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  • Saudi Arabia is evaluating BRICS membership, says economy minister

    Saudi Arabia is evaluating the benefits of joining the BRICS economic bloc, Faisal Alibrahim, the Kingdom’s minister of economy and planning, said at the World Governments Summit on Wednesday. Speaking during a session titled “The Emergence of Multiple Economic Blocs,” Alibrahim highlighted Saudi Arabia’s commitment to fostering global dialogue while navigating an increasingly fragmented economic landscape. The BRICS bloc was formed in 2009 and initially named after its original founders Brazil, Russia, India and China, while South Africa joined a year later. It now has 10 full members including Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the UAE and Indonesia. Alibrahim said economic blocs such as BRICS were not an end in themselves but tools to promote stability and integration. “Dialogue is important. It’s important for the Kingdom and for the world today.”

  • Saudi Arabia: Suspension of Multiple-Entry Visa for Certain Nationals

    Saudi Arabia has suspended the issuance of one-year multiple-entry visas for business, tourism, and family visits for nationals of Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Tunisia, and Yemen. Affected nationals are still eligible to apply for a single-entry visa, however, based on experience, processing times for single-entry visas may be longer, and in some cases, applications may be rejected, especially during the Hajj season.

  • Saudi Arabia assumes presidency of global anti-corruption network

    Saudi Arabia, through its Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority, or Nazaha, has assumed the presidency of the Global Operational Network of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities. Spain handed over the leadership of the GlobE Network during a ceremony at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday. Nasser Nasser Abaalkhail, Nazaha’s deputy for international collaboration, was installed as chairman of the committee, with Boni de Moraes Soares, Brazil’s national solicitor for international affairs, as vice chair.

  • Saudi educator known for charity and prisoner work wins $1 million Global Teacher Prize

    Al-Mansour, a teacher at the Prince Saud bin Jalawi School in al-Ahsa, is also an author and is known for work in his community, including a program that helped ensure people had access to air conditioning maintenance during Saudi Arabia’s scorching summer months. He also works with orphans and hopes to use the prize to build a school for them.

  • Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East reveals how the US secured Marc Fogel’s release

    U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said some things were still up in the air when he hopped on his jet to Russia to discuss the potential release of American school teacher Marc Fogel.  Witkoff, a longtime friend of President Donald Trump, said Wednesday on "Hannity" that someone who is an intermediary between the United States and Russian governments reached out with an opportunity to bring Fogel back. A plan was presented to the president and members of his Cabinet, including national security advisor Mike Waltz and CIA director John Ratcliffe, who deemed the information "credible" and "actionable."

  • Map wars in the Middle East

    Nowhere is this more true than in the contested regions that today include modern-day Israel and the Palestinian territories. Since the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, different governmental and nongovernmental organizations and political interest groups have engaged in what can best be described as “map wars.” Maps of the region use the naming of places, the position of borders and the inclusion or omission of certain territories to present contrasting geopolitical visions. To this day, Israel or the Palestinian territories may fall off some maps, depending on the politics of their makers.

  • These top-10 LPGA players headline the $5 million PIF Saudi Ladies International

    One of the largest purses in women's golf is up for grabs this week. The $5 million PIF Saudi Ladies International takes place Feb. 13-15 at Riyadh Golf Club in Saudi Arabia. The event, which is part of the Ladies European Tour, is headlined by No. 3 Ruoning Yin, No. 4 Jeeno Thitikul, ninth-ranked Charley Hull and defending champion Patty Tavatanakit, who ranks 25th. This year's tournament – which features a new title sponsor in PIF – features 112 players and a new team format. The teams, which are drafted ahead of the event, will compete over the first two days for a $500,000 prize. A cut is then made to the top 60 and ties to compete for the remaining $4.5 million purse.

  • Senior Arab officials warn that Trump Gaza plan would inflame Middle East

    Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit warned the World Government Summit in Dubai that if Trump pressed ahead with his plan, he would lead the Middle East into a new cycle of crises with a “damaging effect on peace and stability.” Jasem Al-Budaiwi, who heads the oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council political and economic alliance, called on Trump to remember the strong ties between the region and Washington. “But there has to be give and take, he says his opinion and Arab world should say theirs; what he is saying won’t be accepted by the Arab world.”

  • GCC exchanges sees record number of IPOs in FY24 with 53 listings across the region

    UAE IPOs have represented nearly half of total GCC IPO proceeds in 2024, as they have accounted for 47% ($6.2bn) of total proceeds this year, including two major IPOs in Q4: Food delivery business,Talabat, which raised $2.0bn with its DFM listing and GCC retailer, Lulu, raised $1.7bn with its ADX listing. Furthermore, Tadawul listings have been highlighted as accounting for 30% ($4.0bn) of all GCC proceeds. 2024 saw $9.7bn of proceeds from bond issuance and $25.9bn from sukuks with 55% of bonds and Sukuks issued by GCC governments. 26 IPOs completed in the last quarter of 2024 including 20 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

  • $600bn Saudi-US trade pledge ‘unlikely to be achieved’

    It would require an average of $150 billion in annual trade and investment. That would be equivalent to 14 percent of Saudi GDP, 40 percent of its export revenue, and more than half of its total imports, according to Tim Callen, a visiting fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington and a former IMF official. “Both Trump and the crown prince like big numbers,” Callen tells AGBI. “They grab attention and define a narrative.”   That number, however, is roughly what the US has exported in goods and services to Saudi Arabia over the past 25 years combined, according to Callen, citing data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. During Trump’s first term, in the four years to 2020, the US exported less to Saudi Arabia than during the preceding term under Democrat President Barack Obama, at $92 billion, down from $110 billion.