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  • DeepSeek impact: Experts advise calm, diversification as Middle East investors scramble to reshuffle portfolios

    Even as Middle East investors, including large institutional investors and family offices, are scrambling to quickly reshuffle their investment portfolios in the wake of the Chinese AI startup DeepSeek-triggered stock market bloodbath, market experts advised calm and diversification as the best strategies to tide over the current roller-coaster. They also suggested using ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds)-route for broader exposure to mitigate risks in the current market scenario. Market participants said investors in the Middle East also resorted to panic selling in tech shares, especially in AI-focussed Nvidia, Microsoft, and Meta, in the wake of DeepSeek’s rise sending shockwaves through the AI investment landscape.

  • GCC trade set to grow 5.5% annually through 2033, with total trade volume reaching $2.3trln, BCG report finds

    Global trade patterns are transforming significantly as new economic corridors emerge and traditional relationships evolve. According to new research from Boston Consulting Group (BCG), world trade in goods is projected to grow at an average of 2.9% annually through 2033, with the GCC region playing an increasingly pivotal role in connecting major trade routes between East and West. The BCG report reveals a robust outlook for GCC trade, with total trade volume set to reach 2.3T USD by 2033. This growth is supported by significant expansion across multiple trade corridors, with China emerging as the largest growth market at 88B USD (5.7% CAGR), followed by Japan at 46B USD (9.4% CAGR). The analysis shows GCC's non-hydrocarbon trade will grow by 3.5% annually, highlighting the region's successful economic diversification efforts.

  • Turkey Aims for $6 Billion Weapons Deal With Saudi Arabia

    Turkey’s government is hoping to reach a $6 billion defense deal with Saudi Arabia that could see the kingdom buy warships, tanks and missiles, according to Turkish officials familiar with the matter. The agreement, which would involve Saudi Arabia joining a Turkish jet-building project, could be finalized during a visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the kingdom around March, the officials said. Turkey is trying to grow its defense industry and sees Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s biggest importers of arms, as a key market. The two countries signed a deal in 2023 for the Saudis to buy high-flying drones from Turkish company Baykar. Now, Ankara wants to sell its main battle tank, called Altay, to Saudi Arabia along with missile-defense systems, the officials said.

  • Commentary: The Elusive Saudi-Israeli Normalization Deal – Why an Agreement is Likely to Fall Short of Expectations

    The primary actors involved in a potential Saudi-Israeli normalization have strong incentives to portray a deal as a paradigm-shifting event with tremendous, transformative potential for the broader region. This normalization agreement is often described as an all-or-nothing opportunity that will emerge triumphantly within a game-changing grand bargain or else collapse spectacularly. There is good reason to consider another scenario more closely resembling the status quo: a Saudi-Israeli normalization that is considerably less encompassing and transformative than envisioned. Yet many foreign policy priorities of both Saudi Arabia and Israel now appear increasingly disconnected from normalization. The Saudi crown prince—and de facto ruler of the country—craves global recognition. Mohammed bin Salman wants to represent Saudi Arabia at G20 summits, court tech titans and financiers from the U.S. and Europe, and deepen relations with BRICS countries. As far as the Middle East region is concerned, Saudi officials have pursued a policy of de-escalation, which include reestablishing diplomatic relations with Iran and reducing economic pressure on the Houthis.

  • Islamic Arts Biennale 2025 Opens in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    The second edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale, titled And All That Is In Between, has officially opened in Jeddah. Organized by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, the Biennale takes place at the Western Hajj Terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport, a site that holds profound significance for millions of Muslim pilgrims traveling for Hajj and Umrah. The exhibition scenography is designed by the international architecture firm OMA, enhancing the experience with a thoughtful spatial narrative. The exhibition, which runs until May 25, 2025, explores how faith is experienced, expressed, and celebrated through feeling, thinking, and making.

  • Saudi Moves Closer To 6th-Gen Fighter Aircraft. Italian PM Meloni Ready To Welcome Riyadh Into GCAP

    The GCAP, launched in 2022, is a collaborative initiative that seeks to design, manufacture, and deliver a next-generation crewed combat aircraft. The member states of the GCAP grouping seek to induct the first aircraft developed under this program by 2035. Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Italy’s Leonardo, and Britain’s BAE Systems are leading the project as system integrators. On the question of whether the grouping will welcome the entry of Saudi Arabia, Meloni said, “We are in favor of the Saudis entering, but clearly this… will not be immediate,” emphasizing that the details of the GCAP still need to be worked out between the three founding nations. The Italian Prime Minister further added that opening up the multibillion-euro scheme to a fourth country will take time, without giving a tentative deadline.

  • ‘Things are really changing for them’: Why explorer known as ‘Indiana Jones for girls’ is walking across Saudi Arabia

    She’s been described as the “Indiana Jones for girls,” and after becoming the first woman to walk the full length of the Draa River in Morocco, UK explorer Alice Morrison is embarking on a new challenge — walking across Saudi Arabia. Accompanied by camels and local guides, Morrison will traverse through deserts and mountains during the 2,500-kilometer journey, which will take around five months in total. “It’s a massive adventure,” Morrison, who has been walking around 25 kilometers (15 miles) a day, tells CNN Travel via Zoom. “I seek challenge, knowledge and connection. And I think you get all of those doing what I do.” Morrison, who speaks fluent Arabic, concedes that she isn’t necessarily a typical explorer, and was actually working as a CEO of a media development company up until 2011.

  • A catalyst for change

    There with us was a team from the General Organization for Conservation of Coral Reefs and Turtles in the Red Sea, known simply as SHAMS. This pioneering group is at the forefront of coral and turtle conservation in a country just beginning to chart its path in this critical line of work. The SHAMS crew brought together experts from all corners of the globe, including a team of Saudi locals, each with years of experience in coral and turtle restoration, conservation, and ecosystem management. Their collective stories of where they’d been and what they’d encountered made certain that every meal was brimming with tales of challenges and triumphs. What struck us most, though, was the contrast between Saudi Arabia’s reputation and the reality of what we were experiencing firsthand.

  • Saudi, other OPEC+ ministers meet after Trump calls for lower oil price

    Saudi Arabia's energy minister and several of his OPEC+ counterparts have held talks following U.S. President Donald Trump's call for lower oil prices and ahead of a meeting next week of OPEC+ oil-producing countries, according to official statements and sources. Trump last week called on Saudi Arabia and OPEC to lower oil prices. OPEC+ has yet to respond, but five OPEC+ delegates said a meeting of the group's top ministers on Feb. 3 is unlikely to adjust its current plan to start raising output from April. On Monday, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman held talks with Iraq's Hayan Abdel-Ghani and Libya's Khalifa Abdulsadek in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

  • Decarbonizing Saudi Arabia Energy and Industrial Sectors: Assessment of Carbon Capture Cost

    Saudi Arabia has committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2060. However, the economic implications of deploying CCUS within the Kingdom remain insufficiently explored. This work provides updated estimates of CO₂ emissions across key sectors in Saudi Arabia, including electricity, petrochemicals, refineries, cement, steel, ammonia production, and desalination, based on 2022 data.