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Recent stories from sustg

  • Unusual Video Footage Shows Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mosque Under Construction
     

    Amazing footage of the ongoing construction at Mecca’s Grand Mosque surfaced on Facebook, showing the large-scale reconstructive efforts at the holy site in Saudi Arabia. The video, shot from what looks like a crane, shows worshippers circling the Kaaba with construction efforts ongoing at the mataf expansion not far away. The amateur footage shows the […]

     
  • We’re here, can we come in? TASI and foreign investors
     

    The figurative lobby to the Tadawul All Shares Index (TASI), Saudi Arabia’s stock market, is filling up with eager investors.  Intrigued by the $387 billion Saudi stock market (three times the UAE bourses combined) and the $727 billion Saudi economy, many of them think… Brazil; whose fully accessible stock market’s capitalization exceeds $1 trillion. While […]

     
  • First of 84 new Boeing F-15SAs bound for Saudi Arabia Tested as U.S.-Saudi Military Relations Remain Active
     

    UPI.com reports that the first new Boeing F-15SA completed a successful test flight last month in the United States. The report quotes Lt. Gen. C. D. Moore II, the commander of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, who said, “The successful first flight of the F-15SA is a tremendous milestone for the program and […]

     
  • Saudi Youth Filmmaking on the Rise
     

    Social media continues to catalyze Saudi Arabia in unpredictable ways.  Fatima Al-Arjan takes a look at the rise of video blogging ‘vloggers.’  Short videos – some 36 seconds at maximum – have proliferated.  While sometimes a platform for controversial posts, like many on-line communities, this one seems to be maturing. In a related item, female […]

     
  • Saudi Prince Alwaleed Joins Twitter
     

    HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal has joined Twitter, the microblogging social network in which the Prince holds a 3% stake. In an announcement in both Arabic and English on his official handle, @Alwaleed_Talal, Alwaleed’s office noted that the businessman will soon be active on Twitter:   The Private Office of HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal […]

     
  • Lockheed Nets $253 Million Training Contract
     

    US-based Lockheed Martin will provide Virtual Training Technologies in support of Saudi Arabia’s F-15SA Modernization Program. The news comes on the heels of a recent announcement that the company had set up a branch in Riyadh on February 8th.  — According to a Press Release, Lockheed Martin, the Bethesda, Maryland-based aerospace company, has received a contract […]

     
  • Saudi youth, the issue of unemployment and work ethic
     

    Abdulateef Al-Mulhim is a well-known Saudi commentator who is appreciated – at least here at SUSTG – for his willingness to take on sensitive topics and provide his particular perspective.  In this item he addresses the work ethic of young Saudis, a subject of much debate.  Not surprisingly, there are numerous facets to the discussion […]

     
  • Instagramming Riyadh
     

    Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is a beautiful city – one that is growing and changing at an impressive speed. Yet much of the Kingdom’s capital remains as it has for years. Traditional style housing and buildings, most of which are no higher than two stories, still dominate this sprawling city, but the gargantuan and glitzy new […]

     
  • Women Transforming the Middle East
     

    In this thoughtful interview with SUSRIS, Dr. Isobel Coleman, Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow, characterizes King Abdullah as a ‘committed incrementalist.’ An accurate description based on his steady push of reforms that are meaningful but are not, as some critics point out, decisive. Why doesn’t the King just declare that it is legal for […]

     
  • US most preferred destination for Saudi students
     

    According to an article in Arab News, the Ministry of Higher Education “recently issued a statement revealing that most of the students selected for the King Abdullah Foreign Scholarship Program preferred to go the United States of America to pursue their higher studies, while the least number of students chose Holland. The ministry’s statement provides figures […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Saudi Arabia spending $800m on Riyadh road projects

    The road sector in Riyadh region is witnessing a significant transformation. The region’s total length of roads is approximately 15,000km, and efforts are currently underway to implement new road projects and other maintenance projects in all governorates of the region at a total cost of approximately SR3bn ($799m). The Roads General Authority (RGA) stated that it has executed 23 road projects in the Riyadh region. These projects include 20 preventive maintenance projects spanning 215 km, which cost SR170m ($45m), and three projects to enhance traffic safety, which cost more than SR171m ($45m).

  • $5,300-a-Night Hotel Showcases Saudi Push to Become Tourism Hub

    Just six years ago, it would have been unfathomable for hotel operators to be jockeying to deepen their foothold in the kingdom. But Saudi Arabia has since flung open its doors to tourism — making it easier for visitors to secure necessary visas, loosening dress codes for women and ditching a requirement that males and females prove they’re related before allowing them to share a hotel room. Analysts now expect the number of hotel rooms to more than double by 2030 as developers pour $110 billion into hospitality projects across the country — giving Saudi Arabia one of the biggest hotel pipelines on the planet.

