Recent stories from sustg

  • The Menu of Options in the Iranian Nuclear Talks
     

    For the first time in more than a year and a half, negotiators from Iran and the so-called P5+1 countries – the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, the U.S., Russia, China, France and England, plus Germany – will sit down with their Iranian counterparts this Friday in Istanbul to talk about […]

     
  • Saudi Defense Minister Prince Salman Visits Pentagon, White House
     

    Saudi Defense Minister Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz held talks at the Pentagon on Wednesday that focused on the crisis in Syria, hours before a ceasefire deadline was due to expire. The Saudi defense chief later held talks with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office.

     
  • Saudi Arabia & the GCC – post ‘Arab Spring’: Obaid
     

    This week Mr. Nawaf Obaid, former strategic adviser to Prince Turki Al-Faisal, presented a briefing titled, “Saudi Arabia & the GCC in a Post ‘Arab Spring’ Environment” at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government as part of a program examining responses among GCC states to the “Arab Spring” turmoil that started early last year. Obaid […]

     
  • Al-Rabiah moves to push foreign trade and investment
     

    Commerce and Industry Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah yesterday opened a major workshop for the development of Saudi commercial attaches as part of the ministry’s efforts to promote trade and investment relations with foreign countries. The workshop attended by top officials from related departments and agencies discussed ways to improve the performance of Saudi commercial attaches abroad […]

     
  • Saudi tops in job creation in GCC
     

    The Gulf region continued to create jobs despite the impact of Arab Spring in 2011 with the regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia topping the list followed by Qatar and Oman, according to a new survey. The oil and gas industry, healthcare and retail sectors enjoyed the largest headcount expansion in 2011, while banking and construction fared the […]

     
  • Chart of the Day: A Short History of 200 Years of Global Energy Use
     

    If you want to tell the story of worldwide energy consumption over the past 200 years, you need three chapters. Chapter 1: The Coal Age. Chapter 2: The Oil Age. Chapter 3: The China Age. In the early days of industrialization, the use of biofuels such as wood declined as the West learned to live […]

     
  • Saudis Increasing Riyadh Water Supply
     

    With the bulk of Saudi Arabia’s drinking water coming from desalination plants, the country’s sky-rocketing population growth puts enormous demand on water supply. Arab News reports that a new desalination plant in the Eastern Province is gearing up to go online. When it is producing, it will nearly double the amount of water flowing into […]

     
  • Graphic: The Rise of Saudi Oil Consumption
     

    Saudi Arabia uses as much oil per person as America, largely to run oil-fired power plants to run domestic air conditioners. And the more of its oil siphoned off for such uses, the less cushion there is in the worlds oil supply. Thats a big problem now but is becoming less of one. America and […]

     
  • Internet in the Middle East Still Short of Its Potential
     

    Last week’s third ArabNet conference for digital entrepreneurs in the MENA region was, by the standard of these things, a modest affair. But nonetheless it showed how the regional digital economy has grown, and how it is poised to take off. As one commentator said: “Jordan for the talent, Lebanon for the creativity, Egypt for […]

     
  • Critical Commercial and Economic Ties: Interview with Jose Fernandez
     

    The 2nd US-Saudi Business Opportunities Forum in Atlanta in December brought together a high level delegation of over 200 Saudi officials and business people with over 1000 Americans to explore the $1 trillion-plus commercial openings available in the coming decade in the Kingdom. The response to the Forum – and what it means for American investment and […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Territorial Disputes Threaten Iran-Arab Detente

    The uneasy detente between Iran and its Arab neighbors is not only threatened by the state of Iranian-U.S. relations but also by dormant territorial disputes. These include disputes over the Greater and Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa islands claimed by the United Arab Emirates and oil and gas fields that Iran shares with neighboring countries – which Iran has not developed due to the international sanctions regime and restricted access to technology. Should the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its engineering arm, Khatam al-Anbia Construction Headquarters, engage in developing the fields, Iran and its Arab neighbors may find themselves entangled in renewed crises.  

