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  • World Bank: Saudi Arabia’s Non-Oil Sectors Continue to Grow, Women’s Participation in Workforce Doubles

    The World Bank (WB) report titled "Structural Reforms and Shifting Social Norms to Increase Women's Labor Force Participation" revealed the latest economic developments in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The report indicates that the efforts towards economic diversification in the region have started to show positive results, but there is still a need for further reforms. According to the report, the number of workers in the Saudi private sector increased by approximately 153,300 by the end of the first half of 2023 compared to the end of the first half of 2022, with the total number of workers being around 2.3 million. The report also highlights that the participation of Saudi women in the workforce has doubled within six years, rising from 17.4% in early 2017 to 35.3% in the second quarter of 2023.

  • Bechtel Partners with the Saudi Women Engineers Society

    The new partnership will support Saudi’s Vision 2030 goal to empower women in the region by increasing career opportunities, including development and training, for women in the workforce. “Bringing more diverse talent into the engineering and STEM fields in Saudi Arabia is crucial to delivering on Vision 2030's goals,” said Abdul-Rahman Al-Ghabban, president of Saudi Arabian Bechtel Company (SABCO) and regional manager for the Middle East Region at Bechtel. “Bechtel is partnering with SWES with the goal of inspiring more women in Saudi Arabia – and around the world – to pursue engineering careers and to become future leaders in our industry.”

  • Arbitration in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Part 4 – Drafting and Concluding Effective Arbitration Agreements in Saudi Arabia

    An effective, well-drafted arbitration clause (or arbitration agreement)  provides parties with a contractual mechanism through which they can enforce their legal rights. Therefore, it is an essential part of any contract pursuant to which the parties have agreed to resolve their disputes by arbitration. Arbitration clauses need to be properly drafted to be valid, effective and enforceable. Poorly drafted arbitration clauses may be challenged at the stages of initiating arbitration or enforcing arbitral awards, and defective or "pathological" arbitration clauses may even deprive the parties of access to arbitration.

  • Mastercard and Ottu partner to boost payment access across GCC through Mastercard Gateway

    Mastercard, a global technology company in the payments industry, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Ottu, a prominent fintech player in the Middle East region. This pioneering partnership is primarily focused on Ottu's integration of Mastercard Gateway, enabling a range of local payment methods in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman.

  • Saudi FM stresses need for immediate ceasefire in Gaza after meeting Jordanian and British counterparts

    Prince Faisal stressed Saudi Arabia's position, which rejects targeting of civilians in any manner and underlines the importance of reaching an immediate cessation of military escalation. The Saudi foreign minister also stressed the necessity of lifting the siege on Gaza, as well as securing safe corridors for the entry of relief and humanitarian aid to civilians.

  • Saudi Arabia exceeding regional headquarters target, says investment minister

    Saudi Arabia has outperformed its target for attracting regional headquarters, with over 180 companies now established in the Kingdom. This number surpasses the initial goal of securing 160 HQs by the end 2023, as disclosed by Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih. In an interview with Bloomberg, Al-Falih emphasized that the regional headquarters program is part of a “long-term journey,” adding that the Kingdom is working with international entities to create the “right ecosystem” to open their offices in Saudi Arabia.

  • Saudi startups join Monsha’at in exploring Singaporean SME and tech sectors at SWITCH 2023

    Monsha'at led a delegation of Saudi startups — including Ynmo, Nitx, CASHIN, PTway, Soum, Morni, Osarah, and Golyv — from a diversity of sectors, offering the enterprises an opportunity to connect and network with SMEs and investors from around the world. The technology festival — held from 31 October to 2 November 2023 in Singapore — served as a unique platform for innovative startups to showcase their businesses and call attention to the contributions of homegrown enterprises to the Saudi economy, reiterating the growth and development of the Saudi SME landscape.

  • Commentary: The Viability of a Partitioned Yemen: Challenges to a Houthi State

    The Houthis simply don’t have the financial resources to support a government, pay salaries, and invest in the infrastructure and rebuilding that will be necessary in a postwar scenario. Nor does the group control the oil and gas fields in Yemen that would allow it to make money on the world markets. This realization is largely what has driven successive Houthi offensives on Marib since 2020. But each time the Houthis came up short, as Saudi air power proved decisive. Now with the war seemingly nearing an end, the Houthis are in a difficult position: The group holds territory but doesn’t have the finances to maintain it. Of course, the Houthis could always make another attempt on Marib after the Saudi withdrawal, but that would almost certainly invite renewed Saudi airstrikes.

  • Neri Zilber: Inside Israeli Politics During Wartime

    We took a hard look at what Israel was at least trying to plan in terms of the endgame, both in exit strategy for its troops from Gaza, as well as what Gaza would look like post-war. And the inclination, at least by some Israeli leaders in the direct aftermath of October 7th, was just to essentially send in the tanks and then figure it out afterward. I think Benjamin Netanyahu's national security advisor, Tzachi Hanegbi, had a line in that first week that said, "We don't know what's going to be in Gaza the day after the war, but we definitely know what won't be in Gaza the day after the war." That's a nice soundbite. As sound policy, it's questionable.

  • Chart: Agriculture Puts Strain on Water Resources in MENA Region

    Agricultural water withdrawal way beyond the limit of renewable freshwater resources is most common today in countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Several other nations, for example Spain, South Africa, South Korea, Pakistan and India, stick out for using up a higher share of their freshwater resources in agriculture than their neighbors. This is according to the FAO Aquastat database, where the latest available year for the data is 2020.