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  • Multinational Exercise Spears of Victory 2025 in Saudi Arabia Concludes

    The Saudi Arabian annual multinational exercise, Spears of Victory, was held this year from Jan. 26 to Feb. 6 by the Royal Saudi Air Force’s (RSAF) Air Warfare Center, located at King Abdulaziz air base near Dhahran. The exercise is considered one of the largest multinational exercises in the Middle East and aims to strengthen military partnerships, with 15 nations involved. RSAF Maj. Gen. Mohammed bin Ali Al-Omari, the commander of the exercise, said that the aim was to enhance allied combat readiness (especially in the electronic warfare field), provide a ground for the exchange of expertise in planning and implementation, and to promote joint operational strategies. This year, more than 70 air assets from nine countries took part in the large-scale exercise: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Greece, France, Qatar, the UK, the US, the UAE, and Pakistan. Furthermore, seven additional countries participated as observers: Australia, Egypt, Italy, Jordan, Morocco, South Korea, and Spain.

  • Saudi Arabia’s SMC Plans IPO in Latest Health-Care Offering

    Saudi Arabia’s SMC Hospitals is planning an initial public offering iSaudi Arabia’s SMC Hospitals is planning an initial public offering in Riyadh, joining the host of health-care firms going public in the kingdom.n Riyadh, joining the host of health-care firms going public in the kingdom. The hospital operator is working with SNB Capital and EFG Hermes on the potential share sale, people familiar with the matter said. The deal could come as early as the second quarter of this year, the people said, declining to be named while discussing confidential information. SMC operates two hospitals in Riyadh and has a third one under construction, in addition to 250 outpatient clinics, according to its website.

  • Zelensky delays trip to Saudi Arabia amid US-Russia talks

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has postponed an official visit to Saudi Arabia set for this week amid U.S.-Russia negotiations in Riyadh. Zelensky, who was not planning to participate in the Tuesday talks between Washington and Moscow to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, said he was delaying the trip because of Kyiv’s lack of invitation to the negotiations. He suggested that he wanted to avoid his visit being tied to the meetup. “We were not invited to this Russian-American meeting in Saudi Arabia. It was a surprise for us. I think it was a surprise for many people,” Zelensky said at a news conference in Ankara alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “We are absolutely honest and open. I don’t want any coincidences. That’s why I’m not going to Saudi Arabia.” Zelensky will now visit Saudi Arabia on March 10. He had said Monday that he planned to visit the country later this week.

  • DAZN Sells Minority Stake to Saudi Arabia’s Surj Sports Investment in Landmark $1 Billion Deal

    The long-gestating deal — widely believed to involve PIF paying $1 billion in exchange for 10 per cent of DAZN — gives Saudi Arabia a piece of DAZN, which in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region rivals powerhouse beIN Sports, from neighboring Qatar. Qatar, incidentally, hosted the FIFA soccer World Cup in 2022, while Saudi Arabia will be hosting the 2034 edition of that event.  Founded in 2007, London-based DAZN, which has been dubbed the “Netflix of sports,” is now operating in more than 200 markets, having gone on a systematic sports rights’ buying spree that caused the streamer to report a £1.2 billion ($1.51 billion) loss for 2023. The deal with Surj Sports will certainly help shore up DAZN’s finances.

  • What We Learned From High-Stakes U.S.-Russia Talks In Saudi Arabia

    The more than four-hour meeting in Riyadh -- which was attended by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov -- is part of a major diplomatic push by the United States to bring the war to an end. The discussions were framed by U.S. officials as exploratory talks that could pave the way for a potential in-person meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. These comprise fully restoring their diplomatic missions in Washington and Moscow after years of sanctions and expulsions, appointing a high-level team to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, exploring further "geopolitical and economic cooperation that could result from an end to the conflict in Ukraine," and ensuring that the U.S. and Russian delegations present in Riyadh will remain engaged in discussions moving forward.

  • Who are the Russian officials meeting with US team in Saudi Arabia?

    Lavrov, aged 74 and in office since 2004, is Moscow's longest-serving foreign minister since Soviet times. A graduate of the prestigious Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), he speaks fluent English and French and also Sinhalese, having worked as a Soviet diplomat in Sri Lanka.  Before becoming foreign minister, Lavrov was Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations. He can be acerbic, especially with interlocutors whom he considers poorly prepared, but also dour, once remarking: "I am not paid to be an optimist."

  • Saudi Arabia’s Evolving Regulatory Framework for the Technology and Data Economy

    Saudi Arabia’s commitment to digital transformation is a cornerstone of its Vision 2030 initiative, which aims to diversify the economy and position the Kingdom as a global technology hub. With 66 out of the 99 Vision 2030 goals linked to data and Artificial Intelligence (AI), the country is witnessing a rapid evolution of its regulatory framework to facilitate technological innovation and investment. Businesses operating in Saudi Arabia’s technology and data sectors must navigate an increasingly complex legal landscape to ensure compliance and seize emerging opportunities. Below, we explore recent developments shaping the regulation of Saudi Arabia’s technology and data economy.

  • Saudi Arabia’s crown prince wins points for hosting the Russia-US summit on Ukraine

    Crown Prince Mohammed now finds himself at the center of the Trump administration’s outreach to Russia, a country Saudi Arabia carefully maintained ties to during the war through the OPEC+ oil cartel. And with Trump suggesting his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin — something Moscow hopes can bring it in from the cold of Western nations — will take place in Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed is likely to remain a top player. In the Saudi-owned, London-published newspaper Asharq Al Awsat, journalist Mishari al-Dhaidi described Tuesday’s U.S.-Russia summit as “restoring dialogue between the two poles of the world.” He called it “a major step on the international political chess arena, revealing the status of Saudi Arabia and its positive influence for the benefit of the people all the people.”

  • Saudi Arabia to host first-ever Olympic Esports games in 2027: Video

    The first-ever Olympic Esports games will be held in Saudi Arabia in 2027. The IOC hasn’t released which games will be apart of the event yet. NBC News’ Dana Griffin spoke with professional Esports player, Alvin Avila who shared his excitement for the games. 

  • Russia’s wealth fund chief will meet US delegation in Saudi Arabia: Source

    Russia’s sovereign wealth fund chief Kirill Dmitriev will meet a US delegation in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to focus on strengthening ties and increased economic cooperation, a source in Riyadh told Reuters. The meeting involving Dmitriev is the first confirmation that the US-educated former Goldman Sachs banker will be involved in talks with the United States. Dmitriev, 49, is an investment banker who studied at Harvard and Stanford in the 1990s. He worked at the US firms Goldman Sachs and McKinsey before returning to Moscow.