  • Energy Minister: Saudi Arabia continues work on building first nuclear power plant

    Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said that Saudi Arabia continues work on building its first nuclear power plant. He also revealed that Riyadh will host International Conference on Nuclear Emergencies by the end of 2025. Addressing the 68th Session of the General Conference of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the Austrian capital Vienna on Monday, he said that the Kingdom has completed the readiness requirements related to nuclear regulatory work. "We are continuing to implement our national project for peaceful nuclear energy, while our systems and infrastructure meet the required international regulatory requirements," he said.

  • Where Iranians Stand on Hijab Rules

    On September 16, 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died after having been taken into custody by Iran’s morality police for allegedly wearing her headscarf incorrectly. While the authorities state Amini died from illness, her parents and protesters say the police were responsible. Amini’s death ignited an uprising across the country, led mainly by women and young people, against injustice, the subjugation of women and police brutality, with hundreds reported to have been killed and thousands arrested in the ensuing months.

  • Nestle to build its first Saudi manufacturing plant in Jeddah

    Slated to open in 2025, the plant represents an initial investment of SR270 million ($72 million). The project is set to enhance local production capabilities, contribute to sustainable food security in the Kingdom, and meet local demand while enabling exports to other Middle Eastern and North African markets.

  • Iran’s Pezeshkian says ‘no place for hostility’ with Saudi Arabia, ready to visit Riyadh

    Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed at a press conference in Tehran on Monday his willingness to improve Iranian-Saudi relations, calling the two nations "brothers" and adding that he would visit Riyadh when the opportunity presented itself.  In his first press conference since assuming office in July, Pezeshkian spoke about the possibility of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visiting Iran. “We are brothers, so there is no place for hostility. I welcome any move that can solve the differences between Muslims,” he told the press.

  • PGA Tour’s Saudi Deal Drags On With Players Arguing Over Pay

    PIF representatives met with PGA Tour officials in New York last week, and an agreement over the financial details inched closer, according to people familiar with the situation. In the months leading up to the latest discussions, talks had failed about how to reintegrate players who ditched the PGA Tour to play for LIV and ensure some financial parity, according to people familiar with the situation.

  • Saudi Arabia approves first exchange-traded funds tracking Hong Kong-listed equities

    Saudi Arabia has granted approval for its first exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking equities listed in Hong Kong on Tuesday, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) said, marking the debut of such a product in the Middle East. The move follows efforts by Beijing and Hong Kong to deepen ties with Arab countries in response to escalating tensions with the West.

  • Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF to invest $5bn in Egypt

    Egypt said the $5 billion injection would be the “first phase” of Saudi investments through its Public Investment Fund. The announcement came after a meeting between Prince Mohammed and Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly in Riyadh. The investment would be the latest major injection of cash the North African country has received while it recovers from its economic crisis. The International Monetary Fund and the UAE have provided most of the funding to help support Egypt's economy.

  • Saudi investment licenses for Egyptian firms double in 2024, says minister

    At a meeting with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, organized by the Federation of Chambers in Riyadh, Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih underscored Egypt’s increasing role as a key economic partner for the Kingdom. This follows Saudi Arabia’s exports to Egypt totaling $6.44 billion in 2022, while Egypt’s exports to the Kingdom reached $2.35 billion, as reported by the Observatory of Economic Complexity.

  • Neom Beach Games 2024 brings sport to Saudi’s gigaproject

    The tournament kicks off with a triathlon on 3 November, 3×3 basketball from 7 to 9 November, beach soccer from 13 to 16 November and mountain biking from 18 to 22 November. A new addition to this year’s NEOM Beach Games is the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup NEOM. The event will bring together the world’s top open-water swimmers and serve as the grand finale of the NEOM Beach Games, taking place in the Red Sea.