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  • Saudi Arabia’s Shrewd Embrace of Ahmed Al Sharaa

    In late December, Al Sharaa sat down with the Saudi pan-Arab news channel Al Arabiya for his first television interview as Syria’s leader. Al Sharaa’s choice of venue did not go unnoticed on the Syrian street and around the region. In the interview, the new president echoed MBS’s view that the region should focus on economic cooperation and investment over armed conflicts, praised Saudi Arabia’s crucial role regionally and globally, and made a point to reminisce about his childhood in Riyadh and his wish to walk its streets again. On the Saudi side, this opening gambit of the new Syrian administration is a smart one for the Kingdom’s own interests. MBS has made clear his desire for more calm in the region, allowing him to focus Saudi Arabia’s resources on his domestic reform agenda and economic diversification campaign rather than regional problems. The fall of the Assad regime has benefited Riyadh in a second crucial way: it has meant the near-total destruction of Assad’s captagon trafficking ring, which had impacted Saudi Arabia more than any other country in the region. Ensuring Syria’s stability to prevent a vacuum that allows for the continuation of the drug trade is a core Saudi national interest.

  • Council pressed to act over Saudi ‘sportswashing’

    Human rights campaigners have met Newcastle's council leader to demand stronger action against alleged "sportswashing" by Saudi Arabia. The delegation, including citizens whose family members have been jailed in the Gulf state, sat down with the authority's leader Karen Kilgour. Political leaders have come under pressure over the North East's links to Saudi Arabia since the 2021 takeover of Newcastle United by a consortium led by the nation's Public Investment Fund (PIF). Kilgour said human rights abuses were "completely at odds with the values we hold dearly" in Newcastle but it was for the government to raise concerns. Newcastle United and the Saudi government did not comment.

  • Forever Young Outside, Romantic Warrior Inside for Saudi Cup

    Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}), a Group 1 winner at the back end of 2024 in the Tokyo Daishoten and third in the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Breeders' Cup Classic, will jump from the widest alley in barrier 14 for Saturday's G1 Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh. Post positions were drawn Wednesday evening at the racecourse. Katie McDonald (ex Mallyon) was assigned the somewhat unenviable task of pulling the post position for Hong Kong Horse of the Year Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) and by all accounts, she performed well after electing the three hole. Her husband James McDonald rides the last-out G1 Jebel Hatta hero for trainer Danny Shum.

  • NDMC closes the February 2025 Issuance under the Saudi Arabian Government SAR-denominated Sukuk Program

    The National Debt Management Center announces the closure of February 2025 issuance under the Saudi Arabian Government SAR-denominated Sukuk Program. The Total Amount Allocated was set at SAR 3.071Bn (three billion and seventy-one million Saudi Riyals)

  • Saudi Arabia’s rise as a global diplomacy broker

    Saudi Arabia is solidifying its position as a global and regional diplomatic hub. On Friday, Riyadh will host the leaders of the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries, in addition to Jordan and Egypt, to discuss an Arab plan for the reconstruction of Gaza without displacing its 2.2 million inhabitants. Once approved, the plan will be presented at the meeting of Arab leaders in Cairo at the end of the month. It will become a counterproposal to President Donald Trump’s plan to displace the people of Gaza while taking over the beleaguered enclave and turning it into a regional riviera. So, when Jordan’s King Abdullah met with Trump at the White House last week, his response to Trump’s idea was that Arab leaders had been invited by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose country has rejected any attempt to displace the Palestinians from their land, to work on an Arab plan for the reconstruction of Gaza without the displacement of its people.

  • Multinational Exercise Spears of Victory 2025 in Saudi Arabia Concludes

    The Saudi Arabian annual multinational exercise, Spears of Victory, was held this year from Jan. 26 to Feb. 6 by the Royal Saudi Air Force’s (RSAF) Air Warfare Center, located at King Abdulaziz air base near Dhahran. The exercise is considered one of the largest multinational exercises in the Middle East and aims to strengthen military partnerships, with 15 nations involved. RSAF Maj. Gen. Mohammed bin Ali Al-Omari, the commander of the exercise, said that the aim was to enhance allied combat readiness (especially in the electronic warfare field), provide a ground for the exchange of expertise in planning and implementation, and to promote joint operational strategies. This year, more than 70 air assets from nine countries took part in the large-scale exercise: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Greece, France, Qatar, the UK, the US, the UAE, and Pakistan. Furthermore, seven additional countries participated as observers: Australia, Egypt, Italy, Jordan, Morocco, South Korea, and Spain.

  • Saudi Aramco to acquire 25% stake in Unioil Petroleum Philippines

    Saudi Arabia's Aramco (2222.SE), opens new tab has signed an agreement to acquire a 25% equity stake in Unioil Petroleum Philippines, the company said in a statement late on Wednesday. The company, however, did not disclose financial details of the transaction. Established in 1966, Unioil is a downstream fuels operator with a network of 165 retail stations and four storage terminals in the Philippines, the statement said. The deal follows Aramco's previous retail acquisitions in Chile and Pakistan. Aramco said the Unioil stake acquisition represents further progress in its strategic downstream expansion and growth of its global retail network. It added that the deal aims to capitalise on anticipated growth of the high-value fuels market in the Philippines, and it planned to extend its brand and retail offerings such as Valvoline-branded lubricants to select retail stations in the country.

  • 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.

  • Saudi Arabia’s SMC Plans IPO in Latest Health-Care Offering

    Saudi Arabia’s SMC Hospitals is planning an initial public offering iSaudi Arabia’s SMC Hospitals is planning an initial public offering in Riyadh, joining the host of health-care firms going public in the kingdom.n Riyadh, joining the host of health-care firms going public in the kingdom. The hospital operator is working with SNB Capital and EFG Hermes on the potential share sale, people familiar with the matter said. The deal could come as early as the second quarter of this year, the people said, declining to be named while discussing confidential information. SMC operates two hospitals in Riyadh and has a third one under construction, in addition to 250 outpatient clinics, according to its website.

  • Zelensky delays trip to Saudi Arabia amid US-Russia talks

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has postponed an official visit to Saudi Arabia set for this week amid U.S.-Russia negotiations in Riyadh. Zelensky, who was not planning to participate in the Tuesday talks between Washington and Moscow to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, said he was delaying the trip because of Kyiv’s lack of invitation to the negotiations. He suggested that he wanted to avoid his visit being tied to the meetup. “We were not invited to this Russian-American meeting in Saudi Arabia. It was a surprise for us. I think it was a surprise for many people,” Zelensky said at a news conference in Ankara alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “We are absolutely honest and open. I don’t want any coincidences. That’s why I’m not going to Saudi Arabia.” Zelensky will now visit Saudi Arabia on March 10. He had said Monday that he planned to visit the country later this week.