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  • Three New Ventures by MiSK to Boost Innovation, Training and Investment
     

    Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s MiSK Foundation launched three new strategic ventures in Riyadh aimed “at comprehensively building the skills, knowledge and capability for economic growth within the Saudi Arabian tech sector,” Reuters and the Saudi Gazette reports. MiSK Academy, MiSK Technovation and MiSK Booster mark a significant new development in the foundation’s work to empower, […]

     
  • Updated LinkedIn Profiles Indicate Key Hires by Saudi Arabia’s PIF
     

    Recently updated LinkedIn profiles indicate a hiring spree by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) as the Kingdom looks to use the sovereign wealth fund to jump-start its reform plans. Reuters reports that several executives have updated their LinkedIn profiles to indicate a new affiliation with the PIF, but the PIF did not comment directly on […]

     
  • Saudi, Russia Energy Ministers to Meet in Doha as Output Cut Deadline Looms
     

    Saudi Arabia and Russia energy ministers will meet in Doha, Qatar this week on the sidelines of Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), industry sources quoted by the Wall Street Journal said. The meeting comes as OPEC and non-OPEC members try to solidify an oil output limiting deal agreed to in September. OPEC is hoping to complete […]

     
  • Two-Day MiSK Global Forum in Riyadh Showcases Ideas of Innovation And Global Culture to Empower Youth
     

    The MiSK Foundation under the sponsorship of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched today a major two-day forum in Riyadh that focuses on entrepreneurship and innovation issues. Over 75 prominent speakers include Cisco Chairman John Chambers, Emirati Minister Of Youth Shamma Almazrui, CEO of KAEC Fahd Al-Rasheed, Vice President of the Women’s Affairs at the […]

     
  • GCC Bloc Could Be World’s 6th Largest Economy, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Says
     

    Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that the GCC countries could become the world’s sixth largest economy if they joined forces in the coming years. The comments were made at the opening ceremony of the first meeting of the GCC Economic and Development Affairs Authority in Riyadh. The authority was created to hasten coordination […]

     
  • At Ceremony in Seattle, Saudia Receives First Boeing B777-300ER, Commits to Vision 2030 Goals
     

    Saudia’s top executive held a press conference in Seattle on Tuesday announcing the Kingdom’s commitment to the goals of the government’s Vision 2030 reform plans, a day before receiving the airlines’ first Boeing B777-300ER aircraft supplied with new and luxurious compartments for first class passengers. Saudia Director General Saleh Bin Nasser Al-Jasser said that the […]

     
  • CEDA Cancels $267 Billion in Projects
     

    Saudi Arabia’s powerful Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA) has cancelled projects valued at up to 1 trillion Saudi riyals ($266.7 billion), the SPA and other news outlets report. “The CEDA has also stopped awarding a big number of projects whose spending does not go in line with the expected economic and development return […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia’s Former Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources Ali Al-Naimi Pens Memoir
     

    Saudi Arabia’s former Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources Ali Al-Naimi has penned a memoir that offers “a rare insight into decades of domestic infighting over the future of state-run Saudi Aramco,” Reuters reports. Out of the Desert: My Journey from Nomadic Bedouin to the Heart of Global Oil, published by Portfolio Penguin, “describes the battles waged […]

     
  • ‘Downward Trend’ in Economic Activity Seen in Latest Jadwa Investment Chartbook
     

    Jadwa Investment’s recently released economic chartbook for the month of November found a downward trend in economic activity and the fourth consecutive negative change in government accounts with SAMA. “Economic data for September showed a downward trend in economic activity,” Jadwa said it the report, pointing to negative growth in cash withdrawals from ATMs and […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia Replaces Finance Minister in Continued Shift Toward Younger Technocrats
     

    Saudi Arabia has replaced its Minister of Finance, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf, with the head of the Kingdom’s capital markets regulator Mohammed Al-Jadaan in the latest move toward a younger generation of technocratic leaders in high positions. Al-Assaf was Saudi Arabia’s longest-serving active minister, having held the position of Minister of Finance since 1996. Another Royal […]