  • Saudi fashion market cutting its cloth to new measurements thanks to e-commerce boom

    The fashion market in Saudi Arabia is expected to generate $4.37 billion in revenue in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate of 11.62 percent from 2024 to 2029, according to Statista. This will lead to a market volume of $7.57 billion in the next five years, underscoring the rising demand for fashion products, fueled by a growing population, increased disposable income, and the government's strategic focus on fostering non-oil industries.

  • 4,000-year-old ancient settlement discovered in Saudi Arabia’s Khaybar Oasis, sheds light on early urban life

    The town, named al-Natah, was found within Khaybar’s walled oasis, a lush region surrounded by desert. Led by French archaeologist Guillaume Charloux, the team discovered a 14.5-kilometer wall enclosing the residential area. This discovery, published in the journal PLOS One, provides tangible evidence of organized occupancy. Dating back to around 2400 BC during the early Bronze Age, al-Natah is believed to have supported up to 500 residents. This highlights its importance in the region’s historical landscape and enhances our understanding of social and architectural developments of the time.

  • India eyes fintech, clean hydrogen cooperation with Saudi Arabia

    “This visit marks a significant milestone in strengthening the strategic partnership between India and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement on Friday. “Both countries are also exploring collaboration in emerging fields like fintech, new technologies, energy efficiency, clean hydrogen, textiles, mining, etc. The Committee Meeting reviewed these developments and reaffirmed their commitment to advancing cooperation across various areas of shared interest.” The SPC was established in 2019. Its first meeting took place in New Delhi last year, during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s state visit to India.

  • Saudi Arabia condemns latest violence in Sudan, urges conflict parties to respect laws

    War has raged in Sudan since April 2023 between the army under the country’s de facto ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF, led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. At least 124 people have been killed and dozens wounded in the fighting in al-Jazira state over the past 10 days, according to the United Nations. Saudi Arabia also called on the warring parties to respect the Treaty of Jeddah and urged them to agree on a ceasefire and facilitate the delivery of human aid to those affected in the war-torn country.

  • Saudi Arabia ranks 12th globally in international visitor spending in 2023

    Saudi Arabia advanced 15 spots to the 12th rank globally in international visitor spending in 2023, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). This achievement marks the highest rise among the top 50 countries compared to 2019. The Kingdom led the G20 nations in international visitor growth, recording a 73% increase, alongside a remarkable 207% rise in international tourism revenue from January to July 2024, compared to the same period in 2019.

  • WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia can help ‘open doors’, says Gauff

    "I would be lying to you if I said I had no reservations. You guys know who I am and the things I speak about. I was pretty much on every player call I could make with WTA," Gauff said. "One of the things I said: 'If we come here, we can't just come here and play our tournament and leave. We have to have a real program, a real plan in place.' "We spoke with a lot of women here in Saudi, and one of them was Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud [the first female Saudi ambassador to the U.S.]. ... One of the questions that I brought up was about LGBTQ issues and women's rights issues and how we can help with that." The world No. 3 said she wanted to see for herself if progress had been made, adding: "If I felt uncomfortable or it felt like nothing's happening, then maybe, I probably wouldn't come back."

  • Saudi Arabia Moves Closer To 2027 Carbon Market Launch

    RVCMC was established in 2022 when the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund partnered with the Tadawul Group – the holding group developing country’s capital market – to lay the foundation of a carbon market. During FII 2024 Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman shared that there is a gradual approach to establishing the market with a pilot phase being prepared for the next “two to three years”, according to a report in The National. This would mean the launch of the Saudi Arabia carbon market could be in late 2026 or 2027 but will have to be in line with the country’s economy which is still heavily reliant on oil and gas production.

  • Saudi’s Desert Technologies to establish largest solar panel and cell manufacturing plants

    Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones, (Modon) signed a contract with Desert Technologies, a leader in renewable energy solutions and the one of the first Saudi company to manufacture and export solar panels, to establish an industrial complex in Jeddah’s third industrial city. The facility will produce solar panels and cells with an annual production capacity of up to five gigawatts (GW) at a total investment of SAR 750 million. It will span an area of 170,000 square meters on a land provided by Modon. The complex includes advanced production lines with a capacity of two GW for solar panels and three GW for solar cells. This makes it one of the largest photovoltaic production centers in the Kingdom.