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  • Saudi Arabia, UAE seen as possible venues for Trump-Putin summit, two Russian sources say

    Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are seen by Russia as possible venues for a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, two Russian sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters. Trump has said he will end the war in Ukraine as soon as possible and said he is ready to meet with Putin. Putin congratulated Trump on his election and stated he is ready to meet Trump to discuss Ukraine and energy.Russian officials have repeatedly denied any direct contacts with the U.S. about preparations for a phone call between Trump and Putin, which would precede an eventual meeting later this year. However, senior Russian officials have visited both Saudi Arabia and the UAE in recent weeks, according to the Russian sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.

  • Saudi Arabia’s Hevolution Foundation commits millions to transform healthspan research

    Saudi Arabia’s billion-dollar-a-year healthspan initiative, the Hevolution Foundation, has unveiled a sweeping portfolio of grants and investments spanning three continents to fuel transformative breakthroughs in healthspan - or healthy aging - science. This week the Kingdom is hosting more than 3,000 attendees for its second-ever Global Healthspan Summit - designed to foster a healthier aging future – and is pledging hundreds of millions of dollars to accelerate discoveries toward therapeutic interventions specifically targeting healthspan. He said, “Just over a year ago, we met right here in this building, in this location, and launched the first-ever Global Healthspan Summit to be held in the world. Today, we are the second largest funder of geroscience and aging biology on the planet.”

  • Saudi Arabia contradicts Trump, vows no ties with Israel without creation of Palestinian state

    Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that the country rejects any attempts to displace the Palestinians from their homeland, stressing that its position on the Palestinians is not up to negotiation. The statement noted that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has affirmed the kingdom's position in "a clear and explicit manner" that does not make other interpretations possible under any circumstances.

  • Saudi Arabia reaffirms unwavering stance on Palestinian state, rejects any political bargaining

    In a statement on Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated that the Kingdom's commitment to Palestinian statehood is deeply rooted and unshakable. "This firm stance was explicitly affirmed by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman during his address at the opening of the first year of the ninth session of the Shoura Council on September 18, 2024. In his speech, the Crown Prince made it clear that Saudi Arabia will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is established, with East Jerusalem as its capital." Saudi Arabia also firmly rejected any actions that undermine Palestinian rights, including Israeli settlement expansion, land annexation, and any attempts to forcibly displace Palestinians from their homeland. The Kingdom called on the international community to take decisive action to alleviate the dire humanitarian conditions faced by the Palestinian people, who continue to stand resilient in defense of their land and rights.

  • Distinguishing Myth From Reality: Saudi Arabia’s Trade and Investment With the United States

    Verifying the numbers quoted by Trump, Al-Jadaan, and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is not easy. Definitions are not always clear, data on Saudi investment in the United States is not comprehensive, and there are errors and omissions in the Saudi balance of payments data that could mean its imports are underrecorded. With these constraints in mind, the following is a best effort at pulling together the relevant information on U.S.-Saudi trade and investment relations to see which numbers stand up to scrutiny and which do not.

  • Saudi Arabia increases defense spending to $78B in 2025

    The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has allocated $78 billion for defense spending in 2025, up from $75.8 billion spent in 2024, Governor of the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) Ahmad Al-Ohali said in a statement Saturday. “The Kingdom allocated approximately $78 billion to the military sector in the 2025 budget, which constitutes 21% of total government spending and 7.1% of Saudi Arabia’s gross product,” he said, according to the statement. The statement further noted that the Kingdom has witnessed a 4.5 percent annual defense growth since 1960, adding that it has become the fifth largest defense spender worldwide and the largest in the Arab world.

  • Saudi Arabia Defers $1.2B Oil Payment By Pakistan

    Pakistan has signed an agreement with the Saudi Fund for Development to defer a $1.2 billion payment on the country's oil imports by one year, the office of Pakistan's prime minister said on Monday. "This project will strengthen Pakistan's economic resilience by securing a stable supply of petroleum products while reducing immediate fiscal burdens," Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office said when welcoming the signing of the oil import financing facility. Pakistan has been experiencing an economic crisis since 2022, characterized by high inflation, high debt, job cuts, and a struggling fiscal position. At some point the country was facing a severe shortage of foreign exchange reserves and risked defaulting on its debt obligations.

  • Saudi Arabia champions youth as it drives talent development to fuel Vision 2030

    Figures from the General Authority for Statistics released in 2023 show that 63 percent of the Kingdom’s population is under 30 years old, and the government and private sector are working hand-in-hand to shape the coming era. “Digital literacy is essential, as technological advancements require the younger generation to not only be proficient in the latest advancements but also drive innovation in areas like AI and data analytics,” Riyadh Al-Najjar, PwC Middle East chairman and Saudi Arabia country senior partner, told Arab News.  He added: “An entrepreneurial mindset is equally important, as the success of Vision 2030 relies on growing the private sector. Young people need to be able to spot opportunities, think critically, and solve problems that add value to the economy.”

  • Oil prices: The US is in a ‘delicate dance’ with Saudi Arabia

    "Ultimately, we're going to see the seasonal dance: Gas prices are going to go up this spring regardless of tariffs or not, they're going to go back down in the fall," De Haan tells Julie Hyman and Josh Lipton. "And I think seasonally looking at where we are for the year, for gas prices, we anticipate a yearly national average of about $3.22 a gallon, which would be a modest or even slight improvement of about $0.11 compared to 2024."

  • Saudi Arabia cracks down on employers over health insurance violations

    The Saudi Arabia Council of Health Insurance (CHI) has announced penalties against several employers for failing to meet mandatory health insurance obligations for their employees and their eligible family members. These actions follow previous warnings urging compliance with Saudi Arabia’s Health Insurance Law. Under Article 14 of the law, employers who fail to provide health coverage or neglect to pay insurance premiums must settle any outstanding amounts and may face additional fines. The penalties can reach up to the equivalent of an annual premium per insured individual. In certain cases, noncompliant employers may also be restricted from hiring new workers on a temporary or permanent basis.