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QUOTED
“Rather like our weather, it’s a dry country. Everyone has their own culture, and we’re happy to accommodate people within the boundaries of our culture, but we don’t want to change our culture for someone else, OK? And I mean, really, you can’t live without a drink?” Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, Saudi Arabian ambassador to the UK, Saudi ambassador tells World Cup fans: ‘You can have fun without alcohol’ [The Guardian]
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TOP STORY
Saudi Arabia’s Premium Residency Program which is intended to increase the number of highly skilled individuals, entrepreneurs, and investors residing long-term in Saudi Arabia got a big boost at Leap ’25. [more]
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MORE TOP STORYLINES
Via Hadeel Al Sayegh, Pesha Magid and Maha El Dahan in reuters.com: U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend a meeting of global financiers and tech executives hosted by Saudi Arabias sovereign wealth fund in Miami later in February, according to several people with knowledge of the event. Trumps participation would come after Saudi Arabia condemned his call to displace Palestinians from Gaza as part of a U.S.-led rebuilding plan. It also follows Trumps call in January for Riyadh to invest $1 trillion in the U.S. – a figure about matching the size of the Saudi PIF sovereign funds assets. According to the people, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, Trump is scheduled to deliver an in-person address at the gathering. A Riyadh-based representative for the FII Priority summit, opens new tab, scheduled for February 19 to 21, declined to comment. Representatives for the U.S. embassy in Riyadh didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Via Barak Ravid in axios.com: Trump made the comment a few hours after speaking with Putin in their first publicly disclosed call since Trump took office. Trump said they had agreed on starting negotiations immediately to end the war in Ukraine, which is approaching its third anniversary. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump floated the idea of meeting Putin in Saudi Arabia, along with the Saudi crown prince. He did not lay out a timeline and said he would deal with Putin on the phone in the meantime. In an interview with the Economist published on Wednesday, Zelensky had said hed had little contact with Trumps team and raised concerns about any decision-making on Ukraine taking place without Kyivs involvement.
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Via Julianne Geiger in oilprice.com: While some U.S. refiners are scaling back, Saudi Arabia’s Motiva Enterprises just made a power move. The Saudi Aramco-owned refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, has quietly expanded its capacity, now processing a record 654,000 barrels per day—officially making it the largest refinery in the United States above Exxon’s Beaumont and Marathon’s Galveston Bay. Motiva pulled this off without a flashy billion-dollar project—just good old-fashioned optimization, removing bottlenecks in the system to squeeze out more production. And they did it at a time when smaller, less efficient refineries are dropping like flies. LyondellBasell’s Houston plant is closing. Phillips 66’s Los Angeles refinery is shutting down.
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MORE ON THE KINGDOM AND BEYOND
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Saudi media have launched an unprecedented wave of criticism against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump following their recent remarks on plans...[via newarab.com]
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The Saudi Council of Ministers reiterated its firm rejection of extremist Israeli statements regarding the displacement of the Palestinian people. Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed...[via com.sa]
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Saudi Arabia would welcome a riviera in Gaza, but not by removing the Palestinian people, a senior Saudi diplomat said on Wednesday. The...[via alarabiya.net]
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Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih said the kingdom's economy has passed a major milestone in its diversification process, with non-oil activities now accounting for 52%...[via argaam.com]
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Saudi Arabia has introduced significant changes for the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage, aiming to improve safety and streamline the experience for all attendees. One...[via saudimoments.com]
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US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he did not think it was practical for Ukraine to join NATO and that it was unlikely Ukraine...[via alarabiya.net]
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Munich on February 13 to participate in the Munich Security Conference, where he will discuss a...[via state.gov]
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The Saudi Arabian ambassador to the UK has told football fans “plenty of fun can be had without alcohol” as he warned them not to...[By Paul MacInnes via theguardian.com]
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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russia's sovereign wealth fund chief Kirill Dmitriev were involved in...[via reuters.com]
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No alcohol will be allowed at the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia, says the country's ambassador to the United Kingdom. In an interview...[via bbc.com]
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Developing national Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) by 2050, tops the list of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious R&D goals, according to a presentation made at LEAP25 by Acting Head...[By Carrington Malin via middleeastainews.com]
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Saudi Arabia is making significant investments in exploration to discover new mineral deposits. Al-Mudaifer noted the increase in exploration companies operating in the country: "The...[via kitco.com]
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Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund has been named as a strategic partner to a group of investors looking to create a new basketball league that...[via espn.com]
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Saudi Arabia will host Formula E for a seventh time this week, but it'll be the first E-Prix weekend to be held anywhere other than...[By Sam Smith via the-race.com]
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Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is the new title partner of the renamed PIF Saudi Ladies International, a partnership which also sees the...[via golfbusinessnews.com]
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Texas-based neurotech startup Paradromics on Wednesday announced a strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Neom and said it will establish a Brain-Computer Interface Center of Excellence in...[By Ashley Capoot via cnbc.com]
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From Italy’s new La Dolce Vita Orient Express to the United Kingdom’s new Britannic Explorer, luxury rail travel is having a global renaissance, and the...[By Nicole Trilivas via forbes.com]
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Syria's new rulers are combing through the billion-dollar corporate empires of ousted president Bashar al-Assad's allies, and...[By Timour Azhari via reuters.com]
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