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  • Rubio meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a meeting Monday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh. The State Department issued a statement on Rubio’s meeting with the Saudi crown prince, saying Rubio emphasized the necessity of a Gaza solution that strengthens regional security. However, the statement didn’t elaborate on how Rubio and Crown Prince Mohammed reconciled their differing opinions on Gaza’s future.

  • ‘Positive feeling’ in Iran amid talk of Saudi mediation with Trump

    Saudi Arabia is apparently floating the notion of mediating between Iran and the United States. First reported by CNN, Tehran has dismissed the idea as “speculation”—but that has not stopped the Iranian press from discussing what Saudi intervention could entail, and what Riyadh may gain by brokering talks. Speaking to Amwaj.media on condition of anonymity, a high-ranking Iranian political source expressed “a positive feeling” about the Kingdom potentially playing a constructive role in enabling engagement with the Donald Trump administration. Addressing the reasons for his positivity towards such a scenario—mindful of how other Gulf Arab states have more established records of facilitating dialogue with Washington—the source indicated Trump’s close relationship with Riyadh.

  • Israel receives shipment of heavy bombs cleared by Trump

    Israel has received a shipment of heavy MK-84 bombs from the United States, after U.S. President Donald Trump lifted a block imposed on the export of the munitions by the administration of predecessor Joe Biden, the defence ministry said on Sunday. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump said he lifted a Biden-era block on the export of the bombs to Israel despite a ceasefire agreement being in place because he believed in "peace through strength." "They contracted for the weapons a long time ago with the Biden administration, and then Biden wouldn't deliver the weapons. But I look at it differently. I say, 'peace through strength,'" Trump told reporters after returning to West Palm Beach, Florida, after a short trip to Daytona Beach. "They were sitting there. Nobody knew what to do with them. They bought them."

  • Saudi Arabia Emerges as Key Global Player Under Trump

    Saudi Arabia's diplomatic maneuvers reflect its ambitions to assert itself globally while securing its own geopolitical interests. Its support for a negotiated peace in Ukraine could bolster its influence with both Washington and Moscow, while its leadership on Gaza underscores its regional authority. The Kingdom's balancing act will test its ability to navigate the complex dynamics of great power competition and Middle East stability. "Saudi Arabia's recent diplomatic maneuvers reflect a growing maturity from Riyadh that we didn't see during President Donald Trump's first term. The Kingdom appears to have moved on from an unrealistic foreign policy approach towards the region, and instead seems to be using its leverage and embracing diplomacy as a tool for regional stability and strategic influence."

  • Al Ula conference For Emerging Market Economies THE MANAGING DIRECTOR’S OPENING REMARKS

    Now is a time of sweeping transformations in the global economy, in terms of technology, demography and geopolitics, creating a more challenging and uncertain environment for policymakers everywhere, with some specificities in terms of both risks and opportunities for emerging economies. We know, for instance, that trade is no longer the engine of growth that it used to be—unlike the decades of the 1990s and 2000s when global trade grew much faster than global GDP, the two are now growing at roughly the same rate (and trade even lags behind). When global trade slows down, opportunities for regional and cross-regional trade become more important.

  • Saudi Arabia seeks to mediate between Trump and Iran on new nuclear deal

    Saudi Arabia is open to mediating between the Trump administration and Iran in pursuit of a new deal to limit Tehran’s nuclear program, CNN has learned. The kingdom is concerned that Iran may be more inclined to pursue a nuclear weapon now that its regional proxies – long viewed as a deterrent against Israeli attacks – have been significantly weakened. Saudi Arabia hopes to leverage its close ties with President Donald Trump to provide Iran with a diplomatic bridge to the White House. It is unclear whether Saudi Arabia has made a formal offer, but the move underscores Riyadh’s desire to build on its improved relations with its former foe and secure a seat at the negotiating table for a potential new deal.

  • Top US envoy to meet Russian officials for Ukraine peace talks

    US Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to meet Russian officials in Saudi Arabia in the coming days for talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, US officials say. America's top diplomat will be joined by national security adviser Mike Waltz and the US special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, the officials told the BBC's US partner CBS News. US special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg said Washington, Moscow and Kyiv would be involved in talks, but Europe was not invited. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had not been invited to the talks in Saudi Arabia.

  • Saudi Arabia’s PIF Expands Tourism Investments Beyond Riyadh

    In July 2023, PIF established the Saudi Tourism Investment Company, known as Asfar, to spearhead the development of new tourism projects across various cities. Asfar’s mandate includes creating attractive destinations featuring hospitality venues, tourist attractions, retail outlets, and food and beverage establishments throughout the country. Furthering this initiative, PIF launched Adeera in December 2024, a hotel management company dedicated to developing indigenous Saudi hotel brands. Adeera’s goal is to construct new hotels and implement training programs for Saudi nationals, contributing to the Kingdom’s ambition of attracting 150 million tourists annually.

  • Rubio says talks in Saudi Arabia meant to be opening step toward peace

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized the importance of building trust and opening communication with Russia as he and other top Trump administration officials head to Saudi Arabia for talks on ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. “One phone call does not make peace,” Rubio said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “One phone call does not solve a war as complex as this one, but I can tell you that Donald Trump is the only leader in the world that could potentially begin that process.”

  • Joint Statement by Saudi Finance Minister and IMF Managing Director on Supporting Recovery in the Middle East’s Conflict-Affected Economies

    On the sidelines of the inaugural annual global AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia (February 16-17), Saudi Arabia's Finance Ministry and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) co-hosted a high-level roundtable on "Working Together to Support Recovery in the Middle East's Conflict-Affected Economies", with a focus on Syria,  bringing together finance ministers of countries in the region, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Syria, the Managing Director of Operations at the World Bank Group and heads of other International Financial Institutions and the Arab Coordination Group.