QUOTED

Quoted

“Saudi Arabia is one of the fastest growing ecosystems in the region. With the government clearly identifying innovation and entrepreneurship as one of their key focuses in line with Vision 2030, many new initiatives have been launched in 2018 and 2019. Usually, these initiatives take time to come to fruition, but we have already seen their impact on the ecosystem in the country and Mena region,”

Philip Bahoshy, CEO of UAE-based data platform Magniit, discussing his company’s “2019 Saudi Arabia Venture Capital Snapshot” report. [wamda.com]

TOP STORY

Report: Saudi Air Defenses Repel Latest Houthi Missile, Drone Strikes at Oil Facilities

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Rocket and drone strikes fired by Iran-backed Houthi rebels at Saudi targets last week – including at Aramco oil facilities – were successfully shot down by Saudi air defenses, according to the Wall Street Journal which cited Saudi officials. [more]

 

TOP STORY

Flights to Saudi Capital Double as 66-day Riyadh Season Proves a Major Boon to Kingdom’s New Tourism Drive

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Flight bookings for travel to Riyadh from October 2019 to January 2020 more than doubled compared to the same period in the previous year, Arabian Business reports, citing data from the Seera Group, a Saudi-based travel and tourism company. [more]

 

TOP STORY

Saudi Aramco Makes $5 million Investment in Blockchain-Based Oil Trading Company VAKT

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Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV) has invested $5 million into blockchain-based oil trading company VAKT, the company said in a press release. [more]

 

TOP STORY

Israelis Can Now Go to Saudi Arabia For Religious Pilgrimages, Business Visits, Israel Says; Saudi Says ‘Our Policy is Fixed’

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UPDATE: Saudi Arabia’a Foreign Minister said Israelis were not welcome to visit the kingdom, CNN reported on Monday. “Our policy is fixed. We do not have relations with the state of Israel and Israeli passport holders cannot visit the kingdom at the current time,” CNN quoted Prince Faisal bin Farhan as saying. [Reuters]

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A new rule from Israeli leaders will allow Israeli Muslims to go to Saudi Arabia for religious pilgrimages and permit business trips to the Kingdom, according to reports. [more]

 

MORE TOP STORYLINES

US expands troop, fighter jet presence at Saudi base

Via Lolita Baldor in militarytimes.com : Wednesday’s stop at Prince Sultan Air Base was the second time in a week that McKenzie has visited a military site in the Middle East where the U.S. recently set up Patriot batteries to protect against missiles fired by Iran and Iranian-backed militias in Syria and Iraq. The U.S. troop presence here has grown to roughly 2,500 since last summer, when the U.S. announced it had begun deploying forces to what once was a major U.S. military hub. The return of U.S. forces to Prince Sultan Air Base is one of the more dramatic signs of America’s decision to beef up troops in the Middle East in response to threats from Iran.

Saudi Arabia sees 8% drop in expat remittances to $33.5bn in 2019

Via Pedro Gonçalves in internationalinvestment.net : According to the figures from the Saudi Arabia Monetary Authority (SAMA), remittances by expats in the kingdom went down by 1.3% YoY to SAR32.5bn ($8.67bn) during the fourth quarter of 2019. Remittances fell by 8% YoY. The amount of money being sent by Saudis abroad back to Riyadh has also experienced a drop: those remittances shrank 3.6% YoY to SAR58.09bn ($15.49bn) in 2019.

Saudis Plan ‘Solar Dome’ Desalination Plants at Neom Mega-City

Via Vivian Nereim and Anthony Dipaola in bloomberg.com : Neom will have the world’s first “solar dome” desalination plants, which it said will produce no carbon emissions and create less brine than facilities using conventional reverse osmosis technology, according to a statement. The solar dome plants will also process drinking water more cheaply than conventional plants, at 34 cents per cubic meter, Neom said.  Unlike reverse osmosis, in which seawater passes through plastic membranes that remove the salt, Neom will pump ocean water into a dome-like structure of glass and steel. There it will be heated until it evaporates and precipitates as fresh water, Neom said.

