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  • Saudi Arabia takes bold decision to unlock full economic potential, diversify away from oil: Alibrahim

    Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of the Crown Prince, made a bold decision to unlock the full potential of its economy by planning long-term and looking at the big picture to move away from oil dependence, Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim said. The country adopted a constructive approach based on innovative radical change, the minister said during a panel discussion at AlUla Emerging Markets Conference. This approach stimulated innovation from top to bottom in the public sector and opened markets to innovators from within the Kingdom and globally. There is progress and momentum and the Kingdom is on the right track, but the task is not yet complete, he noted.

  • Rubio meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a meeting Monday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh. The State Department issued a statement on Rubio’s meeting with the Saudi crown prince, saying Rubio emphasized the necessity of a Gaza solution that strengthens regional security. However, the statement didn’t elaborate on how Rubio and Crown Prince Mohammed reconciled their differing opinions on Gaza’s future.

  • Arab summit on Trump’s Gaza plan postponed and expanded

    A planned meeting in Saudi Arabia of Arab leaders in response to United States President Donald Trump's plan to take control of Gaza has been postponed by a day and expanded, Arab diplomats said on Monday, February 17. "The mini Arab summit in Riyadh has been postponed from Thursday to Friday, February 21," a Saudi source told French news agency AFP. An Arab diplomatic source confirmed the new date. Three Arab states had been expected to attend the summit, but the Saudi source said the expanded meeting will "include the leaders of the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries, along with Egypt and Jordan, to discuss Arab alternatives to Trump's plans in the Gaza Strip". The Saudi source said that "an influential Gulf country expressed its dissatisfaction at being excluded from the Riyadh summit, which prompted the organizers to include all the Gulf countries" – without specifying which country.

  • Saudi Arabia Buys Stake in Blavatnik’s Streaming Service Dazn

    The sports investment arm of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is buying a minority stake in billionaire Len Blavatnik’s streaming service Dazn Group, which holds the broadcasting rights of some of Europe’s top-tier football leagues. SURJ Sports Investment, a unit of the $1 trillion Public Investment Fund, and Dazn will set up a regional joint venture to help broaden fans’ access to live and on-demand sports content, according to a statement Monday. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, though Bloomberg News has previously reported SURJ would invest at least $1 billion.

  • Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Residences draw early buyers at $1.5mn starting price

    Red Sea Global has sold more than 12 per cent of its ultra-luxury homes on Saudi Arabia’s western coast before the official market launch, with prices starting from SAR5.5 million ($1.47 million) for a one-bedroom property, as the developer taps into growing regional demand for premium coastal real estate. The pre-sales success of the multi-billion riyal development on Shura Island signals a strong appetite from wealthy Gulf investors for Saudi Arabia’s emerging luxury tourism destinations, with the developer primarily targeting buyers from the kingdom and neighbouring Gulf countries.

  • ‘Positive feeling’ in Iran amid talk of Saudi mediation with Trump

    Saudi Arabia is apparently floating the notion of mediating between Iran and the United States. First reported by CNN, Tehran has dismissed the idea as “speculation”—but that has not stopped the Iranian press from discussing what Saudi intervention could entail, and what Riyadh may gain by brokering talks. Speaking to Amwaj.media on condition of anonymity, a high-ranking Iranian political source expressed “a positive feeling” about the Kingdom potentially playing a constructive role in enabling engagement with the Donald Trump administration. Addressing the reasons for his positivity towards such a scenario—mindful of how other Gulf Arab states have more established records of facilitating dialogue with Washington—the source indicated Trump’s close relationship with Riyadh.

  • Israel will begin negotiations on next phase of Gaza ceasefire this week, minister says

    Israel will begin indirect negotiations with the Palestinian militant group Hamas on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal this week and it demands a complete demilitarisation of the enclave, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday. Negotiations for the second phase of the deal were supposed to start on February 2 but Qatar, who together with Egypt and the United States is mediating between the sides, said the talks have not officially started yet.

  • Top Russian and US officials discuss improving ties and ending the Ukraine war — without Kyiv

    The top diplomats from Russia and the U.S. met Tuesday in Saudi Arabia to discuss improving ties and negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine — talks that represented a rapid and major change in American foreign policy under President Donald Trump. No Ukrainian officials were present at the meeting, which came as the beleaguered country is slowly but steadily losing ground against more numerous Russian troops in a grinding war that began nearly three years ago. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country won’t accept any outcome from this week’s talks if Kyiv doesn’t take part. European allies have also expressed concerns they are being sidelined. Beyond Ukraine, the meeting — attended by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other senior officials — had been expected to focus on thawing relations between the two countries, whose ties have fallen to their lowest level in decades.

  • Zelensky to visit Saudi Arabia amid US-Russia talks in Riyadh

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, February 19, for an official visit, his spokesperson Sergiy Nykyforov confirmed to AFP on Monday. Nykyforov described the trip as a "long-planned" engagement, which Zelensky himself previewed last week without specifying exact dates. The Ukrainian president made it clear that he will not be meeting with any Russian or US officials who are scheduled to hold separate discussions in the kingdom on Tuesday, February 18.

  • GCC Dominates Global Energy Landscape with Record Oil Production

    GCC countries continue to assert their dominance in global energy markets, securing top rankings across key indicators such as crude oil production, reserves, and natural gas resources. According to the latest figures from the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf , the region remains the leading force in crude oil production and holds vast reserves of both crude oil and natural gas. The GCC nations, collectively producing approximately 17 million barrels per day of crude oil in 2023, account for an impressive 23.2% of the world’s total crude oil output. Despite facing a 6.8% reduction in production compared to 2022, the GCC still maintains its status as the world’s top producer. The drop in output reflects broader market dynamics, including fluctuating global demand and OPEC’s collective production targets.