabia in 2027. The IOC hasn’t released which games will be apart of the event yet. NBC News’ Dana Griffin spoke with professional Esports player, Alvin Avila who shared his excitement for the games. 

  • Russia’s wealth fund chief will meet US delegation in Saudi Arabia: Source

    Russia’s sovereign wealth fund chief Kirill Dmitriev will meet a US delegation in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to focus on strengthening ties and increased economic cooperation, a source in Riyadh told Reuters. The meeting involving Dmitriev is the first confirmation that the US-educated former Goldman Sachs banker will be involved in talks with the United States. Dmitriev, 49, is an investment banker who studied at Harvard and Stanford in the 1990s. He worked at the US firms Goldman Sachs and McKinsey before returning to Moscow.

  • Neom spends $37bn on infrastructure development

    Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion giga-project Neom has spent more than SAR140 billion ($37 billion) on infrastructure development so far, a senior company executive has said. Several real estate projects are still under development, with work on infrastructure and utilities continuously progressing, chief development officer Denis Hickey told PIF Private Sector Forum last week. The developer has two investment vehicles. Neom Investment Fund focuses on sector growth and partnerships, while the Neom Investment Office handles real estate development and launching new initiatives in other sectors.