“Senior US officials have conveyed to Saudi Arabia that the US is prepared to move forward with a “reset” of the relationship, and effectively move on from the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in order to repair ties with the key Middle East ally.”
-CNN, reporting comments from unnamed Senior U.S. Officials. The report adds that the planning for a reset is a dramatic about-face for President Joe Biden. [CNN]
According to Knight Frank in 2021 Saudi Arabia, “recorded a 358 percent jump in the number of international business licenses… with the rise in demand, occupancy levels across Riyadh’s prime office buildings have climbed to 96 percent, the highest in at least five years.”
[Zawya]
“Both sides wanted to see relations stabilized…The president has rediscovered the importance of stable oil and gas prices—and specifically the critical role played by Saudi Arabia.”
-Bob McNally, president of Washington-based consultant Rapidan Energy Group and a former White House official. [Bloomberg]
“With an estimated 23.5 million gamers across the country, almost every home in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has someone with a deep passion for gaming. This passion for gaming has long been a source of pride for Saudis.”
-Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, chairman of the Saudi Esports Federation, discussing the The Gamers8 tournament to be held in Riyadh over eight weeks beginning July 14 with a total prize pool of $15 million. [Al-Arabiya]
“I am ready to come back to play the game I love but after 32 years this new path is a fresh start, one that is exciting for me at this stage of my career and is clearly transformative, not just for myself, but for the game and my peers. I also love the progressive format and think it will be exciting for fans.”
–Phil Mickelson, on his decision to leave the PGA Tour and join the Saudi Public Investment Fund-backed LIV Golf Tour. [Instagram]
“The in-depth analysis examined coverage across 30 markets and over 1,800 major international titles from traditional and digital media to identify prominent conversations and sentiments on Saudi Arabia. It revealed that one-third of articles mentioned Vision 2030 in the first quarter of 2022 compared to 19 percent in 2020.”
“KSA Reputation: How Vision 2030 is Rebranding the Nation,” released last month by global media intelligence provider CARMA, showed that the Kingdom’s transformative vision had put it in a more positive light than 15 months ago. [Al-Arabiya]
“Russia was shocked at how united the West was on sanctions.”
-Gazprom official. The End of Energy Free Trade [Wall Street Journal]
“In 1964, King Faisal decided to change the traditional timing to the universal timing, which we are using nowadays. Saudi Radio was the first government body to put the decision into practice as its programs started to be announced according to the universal timing…Until that time, clocks were set to 12 midnight at sunset.”
“Findings from a 10-day dig, carried out by the TRSDC and the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS), have revealed fossilized remains of sea-cows, crocodiles and turtles, as well as bones of mosasaurs, a family of giant marine lizards that existed between 80 and 66 million years ago and reached up to 18 meters in length and 14 tons in weight.”
“The growth of the market . . . is staggering. But when I say that to mostly international investors when we start discussing the mortgage market, they are sometimes frightened by the numbers, because it is unheard of having a market that over four years grows [this fast]. But people have to take a step back and to realise that we are starting from a very low point.”
–Fabrice Susini, chief executive of the government-owned Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company. [Financial Times]
