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  • Saudi Arabia strengthens ties with US and Iran before Trump takes office

    Saudi Arabia is still keen to capitalize on work that went into a defense and strategic agreement with the U.S. that was put on hold after the Oct. 7 attack last year by Iran-backed Hamas on Israel. Prince Mohammed sent national security adviser Musaad Al-Aiban to Washington last month to revive the talks, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. Yet, time is tight. The aim was to secure commitments before President Joe Biden leaves office in January. The Saudis see the dual-channel approach of closer ties with Washington and Tehran as vital geopolitically, though it could leave the kingdom in an awkward spot. Prince Mohammed’s top priority is his trillion-dollar plan to diversify the kingdom’s economy away from oil. The agenda, known as Vision 2030, relies on peace as well as foreign investment to help fund its ambitious mega-projects.

  • FIFA report praises Saudi Arabia 2034 World Cup bid

    FIFA, the world's governing football body, released a report Saturday on Saudi Arabia's bid to host the 2034 World Cup. Saudi Arabia is the only nation seeking to host the tournament in 2034, and one whose de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is chummy with FIFA President Gianni Infantino.  FIFA's report gave Saudi Arabia high marks, while assessing the kingdom's bid as presenting "low" environmental and "medium" human rights risks. Late last year, Saudi Arabia submitted its bid to host the 2034 tournament (which was only open to Asia and Oceania nations) — while Morocco, Spain and Portugal submitted a joint bid for 2030, with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay also each slated to host one game during the centenary edition of the tournament.

  • Saudi Arabia unveils program for 4th Saudi Green Initiative Forum

    Saudi Arabia revealed on Saturday the program for the fourth edition of the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) Forum. The two-day event, which will begin on Tuesday, Dec. 3 in Riyadh, will reemphasize Saudi Arabia’s commitment to holistic, collaborative and pragmatic solutions towards a greener future. Taking place alongside the 16th session of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP16), the forum will convene global leaders, climate experts, senior government officials, and industry CEOs to advance discussions and action on global climate challenges under the theme “Action is in Our Nature.”

  • Charting Saudi Arabia’s Rise as an SMEs Hub

    Earlier this year, the Kingdom ranked third in the 2023-2024 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report. Meanwhile, its National Entrepreneurship Context Index score has increased from 5.0 in 2019 to 6.3 in 2023, reflecting its progress in fostering a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem that drives economic growth. Crucially, the National Investment Strategy (NIS) has been established, as part of the Kingdom’s transformation plan, to drive the growth and diversification of the national economy. NIS aims to increase the private sector's contribution to GDP to 65%, raising the contribution of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to GDP to 5.7%, by 2030.

  • Saudi Arabia Leads Pushback Against Global Plastic Treaty

    Delegates from more than 170 nations have been engaged in tense negotiations in Busan, South Korea, to draft a global plastic treaty that addresses the growing problem of plastic waste. Saudi Arabia, Russia and other producers of petroleum, which is used to make most of the world’s plastic, have pushed back against measures that would address plastic pollution by placing curbs on excessive plastic production. The Saudis and their allies have also said they oppose any treaty that would start to list and phase out chemicals present in plastic that are thought to be harmful to health.

  • Saudi Arabia’s Almoosa plans to list 30% stake on local bourse

    Saudi Arabia’s Almoosa said on Thursday that it plans to sell a 30 per cent stake through an initial public offering (IPO) on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul), the latest in a series of healthcare listings in the kingdom. The healthcare operator is offering 13.3 million shares to investors – equivalent to 30 per cent of the company’s paid-up capital. Almoosa said the offering price will be determined at the end of a book-building process. It is offering the shares in two tranches — institutional investors and retail investors— between December 5 and December 24, with final allocations due on December 29.

  • Saudi Arabia tourism growth sees 27% surge in international arrivals

    The travel and tourism sector in Saudi Arabia has reported a 27% increase in incoming tourist numbers during the first nine months of 2024, compared to the previous year's 14% rise. This information was released by the Saudi Press Agency, citing the kingdom's tourism minister, Ahmed Al-Khateeb, at the 2025 Budget Forum in Riyadh.

  • Saudi Arabia grants 60-day grace period for runaway workers to correct their status

    The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) launched a new campaign to grant a 60-day grace period for runaway foreign workers to correct their status through the ministry's Qiwa platform, Okaz/Saudi Gazette has learnt. "Those workers, against whom there is an absence report, can utilize the grace period, starting from Dec. 1 and ending on January 29, 2025, to transfer their services to another employer," the Qiwa platform, under the ministry, revealed. The platform called on workers, who meet the conditions, to quickly transfer their services to another facility through the service available on the Qiwa platform before the end of the specified deadline on January 29. It indicated that the campaign aims to enhance the stability of the labor relationship and give workers an additional opportunity to correct their status in line with the regulations and allow them to transfer their services to another employer. It stressed the need to take advantage of the available period before the expiry of the deadline.

  • Neom: Will Saudi Arabia’s Trillion-Dollar Desert Dream Ever Become a Reality?

    Saudi Arabia’s Neom is perhaps the world’s most controversial architectural project at present, covering 10,200 square miles – almost the size of Belgium – and incorporating renewable energy projects and advanced smart technologies in the middle of the desert. Following several construction delays, rising costs, and criticism over structural aspects of the project, many are wondering whether the Kingdom’s ambitious plan can become a reality. In September, the Kingdom began to prioritize certain aspects of the megaproject to ensure that it can hold international events that have been planned for the city and try to attract more private funding. The Line has reportedly been scaled back from 170 km to just a 2.4 km stretch including a stadium, which is expected to host the final match of the 2034 football World Cup. Meanwhile, development at Trojena is being centered around the 2029 Asian Winter Games.

  • Saudi Arabia’s US Treasury Holdings Hit Highest Since 2020

    Saudi Arabia’s holdings of US Treasuries as a portion of foreign assets held by its central bank rose in October to the most in four years. US Treasuries as a portion of total foreign assets held by SAMA, as the Saudi Central Bank is known, rose to almost 35% last month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That puts them at the highest level since February 2020 at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The country’s investments in the US government bonds has been rising this year and SAMA now holds $144 billion in US Treasuries even as its total foreign assets has fallen to the lowest since February.