“A revered destination for millions of Muslims from around the world, the Prophet’s Mosque, Islam’s second holiest site, is the focus of utmost care from Saudi authorities. A state agency in charge of the place in the Saudi holy city of Medina takes interest in ensuring comfort for worshippers. Part of this attention is paid to more than 25,000 carpets stretched across the mosque and its courtyards. The carpets are daily sterilised and scented with the finest perfumes. An electronic chip is attached to each carpet to track its place and learn about the history of its cleaning, sterilisation and scenting, according to the Saudi news agency SPA.” Saudi Arabia: 25,000 chip-fitted carpets spread across Prophet’s Mosque [Gulf News]
“Really, the big growth markets for us are China, India and southeast Asia. As we speak today we have teams in China negotiating.” Mohammed Al Qahtani, President, Downstream, Saudi Aramco, Saudi Aramco Looks to Secure More Downstream Oil Deals in Asia [Oilprice.com]
“The Edelman 2024 trust barometer reported that 86% of Saudis trusted their government, compared to 83% a year earlier. The Kingdom also took the fourth place globally on the index of trust in the business sector and came seventh on the index of trust in media. The survey covered nearly 32,000 respondents from 28 countries.” Saudi Arabia ranks 1st on 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer [Argaam]
“Prior to ISIS’s terrorist attack on January 3, 2024, in Kerman, Iran, the U.S. government provided Iran with a private warning that there was a terrorist threat within Iranian borders,” a U.S. official said, using an acronym for Islamic State. “The U.S. government followed a longstanding ‘duty to warn’ policy that has been implemented across administrations to warn governments against potential lethal threats. We provide these warnings in part because we do not want to see innocent lives lost in terror attacks.”
U.S. Secretly Alerted Iran Ahead of Islamic State Terrorist Attack [Wall Street Journal]
“Today, each project serves a certain purpose. AlUla is emerging as a heritage and culture city. You have Qiddiyah, which is under development as an entertainment city. So as you will have multiple destinations within the different cities and this is why Saudi today is not only Makkah or Madinah, but the different cities that are being under development.”
Mohamad Itani, a partner at Knight Frank, Saudi Arabia emerging as a ‘continent in itself’ with array of tourist destinations, forum hears [Arab News]
“The plan aims to produce 1.2 million tons of green hydrogen and to supply 10% of the global demand for hydrogen by 2030. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (SAPIF) has been investing in several energy projects globally, including a joint venture with Power and Air Products to develop a $5 billion green hydrogen-based ammonia production facility in NEOM, Saudi Arabia. The facility will have a capacity of 1.2 GW and will produce 650 tons of green hydrogen per day.”
Saudi Arabia in prime position for green hydrogen in global energy landscape [PV Magazine]
“We are very worried…we are in a very difficult and dangerous time in the region, and that’s why we are calling for de-escalation…We of course, believe very much in the freedom of navigation. And that’s something that needs to be protected. But we also need to protect the security and stability of the region. So we are very focused on de-escalating the situation as much as possible.”
-HRH Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, to Fareed Zakaria in an interview on CNN. [Reuters]
“The government needs to develop a comprehensive regulatory framework for green hydrogen production and distribution and invest in the necessary infrastructure to support the industry,” the researchers said, adding that a long-term commitment would be needed to reach this goal. “The infrastructural limitations of green hydrogen production in Saudi Arabia related to transportation, storage, and distribution pose significant challenges that must be addressed for the industry to develop.” Saudi Arabia in prime position for green hydrogen in global energy landscape [PV Magazine]
“The (World Economic) Forum has recognised that the kingdom is becoming a stronger, more impactful leader on the global stage… and we found it as an opportune time to bring this global Tier 1 event to the kingdom, and start this new chapter together. This will contribute to Riyadh becoming a more global platform.”
Faisal Alibrahim, Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning, Saudi Arabia to host World Economic Forum meeting in April [Reuters]
“We see ourselves as an energy exporter to the world…We want to be able to sell you the nuclear energy that you can then plug in and get energy out of it. We want to sell you oil and we want to sell you gas, we want to sell you green energy, renewable energy, we want to sell you the whole litany of energy products.”
Adel Al-Jubeir, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and climate envoy, Saudi Arabia very concerned about climate change and eager to set global standards, says envoy [Arab News]
