MUST-READS

• Groq opens EMEA’s largest AI computer centre in Saudi Arabia

  Jonathan Ross, CEO of Groq today announced the opening of the AI inference leader’s second GroqCloud region and Europe, Middle East and Africa’s largest AI inferencing center in Dammam, backed by $1.5 billion investment in Saudi Arabia. Speaking on the main stage of LEAP 2025 in the company of Tareq Amin, former CEO of Aramco Digital and H.E. Abdullah Alswaha Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Ross confirmed that the GroqCloud is now live running on 19,000 Groq LPUs (language processing units). The new AI infrastructure hub was built in partnership with Aramco Digital and with the financial backing of Aramco . Amin emphasised that the GroqCloud service was not being priced at a premium and Saudi Arabia now has the lowest cost for inferencing AI models in the world.

• Saudi Arabia condemns Israel’s ‘extremist, occupying mentality’ in growing row over housing Palestinians

  Saudi Arabia has accused the Israeli government of pursuing an 'extremist, occupying mentality' amid a growing row over the claim it could house millions of Palestinians on its land. In a strongly worded statement on Sunday, its Foreign Ministry accused Israel of "continuous crimes" and "ethnic cleansing" of the Palestinian people. It followed comments made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to an Israeli TV channel, saying: “The Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there." The Saudi statement on Sunday mentioned Mr Netanyahu's name but did not directly refer to the comments about establishing a Palestinian state in Saudi territory. The UAE and Egypt are among the Arab states to condemn Mr Netanyahu's suggestion. "The kingdom stresses its categorical rejection to such statements that aim to divert attention from the continuous crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian brothers in Gaza, including the ethnic cleansing they are subjected to," the Saudi Foreign Ministry said.

• Be remembered as the peacemaker, Saudi prince tells Trump

  A letter to Donald J. Trump from Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, a Saudi prince and former government official who served as the head of Saudi Arabia's General Intelligence Presidency from 1979 to 2001. He is a grandson of Saudi's founder King Abdulaziz and son of King Faisal. He is the chairman of the King Faisal Foundation's Centre for Research and Islamic Studies.

• Saudi Aramco Joins The Open Group as Platinum Member

  The Open Group, the vendor-neutral technology standards organization, has today announced that Saudi Aramco has become its latest Platinum Member. In this capacity, Saudi Aramco will have the opportunity to expand its presence across The Open Group Forums, take a leadership position, and have representation on the Governing Board. Saudi Aramco first joined The Open Group in 2016 as a Member of the Open Process Automation™ Forum (OPAF). The company has since collaborated with industry leaders on an O-PAS™ Automation Test Bed, assessing and validating next-generation open and interoperable technologies. In 2020, Saudi Aramco also became a member of The Open Group OSDU® Forum, joining industry peers in developing transformational technology to support the world’s changing energy needs.

• China’s delicate balancing act in Yemen

  Despite an optimistic start, the Mar. 2023 China-brokered agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore diplomatic ties faces an uncertain future. Anticipating potential setbacks, Beijing has ramped up its diplomatic engagement in the region, particularly in Yemen—a critical flashpoint that has been stuck in a fragile stalemate for close to three years. China’s key objectives are to preserve the progress achieved through the Beijing Accord, sustain the Iranian-Saudi detente, and prevent a renewed escalation in Yemen—which risks drawing Riyadh and Tehran back into confrontation.

• Meet the Power Players Leading Saudi Arabia’s Cultural Boom

  Dozens of new art institutions are in the works as part of Vision 2030, a sweeping trillion-dollar initiative to reduce oil dependence by expanding tourism, entertainment, and technology. Among these is the recently opened Diriyah Art Futures (DAF), a digital-art focused institution that is part of the $63 billion Diriyah Gate project, which aims to transform the heritage site on the outskirts of the kingdom’s capital city, Riyadh, into a cultural tourist destination. Meanwhile, in the ancient desert region of AlUla, the Contemporary Art Museum, which is being developed in partnership with Paris’s Centre Pompidou, set to open in 2027. On the west coast, the Red Sea Museum in Jeddah, slated to open before 2030, will showcase historical and contemporary works of art.

• Trump and Jay Monahan meet at White House as PGA Tour deal with Saudis gets closer

  PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said he met with President Donald Trump at the White House this week as the tour moves closer to finalizing a long-sought investment deal with the Saudi Arabian backers of rival LIV Golf. The PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia first agreed to a deal in June 2023, which ended the antitrust lawsuits between them. But that framework agreement drew the attention of the Justice Department, and the year ended without a deal in place. The tour and PIF have been meeting for nearly a year. Trump, just 10 days after he was elected, invited Monahan to play golf at Trump International in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov. 15.

• Economic diversification, mega events and culture position Saudi Arabia for tourism boom

  Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector has seen immense growth over the past decade, with substantial efforts to reshape perceptions and open the doors to international visitors. Initiatives such as the introduction of tourist visas in 2019 and the development of large-scale projects like NEOM, the Red Sea Project, and Qiddiya have been central to this strategy. Saudi Arabia has committed over $800 billion to infrastructure development, including world-class airports, the expansion of the Riyadh Metro system, and the creation of luxury and mid-tier hotels. These investments are set to accommodate the influx of visitors, not just during these events but as part of the long-term tourism strategy. Tourism’s contribution to Saudi Arabia’s GDP is projected to rise from 3% in 2019 to 10% by 2030. The long-term economic impact from events like Expo 2030 and the World Cup will generate billions in revenue, particularly for sectors such as hospitality, retail, and transportation. However, the economic benefits will not be limited to these events but will be a sustained growth trend due to ongoing diversification efforts under Vision 2030.

• Trump aides defend Gaza takeover proposal but walk back some elements
  Barely two weeks in the job, Trump shattered decades of U.S. policy on Tuesday with a vaguely worded announcement saying he envisioned transforming Gaza into the "Riviera of the Middle East" where international communities could coexist after nearly 16 months of Israeli bombardment devastated the coastal strip and killed more than 47,000 people, according to Palestinian tallies. At a White House briefing on Wednesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt hailed his Gaza proposal as historic "outside of the box" thinking but stressed that the president had not committed to putting "boots on the ground" in the territory. She declined, however, to rule out the use of U.S. troops there. At the same time, Leavitt walked back Trump's earlier assertion that Gazans needed to be permanently resettled in neighboring countries, saying instead that they should be "temporarily relocated" for the rebuilding process. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said the idea was for Gazans to leave the territory for an "interim" period of reconstruction and debris-clearing.

• Saudi Arabia’s former spy chief blasts Trump’s Gaza proposal for ‘ethnic cleansing’

  “What came out of Mr. Trump is not digestible. I respectfully decline to add more disrespectful comments to that, but it is a fantasy to think that ethnic cleansing in the 21st century can be condoned by world community that stays on its behinds and does not respond to that,” Prince Turki told CNN. “If he does come [to Saudi Arabia], he will get an earful from the leadership here about the unwisdom of what he is proposing and the downright unfairness and injustice that is really signified and totally placed in this proposal of ethnic cleaning from not only Gaza but what is happening in the West Bank,” Prince Turki said. Prince Turki also slammed Itamar Ben-Gvir, Netanyahu’s national security minister until the Gaza ceasefire deal was reached, as “the ultimate ethnic cleanser in Palestine.”

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