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QUOTED
“We engaged in a very open discussion, and to be honest we are artists. This festival is for artists; it’s backed by artists. It’s some sort of national dream [for us] to have this festival. We know that we come from the grassroots. This makes us really strong. When we make a case for coming to our festival, people see that we come from their world. They can relate. And to be honest, the result is beyond phenomenal.”
-Mahmoud Sabbagh, Saudi Arabian film director and president of Saudi’s Red Sea International Film Festival, the kingdom’s first full-fledged festival and market. The ambitious event will run March 12-21 in Jeddah. [variety.com]
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TOP STORY
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with King Salman and Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Riyadh today, photos from the Saudi Press Agency show. [more]
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TOP STORY
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Riyadh today for a three-day visit to meet with Saudi officials.
During his visit to Riyadh, Pompeo is scheduled to meet senior Saudi leaders and visit Saudi Aramco’s Khurais oil field, which was targeted in a missile attack in September that both the kingdom and the U.S. blame on Iran. Tehran denied involvement in that incident. [more]
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TOP STORY
Saudi Arabia’s Council of Ministers has approved regulations for the creation of a new Saudi Export and Import (Exim) Bank on Tuesday during a session presided over by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman at Al-Yamamah Palace. [more]
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TOP STORY
Princess Reema bint Bandar gave her first interview with an Arab newspaper since assuming her position in Washington, telling Asharq Alawsat that Saudi Arabia is Washington’s closest partner in the region and that the strategic Saudi-American partnership is not affected by which party the president of the White House belongs to. [more]
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TOP STORY
Saudi Arabia plans to start exporting gas and will soon make a major announcement on the topic, the country’s energy minister said. [more]
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MORE TOP STORYLINES
Via Grant Smith in bloomberg.com : The 23-nation coalition known as OPEC+ had already scheduled the conference for early March when it last assembled in December. Saudi Arabia has been pushing for weeks for an earlier meeting of the Organization of Exporting Countries and its allies with Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman this week equating the coronavirus’s impact on the market to a house on fire.
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Via William Horobin, Vivian Nereim and Jana Randow in bloombergquint.com : Saudi Arabia expects around 10,000 visitors for the final summit itself, Toonsi said. As well as G-20 events, the kingdom plans to host more than 50 conferences and forums this year that will attract “no less than 250,000 visitors,” he said.
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Via Disha Dadlani in constructionweekonline.com : The GCC region is among the highest consumers of water in the world and is seeing a continual surge in demand, aligned with population boom, water management and consumption approaches, and steady socio-economic growth, according to a Orient Planet Research report.
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MORE ON THE KINGDOM AND BEYOND
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Blinken is expected to participate at a special...[By Barak Ravid via axios.com]
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Saudi Arabia is set to receive more rainfall toward the weekend, with Riyadh and its outskirts likely to witness heavy rains from Friday to next...[By Rashid Hassan via arabnews.com]
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Saudi Arabia's low-cost airline Flynas on Tuesday confirmed plans to list its shares on the Tadawul stock exchange this year, amid the...[By Deena Kamel via thenationalnews.com]
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The top US diplomat is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia this weekend, diplomatic sources told Al Arabiya English on Tuesday.
...[By Joseph Haboush via alarabiya.net]
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The multinational company must start RHQ operations within six (6) months after its RHQ license is granted and it must establish three (3) optional activities...[By Jad A. Taha, Nanda Al Qazaz, Marc Saroufim ]
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Under the new rules, Bahraini, Omani and Saudi Arabian nationals will be eligible for multiple-entry visas, allowing them to visit the Schengen area (the EU’s...[By Jack Dutton via al-monitor.com]
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Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said that Saudi Arabia is more optimistic about the stability and security of the countries in the region. He said...[via saudigazette.com]
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AI and industry 4.0 technology presents an unprecedented opportunity for manufacturers to transform their operations. The market for industry 4.0 technology is expected to reach...[via businessinsider.com]
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The enduring popularity of mocktails is expected to persist, with a considerable number of individuals choosing to refrain from alcohol consumption due...[By Vivek Viswanathan via linkedin.com]
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The first director of the regional office will be Mr. Abdoul Aziz Wane who is a seasoned IMF leader with deep knowledge of the institution...[via eurasiareview.com]
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Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports, including re-exports, saw a surge of 4.4 percent in February compared to the same period of 2023, official data showed.
According to...[via arabnews.com]
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Under the constitution, Allawi is required within 30 days to form a government and go to parliament to obtain a vote of confidence with an absolute...[By Omar Sattar via al-monitor.com]
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Yemen’s Houthi rebels have blocked half of the United Nations’ aid delivery programs in the war-torn country — a strong-arm tactic to force the agency...[By Maggie Michael via apnews.com]
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The flight carrying Syrian officials and journalists was an important symbol that President Bashar Assad’s government, with Russian military support, has consolidated its control over...[By Albert Aji and Zeina Karam via washingtonpost.com]
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Libya's UN-backed government has withdrawn from peace talks after the capital was hit by rocket fire.
It said the port was one of the targets struck...[via bbc.com]
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A small IMF staff team will visit Beirut from February 20–23 “to listen to the authorities’ views on how they plan to face Lebanon’s economic...[By Massoud A Derhally via thenational.ae]
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But Tehran has since refused to hand over the black boxes, despite admitting it doesn’t have the necessary technology to assess them. Instead, Iranian...[By Sune Engel Rasmussen via wsj.com]
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Iran stands out in Group E as a three-time Asia Cup champions and finalist from the 2017 edition of the competition, but Qatar, Syria, and...[via fiba.basketball]
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