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  • Saudi Arabia’s unemployment rate down to 7.6% in Q1 2024

    The unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia fell to 7.6% in the first quarter of 2024, compared to 7.8% in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to the General Authority for Statistics’ (GASTAT) labor force survey. However, the employment-to-population ratio rose to 47.5% on a quarterly basis in Q1 2024. Saudi women’s employment also rose to 35.8% in the same period.

  • Saudi announces winning bidders for 6 metal ore exploration sites

    The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources announced Wednesday preferred bidders for its fifth mining licensing round, with the bidders' total exploration spending across six mining sites exceeding 136 million Saudi riyals (about 36.25 million U.S. dollars). The tenders included the exploration rights of a variety of metal ores from regions covering 1,000 square km in total, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The ministry's spokesperson, Jarrah bin Mohammed Al-Jarrah, said the six sites, offered in the fifth round of the Saudi Exploration Competition, constitute the largest area the kingdom has ever recorded for a group bid.

  • Karim Elgendy: Climate Diplomacy in the Middle East

    This forced rural to urban migration resulting from the drought—which anecdotally was the worst drought Syria had experienced in the last 800 years, according to some estimates by NASA—has done two things. One, it has obviously relocated 800,000 people into new areas where they have no jobs. They have no skills. There are no services for them, and they also lost all their wealth because 85 percent of all privately owned cattle reportedly died.

  • Kuwait Finance House Explores Bid for Stake in Saudi Investment Bank

    Kuwait Finance House KSCP has been exploring the purchase of a significant stake in Saudi Investment Bank as dealmaking activity heats up in the Middle East, according to people familiar with the matter. The Kuwaiti lender has been studying a potential investment to help bolster its regional presence, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. Shares of Saudi Investment Bank jumped as much as 4.9% in Riyadh trading Tuesday. They were up 0.2% at 1:23 p.m. local time, giving the company a market value of about $4.3 billion.

  • Saudi delegation in US to explore expanding trade and investment opportunities

    A Saudi delegation, headed by the Saudi General Authority of Foreign Trade under the chairmanship of Deputy Governor of the Authority for International Relations Abdulaziz Alsakran, is participating in the 8th Saudi-US Trade and Investment Council Meeting (TIFA), which began in Washington, D.C., on Sunday. Officials from 20 government entities are participating in the event, which will conclude on June 28. The Council aims to monitor trade and investment relations to identify opportunities to further expand trade and investment, as well as to work to remove barriers to trade and investment flows, foster a promising trade and investment environment, and promote economic development between the two countries.

  • Commentary: Are Iran and Bahrain about to restore diplomatic relations?

    In this discussion about improving ties with neighboring nations, the Bahraini king was not only referring to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries or Iraq, but also openly referring to his country’s eastern neighbor, the Islamic Republic of Iran. Relations with Iran have been strained in recent years, with security and political concerns causing a diplomatic rift. King Hamad told President Putin on May 23: “We have good relations with all countries. Iran is the only one with which we will work to resolve issues and, in fact, there are no significant problems to mention.” The ruler of Bahrain expressed his wish for “progress in development, trade and overall quality of life.”

  • Iran’s top diplomat confirms talks with US

    Iran's acting foreign minister Ali Bagheri said Monday his government was engaged in negotiations with arch-foe the United States hosted by the Gulf sultanate of Oman. Asked about the issue at a news conference during a visit to Beirut, Bagheri said "we have always continued out negotiations... and they have never stopped." Washington and Tehran have not had diplomatic relations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.

  • Unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia’s labor market at 8.6 percent, women’s participation reaches 34.2 percent

    The unemployment rate dropped from 12.8 percent in 2017 to 8.6 percent in the third quarter of 2023

  • Jordan foils arms plot as kingdom caught in Iran-Israel shadow war

    Jordan has foiled a suspected Iranian-led plot to smuggle weapons into the U.S.-allied kingdom to help opponents of the ruling monarchy carry out acts of sabotage, according to two Jordanian sources with knowledge of the matter.
    The weapons were sent by Iranian-backed militias in Syria to a cell of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan that has links to the military wing of Palestinian group Hamas, the people told Reuters. The cache was seized when members of the cell, Jordanians of Palestinian descent, were arrested in late March, they said.

  • Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia explore funds to track Hong Kong stock indices

    Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia are exploring the creation of an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking Hong Kong indices, Hong Kong Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong said in a statement on Thursday. The Hong Kong government is currently working with several financial institutions to develop the ETF, Wong said. The statement was released on the sidelines of an event jointly held by the Saudi Tadawul Group, the owner of the Saudi Exchange, and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX).