MUST-READS

• Economic Diversification Efforts Paying Off in GCC Region but More Reforms Needed

  The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region is estimated to grow by 1% in 2023 before picking up again to 3.6 and 3.7 % in 2024 and 2025, respectively, according to the recently published World Bank Gulf Economic Update (GEU) report. The weaker performance this year is driven primarily by lower oil sector activities, which is expected to contract by 3.9%, to reflect OPEC+ successive production cuts and the global economic slowdown. However, the reduction in oil sector activities will be compensated for by the non-oil sectors, which are expected to grow by 3.9 % in 2023 and 3.4 % in the medium term supported by sustained private consumption, strategic fixed investments, and accommodative fiscal policy.

• World Bank: Saudi Arabia’s Non-Oil Sectors Continue to Grow, Women’s Participation in Workforce Doubles

  The World Bank (WB) report titled "Structural Reforms and Shifting Social Norms to Increase Women's Labor Force Participation" revealed the latest economic developments in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The report indicates that the efforts towards economic diversification in the region have started to show positive results, but there is still a need for further reforms. According to the report, the number of workers in the Saudi private sector increased by approximately 153,300 by the end of the first half of 2023 compared to the end of the first half of 2022, with the total number of workers being around 2.3 million. The report also highlights that the participation of Saudi women in the workforce has doubled within six years, rising from 17.4% in early 2017 to 35.3% in the second quarter of 2023.

  • World Bank: Economic Diversification Efforts Paying Off in GCC Region but More Reforms Needed
• GCC States and the War on Gaza: Positions, Perceptions, and Interests

  There is not, and may never have truly been, a single ‘Gulf-wide’ position on Israel (or Palestine for that matter). Instead, the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states straddle a spectrum of positions toward Israel from no ties (Kuwait) to pragmatic coexistence (Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia) to full normalization (Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates). Initial statements by Gulf governments in response to the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel echoed these positions, as the UAE and Bahrain condemned Hamas for the eruption in violence while the other four states, including Saudi Arabia, placed greater focus on the Israeli occupation as a contributory factor.

• White House grapples with internal divisions on Israel-Gaza

  The previously unreported meeting of officials underscores how Biden’s handling of what is arguably the biggest foreign policy crisis of his presidency is dividing a White House that has prided itself on running a disciplined and united operation. The Israel-Gaza war has roiled the administration more than any other issue in Biden’s first three years in office, according to numerous aides and allies inside and outside the White House, as staffers agonize over their positions on highly emotional issues.

• White House grapples with internal divisions on Israel-Gaza

  Earlier this month, a group of about 20 distressed White House staffers requested a meeting with President Biden’s top advisers, as Israel’s war in Gaza entered its sixth week.

  The diverse group of staffers had three main issues they wanted to discuss with White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, senior adviser Anita Dunn and deputy national security adviser Jon Finer: They wanted to know the administration’s strategy for curbing the number of civilian deaths, the message it plans to send on the conflict and its postwar vision for the region.

• US-based Saudi doctor is first winner of Great Arab Minds awards

  A US-based Saudi surgeon has been named as the first award winner of the Great Arab Minds initiative.

  Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, said Dr Hani Najm won the Great Arab Minds Award in Medicine because he innovated new ways of performing operations on patients with complex heart conditions.

  The Great Arab Minds initiative was set up by Sheikh Mohammed in January last year, to identify the brightest minds in the Arab world and harness their ideas.

• Middle East broadcaster MBC receives approval for Saudi IPO

  Regional broadcaster MBC Group has received approval from Saudi Arabia’s market regulator for an initial public offering amid the listing boom in the Gulf.

  The Capital Market Authority has granted approval for MBC to sell 33.25 million shares in the float, amounting to 10 per cent of the company's share capital, it said in a filing to the Tadawul on Tuesday.

  “The CMA’s approval on the application shall be valid for six months from the CMA Board resolution date,” it said.

  The approval shall be “deemed cancelled” if the offering and listing of the company's shares are not completed within this period.

• MBC Group Announces Plans To Float 10% Stake On Saudi Stock Exchange

  Saudi Arabian media giant MBC Group has announced its intention to float a 10% stake in an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Saudi Exchange, known as Tadawul, in the coming months.

  The announcement follows a decision on Tuesday by Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority to allow MBC to float 33.25 million shares, which is equivalent to 10% of the company’s share capital. The approval is valid for six months.

• Exploring the Crossroads of Cultures: Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh International Philosophy Conference on Trans-cultural Values

  As a key player in various industries and sectors, Saudi Arabia continues to forge ahead with its ambitious Saudi Vision 2030 goals. This year, the Kingdom takes a significant step in the realm of philosophical engagement by hosting the third annual Riyadh International Philosophy Conference from December 7th to 9th. The conference's theme, 'Trans-Cultural Values and Ethical Challenges in the Communicative Age', represents a substantial highlight on the global philosophical calendar for the year 2023.

• What Saudi crown prince’s call to stop weapons exports means for Israel

  Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) called on the international community to cease weapons exports to Israel on Monday, a statement that reflects increased pressure from Riyadh to de-escalate the Israel-Hamas war and complicates Washington's efforts to get Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalize ties. MBS made the remarks at an extraordinary virtual summit of the BRICS alliance. He said that he “demands that all states stop exporting weapons to Israel” in a video statement published by the Saudi government-funded news outlet Al-Arabiya. Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/11/what-saudi-crown-princes-call-stop-weapons-exports-means-israel#ixzz8JnoDd1cu

• 10 of 57809 results<< 1 … 290 291 292 … 5,781 >>