MUST-READS

• Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud

  Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met today with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.  Secretary Blinken underscored the need to avoid further escalation in the region.  The Secretary discussed ongoing efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire in Gaza that would secure the release of hostages held by Hamas. The Secretary discussed the recent increase in the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza and emphasized that increase must be sustained.   The Secretary and Foreign Minister continued discussions on regional and bilateral efforts to achieve lasting peace and security in the region, including through greater integration among countries in the region and a pathway to a Palestinian state with security guarantees for Israel. They also discussed efforts to resume negotiations under the Jeddah platform aimed at ending the conflict in Sudan and preventing further widespread civilian harm.

• Saudi Arabia to cut electricity production cost to maintain competitiveness: Minister

  Addressing a session entitled “Advancing Carbon Capture Innovations and Its Uses in Global Partnerships” on the sidelines of the special meeting of the World Economic Forum, the Minister said that the Kingdom is working hard to ensure that the renewable energy program is the basis at the present time, especially in light of what is happening at the world level and the previous outbreak of the COVID pandemic and the supply chain disruptions.

• Saudi Arabia building an economy of the future — Crown Prince

  The Crown Prince participated on Sunday in a Special Dialogue session at the World Economic Forum Special Meeting in Riyadh, attended by global leaders from government, business, and academia. During the session, he addressed the current geopolitical and economic challenges facing the world, and the Kingdom’s proactive efforts to expand global collaboration to foster a more resilient and integrated global economy. In his dialogue, the Crown Prince affirmed Saudi Arabia's commitment to being a stabilizing force in the region, emphasizing that cohesion and cooperation with regional and global partners are essential for achieving security and prosperity.

• Kasatkina ‘assurances’ on Saudi Arabia

  Then she took a deep breath. “We see that the Saudis, now they are very into the sport. They want to develop the sport, and as long as it gives the opportunity to the people there and the young kids and the women, too, you know, we see that sport  and specifically tennis, it’s actually so close so that they can watch it. They can play, they can participate in this, I think it’s great.”

• Saudi Arabia opens Umrah to all visa holders

  In a significant move to facilitate religious tourism, Saudi Arabia has announced that holders of any type of visa are now eligible to perform Umrah, the non-mandatory lesser pilgrimage in Islam, which can be undertaken at any time of the year. This decision reflects the Kingdom’s ongoing efforts to welcome more pilgrims to the Grand Mosque in Makkah, enhancing accessibility for international Muslims wishing to fulfill their spiritual duties.

• Saudi Arabia says all NEOM megaprojects will go ahead as planned despite reports of scaling back
  “Today the economy in the kingdom is growing faster, but we don’t want to overheat it. We don’t want to deliver these projects at the cost of importing too much against our own interest. We will continue delivering these projects in a manner that meets these priorities, delivers these projects and has the optimal healthy impact for our economy and the ... healthy non-oil growth within it.”

• Saudi Arabia ‘very, very close’ to US security pact tied to Palestinian state

  Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said on Monday that bilateral agreements with the United States were “very, very close” as Riyadh seeks to secure defense and security pacts with the kingdom in exchange for normalizing relations with Israel. "On the bilateral agreements between the kingdom and the US, we are very, very close, and most of the work has already been done. We have the broad outlines of what we think needs to happen on the Palestinian front,” the top Saudi diplomat said at a special meeting of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh. He added that the only way such agreements would work is if there is “truly a pathway to a Palestinian state.” Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2024/04/saudi-arabia-very-very-close-us-security-pact-tied-palestinian-state#ixzz8Yt4mbYTZ

• Experts Explain Saudi Arabia’s 2-Kilometre Skyscraper

  Most people would struggle to imagine the height of a 2-kilometre skyscraper, so instead picture a map of Manhattan. The huge strip of green in the middle is Central Park, which measures 4-kilometres in length. Split the park in half, stand it vertically and there, soaring above the New York skyline, would be a 2-kilometre skyscraper.

  • AJ - Foster + Partners behind plans for 2km-tall Saudi tower
• BlackRock Gathers Investors for Saudi Summit

  The world’s largest asset management company is hosting the event alongside the Saudi Ministry of Finance, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The goal: showcasing investment opportunities and giving an overview of progress on the country’s trillion-dollar Vision 2030 program.

• The Siren Call of an Israeli Invasion of Lebanon

  lthough much of the world is breathing a sigh of relief that Iran and Israel appear unwilling to push their exchange of missile and drone attacks further, potentially plunging the Middle East into a wider war, the danger of another escalation has not passed. Rather, the concern has shifted to a possible Israeli offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel has threatened this, and U.S. officials and others in the region fear that such a plan has been in the works for months.

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