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  • Cruise Saudi expanding to 10 destinations along Red Sea coast, 3 new ports underway

    Currently operational ports include Jeddah, Yanbu, and Dammam, which have already facilitated visits from hundreds of thousands of international tourists. Among the new developments is AlWajh, which Clasen revealed will serve as a gateway to AlUla, plus a private island and beach location exclusively for cruise passengers.

  • Saudi Arabia Turns to Debt Markets for Vision 2030 Financing

    According to Saudi Arabia’s National Debt Management Center, the kingdom’s total debt stood at some $308.7 billion at the end of September. Of this total, $183.7 billion was domestic debt, and the remaining $125 billion was foreign debt. Compared to U.S. debt, this is nothing. But compared to 2019 debt levels, it is a palpable increase: in 2019, Saudi debt stood at $180.8 billion.

  • Saudi sees tenfold surge in foreign firms since 2016

    Saudi Arabia has seen a sharp increase in foreign firms establishing operations in the country, with numbers rising tenfold compared to the period before Saudi Vision 2030, the kingdom’s mammoth economic diversification plan, was launched in 2016, said Khalid al-Falih, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Investment, at the Future Investment Initiative (FII).

  • Saudi crown prince meets with global leaders including Pakistani PM, Jordanian counterpart

    Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan on Tuesday, Saudi Press Agency reported. The prime minister and his accompanying delegation are in the Kingdom to attend the Future Investment Initiative conference. During the conference, Sharif shared with attendees his government was looking forward to forging new partnerships in artificial intelligence (AI), education and health.

  • Saudi Arabia’s Renewable Energy Initiatives and Their Geopolitical Implications

    One approach Saudi Arabia has adopted is investing heavily in renewable energy, particularly through partnerships with China. This has had the effect of accelerating the country’s progress in renewable energy, with far-reaching implications for global geopolitics and energy markets. Specifically, Saudi Arabia is increasingly becoming aligned with China while China is gaining greater access to Middle Eastern markets and greater regional influence.

  • Franklin Templeton launches two Saudi Arabia funds

    Saudia Arabia also has the largest and fastest-growing bond market among Golf Cooperation Countries, hence its launch of the the Franklin Saudi Arabia Bond fund, which will invest in debt securities and obligations issued by government and corporate entities in the region. Its second product, the Franklin FTSE Saudi Arabia UCITS ETF, will track the FTSE Saudi Arabia 30/18 Capped index, which consists of 64 large and mid-cap Saudi Arabian equities. Dina Ting and Lorenzo Crosato will managed the fund.

  • Following Israeli counterstrike on Iran, region appears to pull back from the brink

    After last weekend’s limited Israeli strike on Iran, and Tehran’s apparent willingness to absorb the blow without serious retaliation, the Middle East region looks to be pulling back from the brink of a major regional war. Credit must be given to the US administration, which worked hard to convince the Israeli government to not hit nuclear and energy targets as well as avoid a strike so large that it would necessitate an Iranian retaliation. The Israeli decision to choose a path that would avert further escalation with Iran has raised hopes that, after more than a year of war, perhaps Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is winding down this round of warfare.

  • Trump’s Commercial Influence in the Gulf

    Eric Trump, the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, stated that his father “loves” the United Arab Emirates and hopes to visit on an official trip if reelected in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. The UAE president, Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, recently visited the Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald J. Trump, as part of his official visit to the United States in late September. Whether or not Trump wins the presidency for a second time in November, his brand – and varying degrees of commercial influence – will remain a visible feature of the Gulf region.

  • Syrian national airline resumes flights to Saudi city of Jeddah after eight-year pause

    The Syrian regime’s transport ministry announced on Sunday that national carrier Syrian Air’s flights from Damascus to the Saudi city of Jeddah would resume, 18 months after Saudi Arabia and the regime normalised ties. Flights will restart again on 7 November, according to the regime’s SANA news agency, and will operate twice weekly. These will be the first commercial flights from Damascus to Jeddah for over eight years. Flights are already operating between Damascus and the Saudi capital Riyadh.

  • Saudi and Iranian top diplomats discuss need to avoid destabilizing region

    Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan discussed in a phone call with Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi the importance of avoiding anything that might destabilize the region’s security, following Israel’s Saturday strikes on Iran, the Saudi foreign ministry said on Monday.