Recent stories from sustg

  • KSRelief Spearheads Saudi aid to Gaza and the Globe
     

    King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief) provides humanitarian aid and relief to people outside of Saudi Arabia’s borders. KSRelief was established by King Salman bin Abdulaziz in 2015 and works in 46 countries, with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa region.

     
  • Biden’s Oil Boom
     

    Reuters reports that during the Biden administration not only has oil production hit record highs but energy company profits, dividends, drilling permits, jobs and energy exports are all up.

     
  • PIF Increases Investment in Lucid
     

    Ayar Third Investment Company, a PIF affiliate, will buy $1 billion in convertible preferred stock and will be able to convert the preferred stock into about 280 million shares, according to a regulatory filing with the U.S. securities regulator.

     
  • Saudi Arabia to join Miss Universe for the first time
     

    27-year-old model, influencer, and beauty pageant veteran Rumy AlQahtani announced on Instagram that she will be representing Saudi Arabia in 72nd Miss Universe contest in Mexico later this year.

     
  • Hyundai and Red Sea Global Agree to Test EVs and Air Mobility Systems
     

    Hyundai Motor Group said on Monday it has agreed with Saudi Arabia’s state-sponsored developer Red Sea Global (RSG) to cooperate in the Middle Eastern country’s push for electrification and other eco-friendly future mobility projects.

     
  • Saudi Film Commission Reports Impressive 2023 Growth Statistics
     

    Published in Screen Daily, the Saudi Film Commission reported on topline 2023 metrics for Saudi Arabia’s growing film industry. With more than 50% of the Saudi population under 25, there is a significant appetite for cinema, particularly for US action films, Egyptian comedies, and Saudi narratives.

     
  • FIFA Series 2024 Friendly Matches Kick Off in Jeddah
     

    The FIFA Series: Saudi Arabia A will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from March 21–26, 2024. The event will feature two groups, including Cambodia, Equatorial Guinea, Guyana, and Cape Verde. The series is designed to help national teams that do not often play teams from other confederations, and FIFA will cover the teams’ travel costs. There will be […]

     
  • NYT Reports on Proposed $40B Saudi AI Investment
     

    The New York Times’ Maureen Farrell and Rob Copeland report that Saudi Arabia is working with Wall Street banks to establish a $40 billion AI-focused investment fund.

     
  • U. S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Visit Middle East this week Seeking Ceasefire Agreement
     

    U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, “The Secretary will discuss efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire agreement that secures the release of all remaining hostages, intensified international efforts to increase humanitarian assistance to Gaza, and coordination on post-conflict planning for Gaza, including ensuring Hamas can no longer govern or repeat the attacks of October 7.”

     
  • OPEC and IEA Agree on Something
     

    The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA), two of the leading global energy forecasters, have long disagreed on demand growth.  They agree on this however.

     

MUST-READS

  • Saudi Arabia announces cultural cooperation award with China

    The Saudi Ministry of Culture announced on Thursday the launch of the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Award for Cultural Cooperation between Saudi Arabia and China, at the King Abdulaziz Public Library branch in Beijing, Saudi Press Agency reported. This award aims to acknowledge the efforts of researchers, artists and translators from both countries, offering grants to support their continuing work. It is designed to spur enhanced collaboration and shared creative efforts.

  • Saudi Green Initiative: Targets and progress so far

    The SGI was launched by MBS on March 27, 2021, and has since played an important role in accelerating environment protection efforts, transitioning the energy sector, and implementing sustainability programs in various fields.

  • Private equity investing in Saudi Arabia reached $4 billion in 2023

    Private equity investing is blasting off in Saudi Arabia. After crossing the $1 billion threshold in 2022 and growing nearly 6X in the prior year, the industry quadrupled to $4 billion in 2023 across 30 deals, according to new data from Magnitt. The kingdom is at a “pivotal intersection,” Huda Al Lawati, Founder & CEO of Gulf-based investment manager Aliph Capital, said in Magnitt’s report.

  • Saudi Arabia embraces challenge of 2034 World Cup prep

    To host the 48-team World Cup, the country “needs 14 all-seater stadiums capable of holding at least 40,000 people.” Saudi Arabia currently has two: Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City Stadium and Riyadh’s “venerable” King Fahd International Stadium, which is “undergoing a major refit.” Among its 30-plus stadiums, “many are old, small and have fields surrounded by running tracks.”

  • Project to save Historic Jeddah buildings completed thanks to SR50m from Saudi crown prince

    The Historic Jeddah district contains more than 600 buildings, including 36 mosques, as well as five marketplace sites, ancient squares, and other locations of historical importance, such as the Waterfront, that were vital stopping-off points for Muslim pilgrims in days gone by. Many are being restored and renovated to help preserve and illustrate the history of the Hajj since the dawn of Islam.

  • Saudi Arabia’s unemployment rate declines to 4.4 percent in Q4 2023

    Saudi Arabia’s unemployment rate declined 0.7 percent to 4.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the year-ago period. In its latest report, the General Authority for Statistics revealed that the unemployment rate among Saudi nationals saw a 0.9 percent quarterly decrease and a 0.3 percent annual decrease to 7.7 percent in Q4 of 2023. The participation of Saudi nationals in the labor force saw a 0.3 percent decline to 51.3 percent. Meanwhile, the employment-to-population ratio of Saudis saw a 0.2 percent increase to 47.4 percent.

  • UAE, Saudi Arabia ranked as leading global entrepreneurial ecosystems

    The UAE and Saudi Arabia have been ranked first and third respectively in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report for 2023-2024. The report, which assesses the entrepreneurial ecosystems of countries worldwide, is highly regarded by international bodies such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and various UN organizations, Saudi Arabia showed significant progress in its entrepreneurial environment, with its National Entrepreneurship Context Index score increasing from 5.0 in 2019 to 6.3 in both 2022 and 2023.

  • Saudi Arabia to chair UN forum on women’s rights and gender equality

    A decision by the United Nations to appoint Saudi Arabia as the chair of a gender equality forum has been criticized by women’s rights advocates.

    The UN’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) unanimously appointed Saudi Arabia to chair its 69th session in 2025, according to the Saudi Arabia Mission to the UN. Saudi ambassador to the UN, Abdulaziz Alwasil, was elected as chair Wednesday.

  • Saudi Arabia to host conference on role of universities in promoting peaceful coexistence

    Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh will host an international conference next month titled “The Role of Universities in Promoting the Values of National Belonging and Peaceful Coexistence.” It will take place on April 28 and 29 under the patronage of King Salman. Ahmed bin Salem Al-Ameri, the president of the university, thanked the king for his support and said the aim of the event is to “highlight the experiences of universities in promoting these lofty values, and to demonstrate the importance of correct doctrine and the approach of moderation,” the Saudi Press agency reported on Wednesday.

  • Saudi Arabia sends 17th relief plane to Ukraine

    The plane was sent by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center to Rzeszow Airport in Poland, near the Ukrainian border, in preparation for a land route to Ukraine. The plane carried 60 tons of relief items, including generators and electrical appliances. A Saudi delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, visited the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in February on the first visit of its kind by a Saudi and Arab official to Ukraine since Russia started its “special military operation” against its neighbor.