MUST-READS

• Saudi Arabia in talks to host MMA facility at Qiddiya

  Saudi Arabia has been identified as a potential host for a multi-use mixed martial arts facility akin to the Ford Center at The Star in the US, the head of MMA organisation the Professional Fighters League (PFL) has said. The Star is a partnership between the city of Frisco in Texas and the Dallas Cowboys football team. The $1.5 billion project, totalling 400,000 square feet, features more than 30 flexible event spaces that include a 12,000-seat indoor venue. Donn Davis, chairman and founder of the PFL, said early discussions with officials in Saudi Arabia about a similar project had already taken place. It would be based in the kingdom’s $9.8 billion sports and entertainment giga-project Qiddiya.

• Saudi: Diriyah Storytelling Festival celebrates literature, creativity

  The Diriyah Storytelling Festival, a vibrant event for literature lovers, will begin on January 30. The much-anticipated event promises a rich cultural experience, running until February 8 and will be hosted at three iconic locations in Diriyah: Bujairi Terrace, Bab Samhan Hotel and Al-Dhawihra Farm. These venues will provide distinctive backdrops for a variety of immersive activities. The festival will host more than 150 speakers, experts and performers in the field of literature. This impressive lineup is complemented by the participation of over 50 publishing houses and specialized libraries, setting the stage for meaningful interactions between visitors and industry experts.

• Behind Saudi Aramco’s Pivot Toward Sustainable Manufacturing

  The soaring demand for lithium, which has tripled over the past five years and is expected to surge exponentially with the rise in EV production and renewable energy deployments, Aramco positions at the forefront of the critical minerals market. Through its partnership with Ma'aden, the largest mining company in the Middle East and North Africa, Aramco is not just participating but potentially leading the lithium supply chain development. By joining forces with Ma'aden, Aramco is significantly enhancing its capabilities in the lithium sector. This partnership merges Aramco's technological prowess and geological knowledge with Ma'aden's mining expertise, setting the stage for a robust lithium production base in Saudi Arabia.

• Saudi Arabia to raise localization rates in 269 professions

  The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) announced the issuance of a series of decisions aimed to raise the Saudization rates in as many as 269 professions across various sectors. According to the decision, it is mandatory to implement 55 percent Saudization in pharmacy activities and 65 percent Saudization in pharmacy activities associated with hospitals effective from July 27, 2025. The Saudization drive will be implemented in partnership with a number of supervisory bodies such as the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing. The decisions included localizing the professions of dentistry, pharmacy, accounting, and engineering technical professions. These decisions come within the framework of efforts aimed at providing more stimulating and productive job opportunities for male and female citizens in various regions of the Kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

• Italy, Saudi Arabia ink $10 billion cooperation and industrial deals

  "There is enormous potential in our cooperation and my wish is that this visit can open a completely new phase in our partnership," Meloni said. "This is what the joint declaration we signed today foresees. It declares that our two nations can broaden their horizons and explore many new opportunities together". Meloni said Italy and Saudi Arabia had signed "many agreements at government level but also supporting MoUs signed by public and private entities during the visit". She cited infrastructure, energy, defence, sport, entertainment and tourism as areas where cooperation between the two countries could become "stronger, more effective and deeper".

• Saudi Arabia condemns deadly attack on healthcare facility in Sudan

  Saudi Arabia strongly condemned on Sunday the drone attack on a Saudi-run hospital in El-Fasher in Sudan's Darfur region. A drone attack on Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital in the besieged town in western Sudan has killed 70 people and wounded 19 others, the World Health Organization said. The Kingdom described the attack as a “violation of international law and international humanitarian law.” “The Kingdom reiterated its rejection of these violations and emphasized the critical need to protect health and humanitarian workers,” read the foreign ministry statement.

• An Inside Look at Saudi Arabia’s Fledgling Surf Scene

  Tired of all the gear and protocol that scuba diving requires, she was looking for a different ocean-based sport. So she headed to Morocco to try surfing. When she returned, she thought of the trip as just a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but it just so happened that the Saudi Surfing Federation was, at that time, looking for anyone with an interest in surfing to join their surf team. In mid-2023, Saudi held its first-ever national surfing championships in Sri Lanka and less than a month later, Leila was at the World Surfing Games in El Salvador with the national flag on her board.  Despite its lack of waves, Saudi has one thing going for it in terms of surfing – its location means travel to places like Sri Lanka, Maldives, Morocco, or elsewhere is just a short flight away and surf travel is actually pretty easy. In just a few years, Leila has surfed everywhere from Dubai, Oman, Bali and the Philippines. These are also places where Saudi surfers can find surfboards because buying a surfboard domestically is not yet possible.

• Saudi service trade grows 7% to SAR 540B: Commerce Minister

  Saudi Arabia’s service trade volume reached SAR 540 billion in 2023, marking a 7% growth, according to Minister of Commerce Majid Al-Qasabi. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Al-Qasabi highlighted the importance of facilitating global service trade, which represents 65% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 60% of foreign investments, and is the largest job provider worldwide, especially for women. Al-Qasabi also emphasized the need for collaboration to reduce regulatory burdens in the service sector, which hinder competitiveness. Ambiguous regulations create challenges for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), impacting their economic contribution, he added.

• Husein Alireza Curates Sotheby’s First Auction in Saudi Arabia

  A co-founder of the Saudi Rowing Federation, Alireza’s international recognition reflects a wider mood of positivity and optimism across the Kingdom – with confident, passionate and supremely optimistic young Saudis innovating and representing in sports and culture on a global platform. Having ascended the heights of sporting success, Alireza now has set his sights on rekindling one of his deepest passions – for art. An art lover since his childhood spent at Charterhouse, Edinburgh and Cambridge, Husein Alireza credits his late mother as a key motivator in his love of creative expression. “My mother loved art, and she loved that I was into art from an early age,” he tells Sotheby’s, as we discuss the forthcoming Origins auction in Diriyah, Sotheby’s inaugural presentation of fine art, jewellery and sporting memorabilia, on February 8, 2025.

• Saudi Arabia Faces Investor Doubts Over Big Mining Ambition

  “We’re at the show me stage,” said Mark Selby, Chief Executive Officer for Canada Nickel Co., which is hoping to draw investment to a mine in Ontario and considering a JV with Middle East players. “There’s a lot of stuff in progress but there is yet to be many shovels in the ground.” Saudi Arabia touted $100 billion of local investment opportunities at the event and estimates it has $2.5 trillion in mineral resources to be dug up. Its dream is to make metals and mining the so-called “third pillar” of the local economy as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s push to diversify beyond oil and petrochemicals. As the metals industry gathered for the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh last week, at least a dozen attendees that commented to Bloomberg spoke of their desire to court Saudi money rather than invest in the nation just yet. Many awaited details on how talk of big deals and plans for metals plants are playing out on the ground.

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