“Fueled by a combination of oil, Manhattan’s brightest consultants and the disruptive zeal of (crown prince) Mohammed Bin Salman, we have never seen anything like this before — a joined-up, hyper-connected sports strategy where investments are all intended to serve a much greater purpose.”

-Simon Chadwick, a professor of global sport and geopolitical economy at the SKEMA Business School. [The Athletic]

“Whether or not we would provide a means by which they can have civilian nuclear power, and/or be a guarantor of their security – I think that’s a little way off.”

-U.S. President Joe Biden, discussing U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia and the prospects for a Saudi-Israel normalization deal. Biden defended his trip to the Kingdom last year, telling Zakaria a number of successes came from the visit. [CNN]

“Some people might stare because it’s still kind of a new thing to see, but they respect my choice. I once had an Uber driver in Al Jouf who told me: ‘Look at me, with my beard and my mustache. I’m a man, but I married the woman my mother chose for me. But look at you, without an abaya: You’re a woman, and you made your choice. You’re braver than me.'”

-Fatimah Al Zimam, a 34 year-old Saudi woman who is self-employed as a tour guide in the Kingdom. [New York Times]

“There are many, many female tour guides, and even more in training. In the class that I took to become a licensed guide, there were twice as many women as men, and I think that’s pretty common.”

-Fatimah Al Zimam, a 34 year-old Saudi woman who is self-employed as a tour guide in the Kingdom. [New York Times]

“Despite an influx of venture capitalist spending on artificial intelligence companies—fueled by ChatGPT hype—global venture funding overall still fell by 18% in the second quarter of 2023, according to new data from Crunchbase.” 

Even the ChatGPT-fueled AI boom couldn’t offset a slide in venture funding [Quartz]

“It is a significant milestone for KSA as, prior to this new Law, Islamic Law (Shari’a) derived mainly from the principles of the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah (prophetic teachings of the Prophet Muhammad) has governed contracts in KSA. This codification will have a major impact on contractual relationships in KSA, both nationally and internationally. It is most definitely a seismic shift for KSA, underpinned by its Vision 2030, to attract major investment to the country at a time when KSA is also in parallel rolling out its Regional Headquarters Program.” 

The New KSA Civil Transactions Law in Saudi Arabia [Dentons]

“Saudi Arabia produces the most crude oil among OPEC members, and it accounted for the largest share of OPEC total revenue in 2022. We estimate that Saudi Arabia’s net export revenue was $311 billion, which accounted for about 35% of all OPEC oil revenue in 2022.” 

OPEC net oil export revenues – 2022 [US Energy Information Agency]

“Saudi Arabia never has to worry about foreign competition, as there is only one Mecca and only one Medina. This is a great foundation for building a successful income source. Enabling people to shop, visit museums, attend conferences while performing Umrah is a great strategy for income growth.” 

-Omar Al-Ubaydli, Bahrain-based economist, How Mecca is the lynchpin for Saudi Arabia’s hospitality and tourism drive [ABC News]

“Saudi Arabia is not the first petrostate in the Middle East to attempt a move away from hydrocarbons. For several decades, other Arab economies have pursued similar diversification efforts with little success. A notable exception is Dubai, which reinvented itself as a logistics center, tourist destination, and offshore finance hub to offset declining oil reserves. But the city-state model that has succeeded elsewhere may not be scalable, which is why policymakers in the region and beyond will closely watch the ambitious development program in Saudi Arabia, a country with nearly 37 million inhabitants.” Saudi Arabia’s Great Transformation [Zawya]