Saudi Arabia saw a surge in total foreign investment into the Kingdom despite a global economic slowdown in 2020, official data from the Saudi central bank confirmed.
A recently-released report on the Saudi labor market, using figures from Q4 2020, showed a sizable drop in unemployment among Saudis from the previous quarter, according to Jadwa Investment, citing official government data.
The London-based Financial Times reports that Saudi Arabia and Iran have held direct talks in Iraq on easing tensions, with the process being facilitated by Iraqi prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who held talks with Prince Mohammed in Riyadh last month.
A new report in the London-based Asharq Alawsat revealed an under-consideration initiative within a larger national strategy new regulations enabling non-Saudis’ ownership of real estate in the Kingdom, a move that hopes to attract foreign capital and increase investments in the sector.
Unemployment among Saudi nationals fell to 12.6% in the fourth quarter, "moving closer to pre-pandemic levels as coronavirus cases in the kingdom declined and business picked up," Bloomberg reports, citing data from the General Authority for Statistics.
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia to discuss the longstanding partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia, the first such call between the two G20 nation leaders since Biden took office in January.
On February 18, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke by phone with Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Salman to "reaffirm the strategic defense partnership between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the Pentagon said in a readout of the call.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan discussed the coronavirus pandemic and other issues during a call on Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department said. The call is the first between the two finance chiefs.
![Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice President Kamala D. Harris, National Security Advisor to the President Jake Sullivan, and National Security Advisor to the Vice President Nancy McEldowney at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on February 4, 2021. [State Department Photo by Ron Przysucha/ Public Domain]](https://www.sustg.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/50908506878_5ae33ca704_k-768x512.jpg)