 

MORE ON THE KINGDOM AND BEYOND

Iraq-Saudi engagement weathers tumultuous regional climate

Amid growing regional tensions, Iraq has sought to strengthen relations with Saudi Arabia and advance its nascent economic ties with the Kingdom. The bilateral relationship...[By Ali Kareem Ozheb via amwaj.media]

 

Saudi Aramco chief says world should ‘abandon fantasy’ of phasing out fossil fuels

"One of the challenges here is that while society wants to see emissions reduced, nobody wants to pay for it," Woods said. Nasser called for...[]

 

Crown prince receives governors of Saudi regions

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has received governors of the Kingdom’s regions following their 31st annual meeting, the Saudi Press Agency said early...[via arabnews.com]

 

The new kid on Saudi Arabia’s tourism scene

The announcement of Soudah Peaks was made through an integrated campaign titled ‘Above the Clouds’ that spanned various platforms, including a digital presence, a video...[By Justin Harper via ]

 

Unemployment among Saudis down to 7.7% in Q4 2023

The unemployment rate among Saudis fell to 7.7% in the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to 8.6% in the third quarter of 2023, according to...[via argaam.com]

 

Weather warnings issued across Saudi Arabia until Monday

Moderate to heavy rain, leading to torrential rain, hail and high wind, has been forecast for Makkah region, including the Holy Capital, Al-Jumum, Al-Kamil, Bahra,...[via arabnews.com]

 

Opinion: How Alat can turn Saudi Arabia into a global manufacturing hub

There are a lot of positives for the new company: significant funding; large domestic demand from greenfield mega-projects like NEOM, and city transformations in Riyadh...[By John McIlroy via arabianbusiness.com]

 

Saudi creative leaders go independent with agency launch

“Proudly from Saudi Arabia, we’re a local advertising agency, which is creatively led, driven by ideas and innovation, and globally audacious. We are fast, young,...[By Ishwari Khatu via campaignme.com]

 

Mixed Signals in the Latest Saudi Labor Market Report

At face value, the Saudi labor market report released March 28 contained good news. The report showed that the overall unemployment rate (covering...[By Tim Callen via agsiw.org]

 

Saudi Arabia’s net FDI at $3.49 billion in Q4 of 2023

Net inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Saudi Arabia reached 13.1 billion riyals ($3.49 billion) in...[By Pesha Magid via reuters.com]

 

China Virus

Fed chair sees China virus as possible risk to world economy

Speaking at a news conference, Powell said the signing of a preliminary U.S.-China trade deal earlier this month, the resolution of Brexit and continuing low...[By Christopher Rugaber via apnews.com]

 

Trump Peace Plan

Arabs prioritize key ties with U.S. against Iran in reacting to Trump peace plan

Egypt and Jordan, which already have peace deals with Israel, as well as Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) used similar language that...[By Stephen Kalin and Amina Ismail via reuters.com]

 

Trump Peace Plan

Palestinians push U.N. action over U.S. peace plan, Abbas to speak at U.N. Security Council

However, the United States is certain to veto any such resolution, diplomats said, allowing the Palestinians to take the draft text to the 193-member U.N....[By Michelle Nichols via reuters.com]

 

Trump Peace Plan

Kushner says he hopes Israel waits on sovereignty steps in West Bank

In the interview, he also voiced U.S. displeasure with the Palestinians, who rejected the plan announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, accusing them...[By Jeffrey Heller via reuters.com]

 

Anti-ISIS Campaign

UN report warns ISIS is reasserting under new leader believed to be behind Yazidi genocide

The wide-ranging report, compiled by the UN Monitoring Team that tracks the global jihadi terror threat, refers to the group by its alternate name stating...[By Paul Cruickshank via cnn.com]

 

Libya

Libya civil war: Macron accuses Erdogan of meddling in conflict

Mr Macron said the presence of Turkish warships was "a clear violation" of what President Erdogan had pledged in Berlin on 19 January during a...[via bbc.com]

 

Afghanistan

Commentary: Bean counters, not bullets, are key to Afghanistan’s future

But a near blackout of information on the effectiveness of U.S. programs in Afghanistan is threatening to increase waste, fraud, abuse and malfeasance on projects...[By Todd South via militarytimes.com]

 

Pakistan

Soldiers, Militants Killed In Shoot-Out In Northwestern Pakistan

Two Pakistani soldiers and five militants have been killed in a shoot-out in the northwestern region of North Waziristan, the military says. The army said on...[via rferl.org]

 

U.S.-Iran

Iran: House to vote on measures reining in Trump’s military action

Votes on the two measures to rein in the President come after the House voted earlier this month to approve a war powers resolution aimed...[By Clare Foran and Holmes Lybrand, CNN via cnn.com]

 
 

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