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  • 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 […]

     
  • New President for KAUST in Saudi Arabia
     

    In a press release today, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, announced a new president in Dr. Jean-Lou Chameau, who will be the second to serve in that post since the university’s inception. Dr. Chameau previously served as President of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

     
  • 5 More Years for Booming King Abdullah Scholarship
     

    Al Arabiya reports that the King Abdullah Scholarship Program, which has sent thousands of Saudi students to the United States and elsewhere, has been renewed for another five years in an important step that will strengthen US-Saudi cultural and economic ties. According to Al Arabiya, Minister of Higher Education Khalid Al Angari said the move was “clear […]

     
  • Drone Revelation Underscores Defense/Security Bonds
     

    The recent news reports that American remotely operated aircraft are operating against Al Qaeda targets in Yemen should come as no surprise to those who have followed the close collaboration between the United States and Saudi Arabia over the course of the historic relationship. The revelations may be uncomfortable to those who seek to keep […]

     
  • Samsung and Galaxy chocolate top brands in Kingdom in 2012
     

    Samsung ranked first in the 2012 BrandIndex Buzz Rankings for Saudi Arabia, scoring 54.9 points, YouGov market research agency said Tuesday. Galaxy Chocolate, produced by Mars Inc and Al-Qur’an Al-Kareem, a channel owned by the Saudi government, ranked second and third, scoring 53.7 and 47.4 points respectively. Sony, which ranked sixth, dropping from second place in […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia Strong Market for U.S. Companies, Ex-Im Head Says
     

    Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s biggest economy, represents an “exceedingly” strong market for U.S. companies, Export-Import Bank Chairman Fred Hochberg said. “Part of that has been driven by in this part of the world a diversification of economies,” Hochberg said in an interview yesterday in Riyadh. “We see a lot of opportunity here. U.S. companies […]

     
  • Saudi Chartbook – February 2013
     

    Jadwa Investment’s recently released Saudi Chartbook for the month of February 2013 assesses a number of key aspects of the Saudi economy including the real economy, bank lending, banking indicators, inflation, trade, oil, exchange rates, the TASI (Saudi Stock Market), sectoral performance, and more. [The full report from Jadwa Investment can be read here.]

     
  • MENA solar to exceed 3GW annually by 2015: Saudi leads
     

    GTM Research’s report states that Saudi Arabia and Turkey will have the highest demand, with Saudi Arabia looking to be the region’s first gigawatt-scale market by 2015. Nearly 70% of the demand is expected to come from Saudi Arabia and its K.A. CARE program and secondly, Turkey.

     
  • Islam and science: The road to renewal
     

    The tide of money is bearing a fleet of results. In the 2000 to 2009 period Turkey’s output of scientific papers rose from barely 5,000 to 22,000; with less cash, Iran’s went up 1,300, to nearly 15,000. Quantity does not imply quality, but the papers are getting better, too. Scientific journals, and not just the […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Riyadh Season to host skiing festival with 500 tons of snow in Saudi Arabia

    Riyadh is braced for a big chill with 500 tons of snow for a major international skiing festival in Saudi Arabia. In the final week of February, Riyadh will host the SnowBlast KSA Cup, a snow skiing show and competition that blends artistry, creativity, and outdoor skill performance as part of the Riyadh Season events. The SnowBlast KSA Cup, held for the first time in the region, represents a unique global event.

  • Commentary: Saudi Arabia Aligns with the PA, Sets Preconditions for Normalization with Israel

    During the Munich Security Conference on February 19, 2024, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan emphasized the PA’s capability. “The Palestinian Authority is capable, with the support of the international community, of controlling the West Bank and Gaza Strip,” the Saudi foreign minister insisted, adding, “This requires a real path to establishing a Palestinian state.”

  • Al-Ibrahim: MBC Group is working on a global project of documenting history of Saudi Arabia

    Waleed Al-Ibrahim, chairman of the Board of Directors of the MBC Group and Al Arabiya Network, announced that the MBC Group is working on a giant project that aims to document the history of Saudi Arabia, starting from the first Saudi state until the present day. “This global project, which will be in segments, will be implemented spanning over a period of 12 years,” he said while attending a session titled “Media between the Past and the Present” at the 3rd Saudi Media Forum in Riyadh on Tuesday.

  • Saudi Founding Day 2024: What is it and how is it different from National Day?

    Thursday, February 22, marks Saudi Arabia's Founding Day, a new annual holiday to commemorate the founding of the first Saudi state. The holiday was established with a royal decree issued by King Salman in 2022 through the official Saudi Press Agency. It said the holiday will commemorate the history of Saudi rule dating back hundreds of years.

  • China’s Biggest Fund Manager, Riyadh Capital Sign Pact to Share Local Investment Expertise

    E Fund Management, China's largest fund manager, and leading Saudi Arabian assets manager Riyadh Capital have signed a non-binding agreement to exchange expertise and cooperate in local investment areas. E Fund and Riyadh Capital inked the deal at the two-day Saudi Capital Market Forum in Riyadh on Feb. 20, ACN Newswire reported yesterday. Representatives from the Shanghai and Saudi stock exchange were present at the signing ceremony, according to Shanghai Securities News.

  • Global debt hits new record high at $313 trillion – IIF

    Global debt levels hit a new record high of $313 trillion in 2023, with developing economies scaling a fresh peak for the ratio of debt to their gross domestic product, a study showed. The Institute of International Finance (IIF), a financial services trade group, said on Wednesday that global debt surged by over $15 trillion in the last quarter of 2023 year-on-year. The figure stood at around $210 trillion almost a decade ago, according to the data. "Around 55% of this rise originated from mature markets, mainly driven by the U.S., France, and Germany," said the IIF in its Global Debt Monitor, adding the global debt-to-GDP ratio declined by around 2 percentage points to nearly 330% in 2023.

  • Shuqir to Asharq Al-Awsat: Heritage of First Saudi State Was Erased, Marginalized

    The first Saudi state, upon its establishment, sought to support social harmony by boosting security and imposing strict penalties against crime, which significantly impacted creating a healthy environment, said a Saudi researcher and expert in sociology and anthropology, Abdulrahman al-Shuqir.

  • LEAP 2024: Oracle to focus on Saudi Arabia’s AI economy goals

    “Over the last three decades, Oracle has significantly expanded its presence in Saudi Arabia to help the Kingdom emerge as a digital economy leader. Our US $1.5 billion investment in Saudi Arabia will play a vital role in expanding local cloud capacity, which will act as the foundation for local organisations to unlock the full potential of latest digital technologies like Artificial Intelligence”, said Reham AlMusa, vice president – Business Applications, and Saudi Arabia Country Leader, Oracle.

  • Saudi Wealth Fund Plans to Buy Binladin Stake Amid Building Boom

    Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is seeking to acquire a stake in the kingdom’s biggest construction conglomerate as it leans on local firms to build key mega-projects and infrastructure needed to host showcase events such as the World Expo. The Public Investment Fund is working with Morgan Stanley on a potential deal to buy into Saudi Binladin Group, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

  • A prolonged war on Gaza could lead to danger of escalation; Saudi FM warns

    Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said that his country was concerned about a regional war. However, he sounded a note of optimism, saying “I don't believe that the Iranians want a broader war,” he said in an interview with FRANCE 24 on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. “I feared that the longer the conflict in Gaza goes on, the more danger there is for miscalculation, the more danger there is for escalation,” he said in an interview with FRANCE 24 on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. The minister said that Saudi Arabia would continue talks with Iran and an additional round of negotiations between the two countries are expected soon.