MUST-READS

• One Year of Alat: A Bold Vision Taking Shape

  This February marks one year since Alat’s launch—a year of bold ambition, breakthrough innovation, and rapid growth. From multi-billion-dollar partnerships to industry expansion, Alat is driving Saudi Arabia’s rise as a global manufacturing leader. We’re at a pivotal moment where technology, sustainability, and automation are reshaping industry. Saudi Arabia isn’t just keeping pace—we’re leading the charge. And this is just the beginning. Here’s how Alat is shaping the future of advanced, sustainable manufacturing and setting new standards for industrial excellence.

• Middle East Airlines Are Set to Revive an Aircraft Buying Spree

  After largely sitting out last year’s flurry of aircraft orders, some of the biggest airlines in the Middle East are now preparing to replenish their fleets, with hundreds of planned purchases set to cement the region as key growth driver for Boeing Co. and Airbus SE. Among the carriers set to add planes is Flydubai, which is looking to purchase at least 200 narrowbody jets plus 100 options, according to people familiar with the negotiations. Neighboring Etihad Airways is meanwhile in talks for as many as 40 widebody aircraft, said the people who asked not to be identified discussing confidential deliberations. Joining the fray is Qatar Airways, which is closing in an order for about 230 twin-aisle aircraft in coming months, while Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, is in talks for about a dozen widebody jets, the people said.

• Despite regional truces, shadow of confrontation with Israel remains over Iraqi ‘resistance’

  The Gaza war has over the past year expanded to include Israeli attacks on Iranian and Syrian territory, and on Iran-allied Hezbollah in Lebanon. In recent months, this has raised significant concerns that a potential wider conflict could extend to Iraq—particularly since the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq”, an umbrella entity aligned with the Tehran-led ‘Axis of Resistance’, has claimed numerous strikes on Israel. Iraq’s political elite has been divided on how to respond to such threats, especially following Israel’s strike on military sites in Iran only weeks after the attack in the Golan Heights. While some in the administration of Prime Minister Muhammad Shia’ Al-Sudani adopted a hawkish position, expressing a readiness to confront Israel directly in the event of an assault, reports suggest that a tenuous consensus was reached to limit Iraq’s exposure to the fray. That consensus seemingly remains in place.

• Zelensky delays trip to Saudi Arabia amid US-Russia talks

  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has postponed an official visit to Saudi Arabia set for this week amid U.S.-Russia negotiations in Riyadh. Zelensky, who was not planning to participate in the Tuesday talks between Washington and Moscow to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, said he was delaying the trip because of Kyiv’s lack of invitation to the negotiations. He suggested that he wanted to avoid his visit being tied to the meetup. “We were not invited to this Russian-American meeting in Saudi Arabia. It was a surprise for us. I think it was a surprise for many people,” Zelensky said at a news conference in Ankara alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “We are absolutely honest and open. I don’t want any coincidences. That’s why I’m not going to Saudi Arabia.” Zelensky will now visit Saudi Arabia on March 10. He had said Monday that he planned to visit the country later this week.

• DAZN Sells Minority Stake to Saudi Arabia’s Surj Sports Investment in Landmark $1 Billion Deal

  The long-gestating deal — widely believed to involve PIF paying $1 billion in exchange for 10 per cent of DAZN — gives Saudi Arabia a piece of DAZN, which in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region rivals powerhouse beIN Sports, from neighboring Qatar. Qatar, incidentally, hosted the FIFA soccer World Cup in 2022, while Saudi Arabia will be hosting the 2034 edition of that event.  Founded in 2007, London-based DAZN, which has been dubbed the “Netflix of sports,” is now operating in more than 200 markets, having gone on a systematic sports rights’ buying spree that caused the streamer to report a £1.2 billion ($1.51 billion) loss for 2023. The deal with Surj Sports will certainly help shore up DAZN’s finances.

• What We Learned From High-Stakes U.S.-Russia Talks In Saudi Arabia

  The more than four-hour meeting in Riyadh -- which was attended by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov -- is part of a major diplomatic push by the United States to bring the war to an end. The discussions were framed by U.S. officials as exploratory talks that could pave the way for a potential in-person meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. These comprise fully restoring their diplomatic missions in Washington and Moscow after years of sanctions and expulsions, appointing a high-level team to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, exploring further "geopolitical and economic cooperation that could result from an end to the conflict in Ukraine," and ensuring that the U.S. and Russian delegations present in Riyadh will remain engaged in discussions moving forward.

• Who are the Russian officials meeting with US team in Saudi Arabia?
  Lavrov, aged 74 and in office since 2004, is Moscow's longest-serving foreign minister since Soviet times. A graduate of the prestigious Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), he speaks fluent English and French and also Sinhalese, having worked as a Soviet diplomat in Sri Lanka.  Before becoming foreign minister, Lavrov was Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations. He can be acerbic, especially with interlocutors whom he considers poorly prepared, but also dour, once remarking: "I am not paid to be an optimist."

• Saudi Arabia’s Evolving Regulatory Framework for the Technology and Data Economy

  Saudi Arabia’s commitment to digital transformation is a cornerstone of its Vision 2030 initiative, which aims to diversify the economy and position the Kingdom as a global technology hub. With 66 out of the 99 Vision 2030 goals linked to data and Artificial Intelligence (AI), the country is witnessing a rapid evolution of its regulatory framework to facilitate technological innovation and investment. Businesses operating in Saudi Arabia’s technology and data sectors must navigate an increasingly complex legal landscape to ensure compliance and seize emerging opportunities. Below, we explore recent developments shaping the regulation of Saudi Arabia’s technology and data economy.

• Trump-Putin meeting not imminent, as first US-Russia talks on Ukraine finish in Riyadh

  Negotiations Tuesday between Russia and the United States led by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio have concluded in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The bilateral talks lasted about 4.5 hours and, according to Russian leader Vladimir Putin's top aide Yuri Ushakov, the negotiations "went well." However, a summit between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump is unlikely to take place next week, as "intensive work" is needed first, according to the aide. The U.S. State Department called the meeting an "important step forward" as Lavrov and Rubio agreed to form high-level negotiating teams to discuss a settlement to the war in Ukraine “as soon as possible in a way that is enduring, sustainable, and acceptable to all sides.”

• Saudi Arabia’s crown prince wins points for hosting the Russia-US summit on Ukraine

  Crown Prince Mohammed now finds himself at the center of the Trump administration’s outreach to Russia, a country Saudi Arabia carefully maintained ties to during the war through the OPEC+ oil cartel. And with Trump suggesting his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin — something Moscow hopes can bring it in from the cold of Western nations — will take place in Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed is likely to remain a top player. In the Saudi-owned, London-published newspaper Asharq Al Awsat, journalist Mishari al-Dhaidi described Tuesday’s U.S.-Russia summit as “restoring dialogue between the two poles of the world.” He called it “a major step on the international political chess arena, revealing the status of Saudi Arabia and its positive influence for the benefit of the people all the people.”

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