Recent stories from sustg

  • ‘Saudi Arabia is among our closest counterterrorism partners’ CIA Chief Brennan Says
     

    Director of the CIA John Brennan said that Saudi Arabia is “among our closest counterterrorism partners” at an event at the Brookings Institution yesterday. Brennan pointed to the enemies that both the United States and Saudi Arabia share, including the Islamic State and al-Qaeda terrorists. “The Saudi government and leadership today has inherited a history whereby there […]

     
  • G.E., Aramco Ventures Pump $52m into Boston-Area 3D Printing Startup
     

    General Electric Ventures and Saudi Aramco Ventures have led an investment of $52m in total funding into a Boston-based 3D printing device company, Desktop Metal. Desktop Metal aims to bring “an everyday-use metal 3D printing solution to the workspace of every engineering team,” according to CEO Ric Fulop. Boston Business Journal reports that the investment from […]

     
  • Ramadan Must-Watch TV: ‘Selfie 2’
     

    Ramadan in Saudi Arabia is more than a month of fasting and personal reflection.  It is a communal up-ending of one’s normal schedule with work, school and every facet of daily life rearranged in order to fulfill one of the five main pillars of Islam while also coming through this trial healthy and whole. Saudi […]

     
  • Deputy Crown Prince, Delegation Meet with Ban Ki Moon at the United Nations
     

    Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and an eight-member delegation arrived at the U.N. yesterday for meetings with the Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon. The Prince and his delegation reportedly discussed Mr. Ban’s decision to cite the Saudi-led military coalition in the Yemen conflict for violating the rights of children. According to the New York Times, Prince Mohammed […]

     
  • Dispute Between U.N.’s Ban Ki Moon, Saudi Arabia Spills into the Public
     

    UN chief Ban Ki-moon said in public comments on Thursday that Saudi Arabia had exerted “unacceptable” pressure on the world body after a U.N. report blacklisted a Saudi-led military coalition for killing children in Yemen, according to reports.  Moon said financing for humanitarian operations in the Palestinian territories, South Sudan and Syria would be compromised if […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia’s National Transformation Program Released
     

    Saudi Arabia has unveiled its long-awaited National Transformation Program (NTP),  a 112-page document outlining Saudi Arabia’s strategic objectives in achieving its previously-announced “Vision 2030” initiative as well as identifying the challenges faced by government bodies in the economic and development sectors. “The National Transformation Program is one of the executive programs supporting Vision 2030. The program […]

     
  • 2015 Aramco Annual Review Highlights Record Year of Production
     

    Saudi Aramco’s recently released Annual Review 2015 confirms that the state-owned company produced at record levels last year – averaging 10.2 million barrels per day. The report, which features highlights of the company’s 2015 performance, also said total refining capacity stood at 3.1 million barrels per day, “reflecting successful rapid expansion downstream, optimizing the overall […]

     
  • Internet Penetration in Saudi Arabia at 93%, Daily TV Viewership Down 16%
     

    Internet penetration among Saudi nationals is “around 93 percent” but traditional TV viewership is down 16 percent, an indication of the continued rise of online media viewership and the rise of apps in Saudi Arabia, according to a report in the Saudi Gazette. “The increase in data use is also driven by the use of […]

     
  • Report: $7.9 Billion Bid for KAFD by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund
     

    Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is reported to be prepared to make an offer for the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD), situated between downtown Riyadh and the city’s King Khalid International Airport. The offer, reported by Bloomberg citing unnamed sources, is 30 billion riyals ($7.9 billion) — the amount already spent on KAFD by the Saudi Public […]

     
  • Responding to Bloomberg Freedom of Information Act Request, U.S. Treasury Reveals How Much U.S. Debt is Held by Saudi Arabia
     

    The U.S. Treasury Department revealed for the first time ever how much debt Saudi Arabia is holding, breaking an unusual and longstanding policy of secrecy regarding how much the Kingdom holds. Saudi Arabia held $116.8 billion in U.S. debt at the end of March. That is down 6% from its highest level in January 2016. Bloomberg first reported the […]

     

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