     

MUST-READS

  • With locals untrained on key functions, US departure could mean trouble for Afghanistan’s airports

    The U.S. and NATO plan to transfer control of airports in Afghanistan as the coalition withdraws, but Afghan officials at the country’s second largest airport say they still haven’t been trained to take over. Locals haven’t been shown how to run the air traffic control tower, man the radar or perform a number of other crucial tasks handled by NATO personnel at Kandahar’s Ahmad Shab Baba International Airport, said Massoud Pashtoon, the facility’s director of civil aviation.

  • Saudi anti-graft authority unearths financial fraud amounting to $10.4mn

    The money was disbursed by reusing payment orders that were made previously and transferred to bank accounts belonging to commercial enterprises owned by a citizen.

  • Construction works for Al-Diriyah Art Oasis begin

    Construction works for the first global center for digital arts called Al-Diriyah Art Oasis have begun in Al-Diriyah near Riyadh. The center, spread over 10,000 square meters, located next to Al-Bujairi Heritage District in Al-Diriyah, is scheduled to open in 2022. This will be the first global platform celebrating arts and innovation in the fields of digital art and artificial intelligence.

  • U.S. undertook cyber operation against Iran as part of effort to secure the 2020 election

    The move against Iranian hackers working for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps came shortly after they launched an operation two weeks ago posing as a far-right group to send threatening emails to American voters and also posted a video aimed at driving down confidence in the voting process, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the operation’s sensitivity.

  • Kuma and Foster + Partners designing Saudi Arabian tourist development

    Architecture studios Kengo Kuma and Associates and Foster + Partners are designing a tourism development on an archipelago of Saudi Arabian islands within the Red Sea, which will be served by its own dedicated airport. Named The Red Sea Project, the development will be built on a chain of 90 undeveloped islands between the cities of Umluj and Al Wajh on the west coast of Saudi Arabia.

  • With a national strategy, Saudi Arabia wants to become a world leader in Artificial Intelligence by 2030

    The NSDAI implementation will focus on the immediate national AI requirements until 2025. In this initial stage, the strategy concentrates on accelerating AI in five critical sectors: healthcare, mobility, education, government, and energy. From 2025 until 2030, Saudi Arabia will establish a competitive international AI ecosystem by developing areas of specialisms.

  • Sizing Up Little Sparta: Understanding UAE Military Effectiveness

    In recent years, the armed forces of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have earned the reputation as the best in the Arab world. Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis went so far as to bestow on them the sobriquet “Little Sparta.” Two questions linger, however: How good are the Emirati armed forces, and why are they more competent than other Arab militaries?

  • US wants to be ‘No.1 partner in Saudi Vision 2030,’ Abizaid tells Journalists

    The US wants to be Saudi Arabia’s “No.1 partner” as it achieves its Vision 2030 reform plan, according to US envoy John Abizaid. “We recognize that the Kingdom is diversifying its economy, creating new employment opportunities for youth, encouraging and empowering women’s participation in the economy and society, and we are very much interested in being a strategic partner with you in all of those endeavors,” Abizaid told journalists at a roundtable in Riyadh on Wednesday.

  • Saudi Arabia’s deficit down in third quarter as taxes boost revenue

    Saudi Arabia posted a budget deficit of 40.768 billion riyals ($10.87 billion) in the third quarter this year, more than half its deficit in the previous quarter, as a spike in non-oil revenues offset a continued decline in oil income.

  • Saudi tech startup Foodics launches $100m fund for SMEs

    “This fund is set to revolutionise SME lending, as it will enable faster and more flexible lending than most of the lending facilities in the region. Our application process is indeed straight forward, as all is completed online on our platform, with the initial approval to be granted within as little as 24 hours and final approval in seven days. Foodics Capital is able to extend loans from $5,000 (SAR18,750), up to $133,000 (SAR500,000) as and when needed by small businesses.”