MUST-READS

• Saudi Arabia Puts $52.6 M. Toward Centre Pompidou Overhaul in Deal with France

  Saudi Arabia will contribute €50 million ($52.6 million) to the €262 million renovation of the Centre Pompidou in Paris. The money is part of a heritage fund established as part of a years-long collaboration between Saudi Arabia and French culture officials. The Centre Pompidou, which is considered France‘s top modern and contemporary art museum, will be closed for the overhaul of its exhibition spaces between 2025 and 2030. During that time, exhibitions will be held off-site. The announcement of the funding promise was made last week by French Culture Minister Rachida Dati and Saudi Culture Minister Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al Saud

• Saudi Arabia on Global Stage for 2034 World Cup

  On December 11, FIFA will announce that Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup. While this will be no surprise given the kingdom is the only bidder, the formal announcement will start the clock ticking on a decade of intense preparations ahead of the big kickoff. The 2034 tournament will be the first held in a single host country under the new expanded 48 team format. The 2026 and 2030 tournaments will also have 48 competing teams, but both will be held across multiple host countries: Canada, Mexico, and the United States in 2026 and Morocco, Portugal, and Spain in 2030. The World Cup is the most watched sporting event in the world. An estimated 5.4 billion television viewers tuned in for the 2022 tournament in Qatar, and 3.4 million people attended the matches. Hosting the 2034 World Cup therefore provides Saudi Arabia with a huge opportunity to present itself on the global stage, attract visitors to the country, and showcase the ambitious reforms that it is pursuing under Vision 2030. It will also offer the country a chance to address the criticism it has faced in certain parts of the world for its human rights record and its continued advocacy of fossil fuel usage.

• UK company to open ‘miracle material’ factory in Saudi Arabia

  The world’s first commercial production facility for graphene-enriched carbon fibre is to be built in Saudi Arabia, its backers have announced. Graphene Innovations Manchester (GIM) – a UK company that is developing the “miracle material” said to be stronger than diamond, more conductive than copper and more flexible than rubber – has signed an agreement with Riyadh-based investment company Organized Chaos. The facility is set to open in 2025. The deal was announced during the visit of Sir Keir Starmer to the Gulf this week. The UK prime minister held talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh and with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, the president of the UAE, in Abu Dhabi.

• Football presents Saudi Arabia with soft power tool paving the way for World Cup

  A new Netflix series on Saudi football features packed stadiums and top-flight talent, but whether it can curb criticism of Riyadh’s bid to host World Cup 2034 is an open question. The six-episode “Saudi Pro League: Kickoff” began just three weeks before the FIFA Congress is set to formally approve Saudi Arabia, the sole candidate, as host of the quadrennial spectacle. The vote on Wednesday will be a crowning moment for de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s use of sport to amass influence and improve the Gulf kingdom’s global image. Football has been at the heart of that effort, and the Netflix series depicts how the Saudi Pro League has been transformed by the arrival of global stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema, all of whom get ample screen time. The show also seeks to highlight what one commentator describes as Saudi Arabia’s “historic passion for football”, clubs founded nearly a century ago, and rivalries dating back nearly that long.

• Saudi Arabia, EU Hold Roundtable Discussion to Enhance Trade Partnership

  The Saudi General Authority of Foreign Trade (GAFT) hosted a roundtable with EU here, from December 9 to 10. Chaired by GAFT's Deputy Governor for International Relations Abdulaziz Alsakran and head of the Trade and Economic Affairs Department at the EU Delegation to Saudi Arabia Dr. Thomas Jorgensen, the meeting gathers representatives of various Saudi public and private entities. It aims to strengthen the trade partnership between Saudi Arabia and the EU, one of the Kingdom's major trading partners, and secure a marked increase in the volume of trade between the two sides. Discussions are slated to focus on common challenges and ways to tackle them, enhanced cooperation in trade and investment, and better global economic partnership.

• Keir Starmer says Saudi Arabia trip fulfils ‘number one mission’ to grow UK economy

  Keir Starmer has defended his trip to Saudi Arabia, saying it was needed to fulfil his “number one mission” of growing the UK economy. Speaking during a visit to Riyadh, where he met the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, the prime minister said his “sole intention” there was to help drive up living standards in the UK. Starmer told broadcasters that he had “made it clear that economic growth in the UK is my number one mission” and “for that to happen we have to win contracts and investment around the world, and UAE and Saudi Arabia are key partners of ours”.

• How Saudi Arabia and the UK are shaping each other

  Forging alliances that transcend borders, Saudi Arabia and the UK have emerged as powerhouses of collaboration, driving innovation and reshaping global landscapes in the fields of energy, technology, and sustainable infrastructure. In 2018, the two kingdoms established the annual UK-Saudi Strategic Partnership Council as a central platform to discuss and enhance all aspects of their bilateral relationship, including UK support for Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 in various sectors. According to Saudi Minister of Commerce Majid Al-Qasabi, bilateral trade between the two countries has surged by more than a third since 2018, exceeding $99.12 billion in value.

• Saudi Arabia and OPEC+ Brace for Impact as Trump Plans New Oil Moves

  In is exceptionally difficult to imagine Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his United Arab Emirates (UAE) counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan disdaining to take an urgent telephone call from President Donald Trump, as they did from President Joe Biden at the height on the energy crisis just after Russia had invaded Ukraine in 2022. However, at its 5 December meeting, selected members of the OPEC+ oil cartel decided to delay the rollback of 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil production cuts (supposedly being made by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, Oman, Iraq and Russia) to April from January. Another 3.6 million bpd in output reductions across the OPEC+ group has been extended to the end of 2026 from the end of 2025. By the time of the next full OPEC+ meeting – four full months into the second Presidency of Trump – things may have changed.

• Saudi Arabia Accelerates $2.5 Trillion Mining Plans To Cut Oil Reliance

  According to the IMF, Saudi Arabia, the GCC’s biggest economy, needs an oil price of $96.20 per barrel to balance its books, more than $20 above current oil prices. The situation is not helped by the fact that over the past two years, the oil-rich nation has borne the lion’s share of OPEC+ production cuts after agreeing to cut 1 million barrels per day or nearly half of the group’s 2.2 mb/d in pledged cuts. In effect, Saudi Arabia has been selling less oil at lower prices, thus compounding the revenue shortfall. Emerging reports indicate that mining now plays a central role in Riyadh’s strategy to reduce oil dependency, with the country looking to exploit its significant reserves of phosphate, gold, copper and bauxite. Earlier in the year, Saudi Arabia’s mining minister, Bandar Al-Khorayef, revealed that the Kingdom’s reserve potential had grown by nearly 90% from the US $1.3 trillion forecasted eight years ago to $2.5 trillion. Saudi Arabia has set a goal to increase the mining industry’s GDP contribution from $17 billion to $75 billion by 2035.

• Norway plans to protest FIFA and abstain from decision giving 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia

  Norway’s soccer federation plans to abstain from giving its approval when Saudi Arabia is confirmed Wednesday as the 2034 World Cup host, saying FIFA has done too little to protect human rights around the tournament. “FIFA’s own guidelines for human rights and due diligence have also not been adequately integrated into the process, increasing the risk of human rights violations,” Norway federation president Lise Klaveness said in a statement Tuesday.

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