MUST-READS

• Nigeria Sees ‘Immediate’ Investments Worth Billions from Saudi

  Nigeria says it sees “immediate” multi-billion-dollar investment flows from Saudi Arabia after it signed an agreement with the kingdom to establish a business council that could see the middle eastern nation funding several sectors of the West African country, including agriculture, oil and gas, energy, telecommunications and technologies. The two nations agreed to reestablish a Nigeria-Saudi Arabia Business Council initially proposed in 2019 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz that was esisted by the government of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

• Saudi Arabia wants the Indian Premier League: Why is there no discussion of ‘sportswashing’?

  First, sportswashing can be a lazy rebuttal to the kingdom’s investment in sports and, in general, the Middle East. The definition of “sportswashing,” which is the practice of using sports to improve reputation, can be rather expansive in practice. Yes, we can all agree Qatar hosted the 2022 World Cup to elevate the reputation of the country. So did Brazil with the 2016 Summer Olympics and South Africa with the 2010 World Cup and so will countries in the future.  Saudi officials clearly know that sports can bring good attention to a country. (The Ministry of Culture has a nice selfie on Instagram from NBA great Lebron James’s visit during September this year…yes Lebron James was in Saudi Arabia.) That said, it is not the sole reason for investing in sports, but it is obviously low-hanging fruit for politicians, because it will always contain some truth.

• Pakistan drawing Saudi interest in mine stakes, adviser says

  Saudi Arabia has shown interest in acquiring government stakes in Pakistan's Reko Diq gold and copper mine, an official of the South Asian nation said on Tuesday, adding that an international adviser was close to completing a valuation.

  Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO) owns a 50% stake in the mine, with the remaining 50% owned by the governments of Pakistan and the province of Balochistan. Barrick considers the mine one of the world's largest underdeveloped copper-gold areas.

• Exporting America’s best idea to Saudi Arabian sands

  Last month, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore superintendent Scott Tucker and Apostle Islands National Lakeshore superintendent Lynne Dominy spent two weeks in Saudi Arabia working with their peers in Riyadh and coaching them on community engagement, resource management, interpretation and education programs, park policy, and collaboration. Saudi Arabia has 15 designated protected areas managed by the Saudi Wildlife Authority, and the oil-rich Gulf country is rolling out a network of national parks inspired by the National Park Service (NPS) in the United States. “Our National Parks are the gold standard,” said Tucker. “We’ve been doing this for more than 100 years.”

• Stark UN report on devastation to Palestinian economy shows GDP fell 4% after a month of war

  A U.N. report paints a stark picture of the devastation of the collapse of the Palestinian economy after a month of war and Israel’s near-total siege of Gaza. The gross domestic product shrank 4% in the West Bank and Gaza in the war’s first month, sending over 400,000 people into poverty — an economic impact unseen in the conflicts Syria and Ukraine, or any previous Israel-Hamas war, the U.N. said.

• PepsiCo to expand Saudi Arabia snacks facility

  US snacks and beverage giant PepsiCo is to spend SR200m ($53.3m) on expanding a snacks facility in Saudi Arabia.

  The Lay’s crisps and Doritos brands owner said the investment in its plant in the eastern city of Dammam will increase the overall capacity to meet increasing local and export demand. It said the move is part of its Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 plan to “enhance the Saudi agricultural sector and boost sustainable food production in the Kingdom”.
  The work to expand the site is expected to be finished next year.

• Saudi Arabia: Domestic Worker Levy Obligations Relaxed for Premium Residency Holders

  The rules regarding payment of the annual levy for domestic workers have been relaxed for premium residency holders – who are now subject to the same rules as Saudi nationals. Premium residency holders now only need to begin paying the annual government levy for domestic workers if they sponsor more than four domestic workers. The annual levy is SAR 9,600 (approximately USD 2,560) for each domestic worker sponsored. Previously, this levy obligation applied if the premium residency holder sponsored more than two domestic workers. Other foreign residents, meanwhile, must continue to pay the levy obligation when they sponsor more than two domestic workers.

• Arbitration in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Part 4 – Drafting and Concluding Effective Arbitration Agreements in Saudi Arabia

  An effective, well-drafted arbitration clause (or arbitration agreement)  provides parties with a contractual mechanism through which they can enforce their legal rights. Therefore, it is an essential part of any contract pursuant to which the parties have agreed to resolve their disputes by arbitration. Arbitration clauses need to be properly drafted to be valid, effective and enforceable. Poorly drafted arbitration clauses may be challenged at the stages of initiating arbitration or enforcing arbitral awards, and defective or "pathological" arbitration clauses may even deprive the parties of access to arbitration.

• Climate change: Intensity of ongoing drought in Syria, Iraq and Iran ‘not rare anymore’

  Large parts of Iraq, Iran and Syria have been gripped by an intense drought for years. Low rainfall and high temperatures have caused crops to fail and driven water shortages across the region, pushing millions of people into food insecurity. The study finds that, between July 2020 and June 2023, climate change made the drought more intense – mainly due to high temperatures that dried out the soil. In a world without climate change, the dry period would not have even been severe enough to be called a drought, the study notes. The authors find that climate change also made the event more likely.

• For Hezbollah, Timing Is the Essence

  The speech last week of Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah left many in Lebanon and beyond relieved, as he defended his organization’s limited engagement in the Gaza war and called the Lebanese front against Israel a “solidarity and support” front. Nasrallah did so mostly to underline the party’s secondary role in the conflict, in which Palestinian fighters are taking the lead.

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