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  • Saudi Youth Filmmaking on the Rise
     

    Social media continues to catalyze Saudi Arabia in unpredictable ways.  Fatima Al-Arjan takes a look at the rise of video blogging ‘vloggers.’  Short videos – some 36 seconds at maximum – have proliferated.  While sometimes a platform for controversial posts, like many on-line communities, this one seems to be maturing. In a related item, female […]

     
  • Saudi Prince Alwaleed Joins Twitter
     

    HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal has joined Twitter, the microblogging social network in which the Prince holds a 3% stake. In an announcement in both Arabic and English on his official handle, @Alwaleed_Talal, Alwaleed’s office noted that the businessman will soon be active on Twitter:   The Private Office of HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal […]

     
  • Lockheed Nets $253 Million Training Contract
     

    US-based Lockheed Martin will provide Virtual Training Technologies in support of Saudi Arabia’s F-15SA Modernization Program. The news comes on the heels of a recent announcement that the company had set up a branch in Riyadh on February 8th.  — According to a Press Release, Lockheed Martin, the Bethesda, Maryland-based aerospace company, has received a contract […]

     
  • Keystone: Saudi Arabia’s First Idea Translation Lab
     

    Many people are familiar with the King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) and it’s glittering $20 billion endowment.  Founded in 2009 and sited north of Jeddah on the Red Sea, KAUST intends to be a global caliber research university as well as an educational and social bellwether that allows co-ed education.  The KAUST […]

     
  • Saudi youth, the issue of unemployment and work ethic
     

    Abdulateef Al-Mulhim is a well-known Saudi commentator who is appreciated – at least here at SUSTG – for his willingness to take on sensitive topics and provide his particular perspective.  In this item he addresses the work ethic of young Saudis, a subject of much debate.  Not surprisingly, there are numerous facets to the discussion […]

     
  • Instagramming Riyadh
     

    Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is a beautiful city – one that is growing and changing at an impressive speed. Yet much of the Kingdom’s capital remains as it has for years. Traditional style housing and buildings, most of which are no higher than two stories, still dominate this sprawling city, but the gargantuan and glitzy new […]

     
  • Women Transforming the Middle East
     

    In this thoughtful interview with SUSRIS, Dr. Isobel Coleman, Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow, characterizes King Abdullah as a ‘committed incrementalist.’ An accurate description based on his steady push of reforms that are meaningful but are not, as some critics point out, decisive. Why doesn’t the King just declare that it is legal for […]

     
  • US most preferred destination for Saudi students
     

    According to an article in Arab News, the Ministry of Higher Education “recently issued a statement revealing that most of the students selected for the King Abdullah Foreign Scholarship Program preferred to go the United States of America to pursue their higher studies, while the least number of students chose Holland. The ministry’s statement provides figures […]

     
  • New President for KAUST in Saudi Arabia
     

    In a press release today, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, announced a new president in Dr. Jean-Lou Chameau, who will be the second to serve in that post since the university’s inception. Dr. Chameau previously served as President of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

     
  • 5 More Years for Booming King Abdullah Scholarship
     

    Al Arabiya reports that the King Abdullah Scholarship Program, which has sent thousands of Saudi students to the United States and elsewhere, has been renewed for another five years in an important step that will strengthen US-Saudi cultural and economic ties. According to Al Arabiya, Minister of Higher Education Khalid Al Angari said the move was “clear […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Foreign Direct Investment in Saudi Arabia rises to $215 Billion

    These reforms have helped drive rapid investment growth, with gross fixed capital formation increasing by 74% from 2017 to nearly $300 billion in 2023.  Additionally, FDI stock increased by 61% from 2017 to 2023, reaching almost $215 billion in 2023, and FDI inflows have surged by 158%, jumping from $7.5 billion in 2017 to $19.3 billion in 2023.  These initiatives and developments, in addition to incentives, facilities, and enablers, have motivated investors to seek a positive, supportive, and stable investment environment, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

  • Saudi Film Commission Revolutionizes Cinema Landscape with Significant License Fee Reductions

    The revised fee structure unveiled by the Film Commission reflects a strategic commitment to bolstering the film industry’s growth and vitality. By slashing licensing costs across different city categories, from “A” to “C,” the Commission aims to empower cinema enterprises, stimulate economic contributions, and foster cultural and creative diversity on the big screen.

  • Green Hydrogen: A New Frontier for Thailand and Saudi Arabia

    In April 2023, Thailand’s state-owned oil and gas conglomerate, PTT Group, announced that it would invest $7 billion in producing green hydrogen with ACWA Power, Saudi Arabia’s leading renewable energy company. The project aims to build a plant in Thailand that can produce 225,000 tons of green hydrogen annually, equivalent to about 1.2 million tons of ammonia. Green hydrogen is a form of renewable energy that is produced by using electricity from solar, wind, or other sources to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. Unlike fossil fuels, green hydrogen does not emit any greenhouse gases when used, making it a clean and sustainable alternative for various applications.

  • Riyadh Air unveils Saudi Arabia’s first 47-seat electric coach

    In an effort to support the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) after signing onto the UN Global Compact earlier in 2024, Riyadh Air, in collaboration with the National Transportation Solutions Company (NTSC), has launched the first in a fleet of electric coaches for employee transport.

  • Saudi Arabia’s $1T Bet on Tourism: Video

    Saudi Arabia is investing hundreds of billions of dollars in an effort to bolster the nation’s tourism industry. Anita Mendiratta, UN Tourism Special Advisor to the Secretary General, joins Bloomberg's Lizzy Burden on "Bloomberg: Horizons Middle East and Africa" to discuss the challenges facing the Saudi government, as well as tourism's impact on the local economy.

  • Sipchem to build new $189m Saudi petchem facility

    Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) has awarded a $189 million contract to a South Korean contractor to build a new petrochemicals facility in Saudi Arabia. The project was won by SGC Engineering & Construction, an engineering, procurement and construction contractor, The Korean Economic Daily, a financial news outlet, reported. The deal involves the construction of an ethylene-vinyl acetate plant in Jubail Industrial City.

  • Saudi Arabia seeks to silence Neom project doubters with images and video

    The intention is that Neom will be completed by 2039. Many experts are skeptical of the plan, and more recently, there have been many media outlets reporting that the project has been scaled back considerably. There's so much conflicting information going around on the internet that there's no agreed-upon amount of scaling back that we could find.

  • Saudi Arabia makes significant moves in semiconductor sector with strategic investments

    To this end, the Kingdom has launched a billion-riyal investment fund dedicated to semiconductor companies and established the National Semiconductor Hub. At least 50 semiconductor design companies will be established in Saudi Arabia by 2030, supported by a deep tech venture capital fund exceeding SR1 billion ($266 million) as part of a new tech hub.

  • Saudi ports report 15.72% growth in container handling for July

    According to Arab News, the latest statistics from the Saudi Ports Authority, known as Mawani, revealed that the Kingdom’s terminals received 271,465 standard containers in July, up from 234,592 in July 2023. The volume of handled tonnage also increased by 9.11 percent year on year, reaching 27.38 million tonnes.

  • Driving Reductions in Emissions: Unlocking the Potential of Fuel Economy Targets in Saudi Arabia

    The adoption of more stringent fuel economy standards represents a pivotal pathway toward achieving net zero emissions in the transportation sector. By steadily increasing the fuel efficiency of vehicles, this approach drives a gradual but consistent decline in emissions. When coupled with the simultaneous integration of electric and alternative fuel vehicles into the market, the goal of net zero emissions becomes increasingly feasible.