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  • Trump wants an Israel-Saudi normalisation deal. Will he get one?

    Now that US President Donald Trump’s second term has begun, officials in his administration optimistically see the recently implemented Gaza ceasefire as paving the way for a normalisation deal between Israel and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The new US national security advisor Mike Waltz said he has high hopes for the “next phase of the Abraham Accords”, with Israeli-Saudi normalisation a “huge priority” for Trump’s administration. A diplomatic accord between Tel Aviv and Riyadh would be a “tremendous historic region-changing agreement,” he added. One of the main foreign policy legacies of the first Trump administration was the Abraham Accords, which brought four Arab states - the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco - into normalisation deals with Israel.

  • Cristiano Ronaldo nets 2 and leads Saudi league in scoring

    Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice for Al-Nassr in a 3-1 victory over Al-Khaleej on Tuesday to move atop the Saudi Pro League goalscoring standings above Aleksandar Mitrovic and Karim Benzema. The five-time Ballon D’Or winner fired Al-Nassr into the lead after 65 minutes, finding the net with a low shot from the edge of the area for his 100th goal contribution since joining the Riyadh club in December 2022.

  • Saudi Arabia FM Prince Faisal says he plans to visit Lebanon’s Beirut this week

    Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said Tuesday that he plans to visit Beirut this week. “We will need to see a commitment to a Lebanon that is looking to the future, not to the past, in order for us to raise our engagement,” he said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.

  • Saudi PIF Sells Portfolio Firm for $907 Million Amid Cash Quest

    Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is selling a technology services firm for 3.4 billion riyals ($907 million), boosting its coffers as it prepares to ramp up local spending. The Public Investment Fund will sell Thiqah Business Services Co. to Elm Co., according to a statement on Wednesday. The deal will consolidate two companies working on providing digital services in the kingdom. Elm said it would fund the transaction through its own resources and facilities. PIF, as the Saudi fund is known, owns a 67% stake in Elm after it sold shares in the company to the public in 2022. Elm’s stock has risen over 800% since then.

  • Establishment of First Saudi-Palestinian Business Council

    Chairman of the Federation of Saudi Chambers Hassan Moejeb Alhwaizy and Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Saudi Arabia Mazen Mohammed Rateb Ghanem agreed today to establish the first Saudi-Palestinian Business Council. This initiative aims to increase trade and investment between the two countries. Alhwaizy stated that the private sector in the Kingdom aligns with the directives of the wise leadership in supporting the Palestinian people. He emphasized the importance of empowering Palestinian business owners to invest in Saudi Arabia and market Palestinian products and industries in Saudi markets. Alhwaizy also reaffirmed the Federation's support for organizing exhibitions and conferences to promote Palestinian products, with active participation from the Saudi Chambers of Commerce.

  • Saudi Arabia introduces national policy to eliminate forced labor

    Saudi Arabia has unveiled a National Policy for the Elimination of Forced Labor, reinforcing its commitment to creating a safe and fair working environment for all. This landmark initiative, announced by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, positions Saudi Arabia as the first Arab country to implement a comprehensive policy aimed at eradicating forced labor. Saudi Arabia was the first Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nation to ratify the International Labour Organization's (ILO) 2014 Protocol to the Forced Labor Convention. The introduction of the new policy underscores the Kingdom’s alignment with international standards and its determination to combat forced labor on both a national and global scale.

  • Saudi Arabia still assessing BRICS membership, minister says

    Saudi Arabia’s membership in the BRICS bloc of emerging economies is still being assessed more than a year after the kingdom was invited to join the alliance, according to the country’s minister of economy and planning. “The kingdom is always focusing on fostering more global dialogue,” Faisal Al-Ibrahim said in an interview with Bloomberg Television at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “We have been invited to the BRICS, similar to how we have been invited to many other multilateral platforms in the past historically,” he said. “We assess many different aspects of it before a decision is made, and right now, we are in the middle of that.” Saudi Arabia’s hesitation to join BRICS group — made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa initially — is in contrast to most other countries that were invited to join the bloc in 2023. Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates all agreed to inclusion as the alliance looks to expand its global influence.

  • Saudi Arabia – Unlocking the future through industrial incentives?

    The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) continues to develop and promote initiatives to modernize and accelerate its economy and attract international investment. Align with this goal, on 11 January 2025, government entities in the KSA announced funding of SAR10 billion (£2.19 billion) for the Standard Incentives Programme to activate and support the industrial sector. The Standard Incentives Programme offers funding of up to 35% of the initial project investment (capped at SAR50 million for each qualifying project). The support is divided evenly across the project lifecycle, granting 50% during the construction phase and 50% during the production phase. This programme is initially offered to investments in transformative chemical industries, automotive manufacturing and parts, and machinery and equipment. Further successive phases of funding will be announced throughout 2025. The focus of this programme is to develop the manufacturing of products not currently produced in the KSA and develop national resources and talent.

  • Saudi Arabia economy minister says Riyadh ready to work with Trump amid US-China tensions

    Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim has affirmed the Kingdom’s readiness to engage constructively with the second Trump administration, emphasizing a stable long-term strategy amidst US-China tensions. Alibrahim outlined Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic efforts to maintain regional stability and accelerate economic diversification during an interview with Al Arabiya’s Hadley Gamble on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF). “We look forward to working with the second Trump administration, as we have worked with previous administrations, to address and counter some of the global challenges we’re facing, including the tepid economic growth that we’re witnessing as a global community today,” he said, reflecting on the two parties’ alliance that has spanned eight decades.

  • IMF cuts Saudi growth forecast on lower oil production

    The International Monetary Fund has cut its projection for Saudi Arabia’s economic growth this year following the extension of Opec+ production cuts. The IMF now expects Saudi GDP to increase by 3.3 percent in 2025, down from the 4.6 percent it forecast last October. The 2024 growth estimate has been revised to 1.4 percent in the IMF World Economic Outlook Update. Growth in 2026 is now projected at 4.1 percent, down 0.3 points on the previous forecast.