MUST-READS

• Syria’s FM to visit Saudi Arabia on first foreign trip as Sharaa praises Riyadh

  Shibani’s announcement comes one day after Syria’s de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa — who also heads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which led the lightning-fast offensive that toppled Assad earlier this month — praised Saudi Arabia's support for Syria. In a wide-ranging interview with the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya channel on Sunday, Sharaa stated that Saudi Arabia seeks stability in Syria and highlighted several investment opportunities in the country, though he did not provide further details. “I am proud of everything that Saudi Arabia has done for Syria, and it has a major role in the country’s future,” he said. A high-ranking Saudi delegation, led by a royal court adviser, visited Damascus and met with Sharaa on Dec. 22. No details of the meeting were made public. According to a source close to the Saudi government who spoke to Agence France-Presse last week, the talks focused on the situation in Syria and the Captagon drug file.

• Saudi-US partnerships set to power Vision 2030 Goals

  On the heels of the first Saudi-US Higher Education Partnerships Forum, co-organised by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Education, the US Embassy, and IIE, and held in Riyadh,The PIE sat down with Michael Ratney, US ambassador to Saudi Arabia to explore the evolving landscape of educational collaboration between the two nations. “There’s a decades long educational affinity between Saudi and the US,” said Ratney. “Saudi Arabia has been sending students to the US for decades… We think there’s probably over 700,000 Saudis that have studied in the US over the years.” Historically, much of this outbound mobility has been, and continues to be, driven by the Saudi’s government scholarship program – the King Abdullah Scholarship program. In recent years, Vision 2030 – Saudi’s national economic and social transformation program – has meant the sending of students has been more focused.

• Archaeologists Found 115,000-Year-Old Human Footprints Where They Shouldn’t Be

  A uniquely preserved prehistoric mudhole could hold the oldest-ever human footprints on the Arabian Peninsula, scientists say. The seven footprints, found amidst a clutter of hundreds of prehistoric animal prints, are estimated to be 115,000 years old. Many fossil and artifact windfalls have come from situations like this special lakebed in northern Saudi Arabia. Archaeologists uncovered the site, deep in the Nefud Desert at a location nicknamed “the trace” in Arabic, in 2017, after time and weather wiped the overlying sediment away. It’s easy to imagine that a muddy lakebed was a high-traffic area in the Arabian Peninsula over 100,000 years ago.

• Investors not in Saudi Arabia missing golden opportunity: Alkhorayef

  Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef said that investors not investing in Saudi Arabia are missing a golden opportunity, primarily multinational companies that seek to export products to global markets. In an interview with Asharq News, he noted that the Saudi market is large and promising, allowing producers to reach global markets by offering many advantages, such as financing, industrial lands, energy, and logistics services. The minister said that all government agencies are working diligently to streamline the investor’s journey, highlighting the Kingdom’s strong competitiveness and the profitability of its industrial sectors, such as mining, energy, logistics, technical services, and infrastructure.

• Syria’s new foreign minister to visit Saudi Arabia on first official trip

  Syria’s newly appointed foreign minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, announced on Monday that his first official visit abroad will be to Saudi Arabia, following an official invitation from his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan. “I have received an official invitation from His Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mr. Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, to visit the Kingdom. I gladly and wholeheartedly accept this invitation and am honored to represent my country on this first official visit,” al-Shibani said on X. “We look forward to building strategic relations with our brothers in the Kingdom across all fields,” he added.

• Calo raises $25 million Series B, eying Saudi IPO by 2027

  Saudi Arabia-HQ foodtech Calo has raised $25 million in its Series B funding round, led by Nuwa Capital, with participation from STV and Khwarizmi Ventures, along with regional family offices.

• Saudi Arabia launches largest regional salmon production center

  Known for its dates and fruit, the central Saudi province of Hail is now stepping into the seafood scene with the launch of the Middle East’s largest salmon production center, backed by the Saudi Environment, Water, and Agriculture Ministry. The 10,000-square-meter facility features aquaponic systems, advanced water recycling, and a hatchery producing 5 million juvenile salmon annually. Once fully operational, the center will produce 10,000 tons of salmon per year, helping to cut into Saudi Arabia’s current annual imports of 23,000 tons.

• How Does the Saudi Green Initiative Help Reduce Carbon Emissions?

  Since the program's launch in 2021, more than fifty million trees have been planted across the Kingdom under the campaign "Let's Make It Green." The initiative also commits to protecting 20 percent of the Kingdom's terrestrial and marine areas by 2030 and increasing the proportion of reserves to over 30 percent of the Kingdom’s total land area. Currently, protected areas account for approximately 17 percent of the country's land.

• Pricey homes and packed hotels: the year in GCC real estate

  Housing became a scarce commodity in Saudi Arabia in 2024. Expat workers flocked to Riyadh, attracted by the Vision 2030 push. Government policies boosted the home ownership rate for nationals. Rising land and construction costs also made housing and commercial units more expensive, says Imad Damrah, Colliers’ managing director for Saudi Arabia. “Freehold residential apartments in high-rise towers in Riyadh performed strongly, as did affordable National Housing Company residential communities,” Damrah tells AGBI. Residential sale numbers in the capital climbed 31 percent year on year in the third quarter, CBRE says. Average villa and apartment prices rose five and four percent respectively.

• Saudi Arabia extends tax fine exemption for 6 months

  The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) has extended the Cancellation of Fines and Exemption of Penalties Initiative for taxpayers for six months, until June 30, 2025. To qualify, taxpayers must be registered in the tax system, submit all outstanding returns with accurate tax disclosure, and pay fully the principal tax owed on submitted or amended returns. Taxpayers may request instalment plans during the initiative period, provided that all instalments are paid on time, according to the approved plan.

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