“What’s unique about these projects is they’ve achieved extremely low cost of electricity that is considered the lowest we’ve seen globally Achieving extremely low tariffs on renewables is definitely helping reduce the cost of power generation in Saudi Arabia.” Mazin Albahkali, chief executive officer of SPPC, Believe it or not: Even in Saudi Arabia, renewable power is cheaper than fossil fuels [Economic Times]
“We don’t pause. We don’t do neutral” Savvy Games CEO Brian Ward in a joint interview with Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, chair of the Saudi eSports Federation. Saudi Arabia spending big for a place on the gaming map [Al-Monitor]
“It is not done. Nobody here is going to say this is, you know, just right around the corner… We now have a near final set of arrangements, which will be the bilateral elements of this deal.” A Biden administration official on condition of anonymity, US-Saudi defense deal with civil nuclear component nears completion, official says [Reuters]
“The Saudis have been very clear: That would require calm in Gaza, and it will require a credible pathway to a Palestinian state. And it may well be, as you said, that in this moment, Israel is not able or willing to proceed down that pathway.” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Blinken: Israel ‘may not be willing’ to accept Palestinian statehood for Saudi normalization [The National]
“The percentage of people practicing sports in the country has increased from 13 percent in 2015 to more than 48 percent in 2022.” Abdulaziz al-Baqous, director of corporate communications and international relations at the Saudi Olympic Committee, Saudi Arabia says would rather develop homegrown talent than recruit foreign athletes [Al-Arabiya]
“It’s true that this country is very conservative but we tried to show elegant swimsuits which represent the Arab world.” Moroccan designer Yasmina Qanzal, Saudi Arabia stages ‘historic’ first swimwear fashion show [MSN]
“The comprehensive partnership framework encapsulated in the roadmap extends to various domains such as clean energy production, Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) technologies, and clean cooking solutions, among others. It also opens avenues for future cooperation in additional areas, aligning with each country’s policies, laws, and international obligations.” Saudi Arabia, US forge new pathways in energy cooperation with roadmap [Saudi Gazette]
“KSA has also made several high-profile investments through its sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (“PIF”). In 2023, PIF and Saudi Electricity Company established a 75%/25% owned joint venture, the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Company (“EVIQ”). EVIQ intends to install 5,000+ fast chargers by 2030 in over 1,000 locations across KSA. It also aims to promote private sector participation in the development of this network and support the localisation of research, development, and manufacturing of technologically advanced materials.” The Future of EV Charging: Spotlight on the UAE and Saudi Arabia, [Watson, Farley & Williams]
“Jadaan has been very smart in the way he has handled the hiccups facing the Saudi gigaprojects. He doesn’t deny any problems in maintaining funding lines. He turns it around as a positive that allows for reassessing and streamlining them. It’s the best answer. In any case, no one ever took seriously the idea that they would all be ready by 2030.” ,” Andrew Hammond, Middle East historian at Oxford University, Dubai Advisory Setting Up Shop in Saudi Arabia Upbeat on FDI [Bloomberg]
“As long as there’s no diplomatic process to develop a governing body in the Strip that isn’t Hamas, we’ll have to launch campaigns again and again in other places to dismantle Hamas’s infrastructure. It will be a Sisyphean task.” Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Herzl Hevi, For Netanyahual, Gaza’s ‘day after’ must wait [Washington Post]
