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  • Saudi startups take lead in MENA funding space

    Saudi Arabia’s startup ecosystem has affirmed its leading position in the funding space, capturing over 53 percent of the region’s venture debt financing in 2023, according to MAGNiTT’s latest report. The venture data platform revealed that Saudi startups raised a total of $400 million in venture debt last year, a 602 percent growth compared to $57 million in 2022.

  • At Gulf Cooperation Council, U.S. Participates in Maritime, Missile Defense Working Groups

    The U.S. last participated in talks with the GCC in February 2023. During today's discussions, representatives from the Joint Staff, U.S. Central Command, Naval Forces Central Command, Air Forces Central Command, the Missile Defense Agency, and the Defense Security Cooperation Agency are participating in two working groups, including one on maritime security and the other on air and missile defense.

  • Unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia’s labor market at 8.6 percent, women’s participation reaches 34.2 percent

    The unemployment rate dropped from 12.8 percent in 2017 to 8.6 percent in the third quarter of 2023

  • Saudi Mega Projects Seek Partners in Bid to Hit Goals

    Executives from The Line, New Murabba and Diriyah Company — complex developments ranging from a futuristic mega city on the Red Sea to an urban development housing a cube-shaped skyscraper set to be the tallest in the Saudi capital — discussed challenges with supply chains, costs and finding skilled workers as they underscored the urgent need for experienced partners to assist in completing projects.

  • Saudi Mega Projects Seek Partners in Bid to Hit Crown Prince MBS’s Goals

    Top officials from Saudi Arabia’s mega projects gathered in Riyadh to share progress updates and seek partners to help deliver a key pillar of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to transform the economy. Executives from The Line, New Murabba and Diriyah Company — complex developments ranging from a futuristic mega city on the Red Sea to an urban development housing a cube-shaped skyscraper set to be the tallest in the Saudi capital — discussed challenges with supply chains, costs and finding skilled workers as they underscored the urgent need for experienced partners to assist in completing projects.

  • Who’s Who: Abdullah Al-Ajmi, space business development director for Lockheed Martin in Saudi Arabia

    Abdullah Al-Ajmi is the space business development director for Lockheed Martin in Saudi Arabia. He is responsible for coordinating and bolstering the Kingdom’s space efforts. In addition to fostering strategic cooperation between government and commercial enterprises, Al-Ajmi oversees the facilitation of scientific experiments and international research collaborations, as well as the administration of future space-related missions. A retired brigadier general of the Royal Saudi Air Force and Ministry of Defense, he has a wealth of expertise and experience in remote sensing and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance and space systems.

  • State Department OKs Saudi Arabia’s $250M Blanket Order Training Support FMS Request

    Under the proposed transaction, the U.S. Navy will also provide professional military education support for Saudi Arabia’s naval forces, which will not require the deployment of any additional U.S. government and contractor personnel to the Middle Eastern country.

  • ‘Let’s help Yemen regain ability to chart its own future,’ US envoy Tim Lenderking tells Arab News

    “The onus (is) on the Houthis to stop the Red Sea attacks,” he said. “That can prompt us all to begin to dial back, to de-escalate, to return the situation in Yemen to where it was on Oct. 6, which had considerably more promise and possibility than what exists now, and that’s where we want to return the focus.”

  • Commentary: The Next U.S. Administration to Confront a Middle East of New Partnerships, New Tensions, as the End of History Repeats Itself

    The Gaza war, with its potential for regional escalation, is just one (albeit major) concern in a region prone to instability, insecurity, and unpredictability. This paper puts the evolving crisis and nuclear proliferation concerns in the Middle East into global context, alongside other U.S. foreign and domestic policy priorities, such as Russia’s war in Ukraine, competition with China, and the U.S. economy.

  • Saudi pavilion at Venice Biennale charts the evolving role of women in the kingdom

    Saudi visual artist Manal Al Dowayan is known for her research-based, participatory practice, placing community voices at the forefront of her artwork. Her exhibition for the National Pavilion of Saudi Arabia at this year’s Venice Biennale is no different.

    Titled Shifting Sands: A Battle Song, curated by Jessica Cerasi and Maya El Khalil, Al Dowayan’s multimedia installation is inspired by the evolving role of women in Saudi Arabia. It is rooted in three workshops that took place across the country, where she engaged with more than 1000 women from all walks of life.