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  • The Next U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia?
     

    President Trump is rumored to be nearing a selection for U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, according to reports. A New York Times reporter tweeted today that Dave Urban, who ran President Trump’s surprise successful campaign in Pennsylvania in 2016, is said to be the President’s pick for the U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. The top American newspaper’s […]

     
  • New York Reportedly Pulls Ahead of London in Aramco Listing Race for ‘Political Considerations’; Final Decision Rests with Crown Prince Mohammed
     

    Despite a report in July that Saudi Aramco’s advisers have reportedly recommended London for the historic listing of the oil company, a new report now says Saudi Arabia favors New York in part because of the strength of the U.S.-Saudi relationship. Reuters originally reported that US disclosure rules were a concern for Saudi authorities. London’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has […]

     
  • New Saudi Ambassador Prince Khaled bin Salman Gives Interview to Washington Post
     

    Saudi Arabia’s new ambassador to Washington Prince Khaled bin Salman, son of the current king and the brother of the new crown prince, gave an interview to the Washington Post‘s Lally Weymouth last week which appeared in the newspaper today. The interview is his first as ambassador, having presented his credentials to President Trump on […]

     
  • Report: Saudi Oil Minister Khalid Al-Falih Met With Top Commodity Hedge Funds
     

    Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-Falih met in private with some of the world’s top commodity hedge funds in July, a break from tradition in order to gather investor views on the state of the market, Bloomberg reports. In the past Saudi Arabian officials have criticized the role of speculators and hedge funds in […]

     
  • Blockade of Qatar Continues as Response to Demands Viewed as ‘Negative’
     

    The foreign ministers of four Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia said they regretted Qatar’s “negative” response to their list of demands and said the blockade of the country would continue. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE severed ties with Qatar last month and Saudi Arabia has closed its airspace and land border with […]

     
  • Response to Qatar Demands Given Two-Day Deadline Extension
     

    Four Arab states lead by Saudi Arabia agreed to extend until late on Tuesday a deadline for Doha to comply with a list of demands, as U.S. President Donald Trump voiced concern to both sides about the dispute, according to Reuters and other reports. Qatar’s foreign minister said via Twitter that the demands “were meant […]

     
  • VICE Video: ‘Building Saudi Arabia’s First Movie Theatre’
     

    VICE News has posted a video on the burgeoning entertainment industry in Saudi Arabia and the challenges of creating original content in the Kingdom. “There is strong content being created by Saudis in the underground filmmaking scene. The challenges Saudi artists face, instead of lessening the quality of their work, actually add layers, nuance and […]

     
  • Bechtel Appoints Abdulrahman Al-Ghabban as New Country Manager in Saudi Arabia
     

    Bechtel, a global leader in engineering, procurement, and construction, today announced the appointment of Abdulrahman Al-Ghabban as country manager in Saudi Arabia.  Al-Ghabban will lead Bechtel’s business and operations in the Kingdom. Al-Ghabban said “I am honored to be the first Saudi national to hold the position as country manager for one of the most […]

     
  • Oxford Business Group Launches OBG Business Barometer: Saudi Arabia CEO Survey
     

    The Oxford Business Group (OBG) has launched a new research series that examines attitudes of top CEOs in Saudi Arabia. OBG, which publishes investment and economic reports on more than 30 countries including emerging markets in the Middle East, Asia, Latin America. “It’s not difficult to conclude that for the Gulf region’s largest economy the […]

     
  • $1.4b in Defense Contracts Approved by State Department as Senate Eyes Debate
     

    The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of more than $1.4 billion worth of military training and equipment for Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said on Monday, the first fraction of a $110 billion arms deal U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to with Saudi Arabia when he visited in May. The announcement by the State […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Who is Sara Al Sayed, Saudi Arabia’s new deputy foreign minister for public diplomacy?

    The newly appointed Sara Al Sayed held the position of assistant deputy minister for international collaboration at the Saudi Ministry of Health. Two years ago, she took the post of director-general of international collaboration. Her 20-year career is painted rainbow with a range of experience in diverse fields such as managerial banking, an international collaboration for companies and government organizations in the US and Saudi Arabia and military contracting.

  • What is Dubai Pearl? The dormant mega-project has been demolished

    If you work around Dubai Media City, chances are you felt the tremors of Dubai Pearl’s destruction early this afternoon (January 23). The troublesome mega-project was once a magnet for investors and the greatest names in hospitality. After failing to get off the ground, the site has been flattened, reportedly taken back by authorities with a new price tag for any investor willing to take it on.

  • Is This New Microwave Weapon the Answer to Iranian Drones?

    Army awards $66 million contract to develop an EMP device that fries the electronics of incoming drones.

  • Is Oman the “Switzerland of the Middle East”?

    The concept of neutrality has legal and political meanings that derive from its historical and geographical genealogy. However, the term is often stretched and its meaning diluted to describe behaviors that go beyond a strict definition of neutrality. This is especially true for Oman. International media has described the country’s foreign policy as hedging, omnibalancing, or asserting neutrality, and sometimes Oman is referred to as the “Switzerland of the Middle East.”

  • What are the most in-demand jobs in the UAE and Saudi Arabia?

    The most in-demand jobs in the UAE and Saudi Arabia in 2023 will again be dominated by the technology sector, as companies continue their post-coronavirus pandemic digital transformations, according to figures compiled by LinkedIn. Employers are seeking advanced skills such as programming languages and cyber security in response to a growing emphasis on data and automation in the region, the world’s largest professional network said on Wednesday.

  • Davos 2023: Global trade rethink: ‘race of the big pockets’?

    The United States pitched its vision of "worker-centric" trade. China promised an "all-round opening up". Europe spoke of its quest for strategic autonomy. And industrial policy - backed with lots of state cash - is no longer a dirty word. The Big Three trading powers at this year's World Economic Forum all offered takes on how they saw the future of global commerce. What's not clear is where the rest of the world fits in.

  • Climate Action in the UAE and Saudi Arabia: Pragmatism or Greenwashing?

    Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia aim to expand their respective climate change initiatives while significantly increasing fossil fuel production in the near term, even as climate change scientists and leading institutions are calling for states to drastically cut their emissions.

  • Saudi Arabia’s Got the Money. But Can it Draw Foreign Capital?

    Bringing in foreign direct investment could be Saudi Arabia’s greatest challenge. MBS’s Vision 2030 economic blueprint is hoping to increase the FDI contribution to gross domestic product from the current 0.7% to 5.7%. Foreign capital into Saudi Arabia grew sharply in 2021, largely because of a $12.4 billion pipeline deal by the state-oil company Saudi Arabian Oil Co., or Aramco. But big undertakings that take years to translate into returns haven’t been announced yet. Multinational corporations are hovering, signing memorandums of understanding and visiting, but money isn’t hitting the ground(1).

  • Saudi Arabia is making historic strides in women’s rights, so why haven’t we heard about it?

    "It's not just about women's inclusion, but about having diverse thinking and ideas in all fields. So women's inclusion actually changed a lot of things in my country, in politics, tourism, sport and every field."

  • What should we expect of the Middle East’s economy in 2023?

    Regional experts discuss the economic outlook for the Middle East, and the prospects for economic transition.