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  • Fahad Nazer in ‘Foreign Affairs’: Renewing Vows With Saudi Arabia
     

    The U.S. and Saudi Arabia “are ready to let bygones be bygones” as the two nations seek to coordinate in their efforts to fight the Islamic State, but “much will depend on the Obama administration’s ability to articulate a clear long-term strategy for the Middle East — and specifically for the two countries where ISIS […]

     
  • KAFD: Saudi Arabia’s ‘City Within a City’ Slated for Soft Opening as Kingdom Gears Up To Be Financial Hub of the Gulf
     

    A date has been set for a “soft opening” of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Financial District, a mega project in Saudi Arabia’s capital city that has been under construction for years. Situated on the outskirts of Riyadh, the new development bears the name of a King who has steered a nation through a period of […]

     
  • SUSRIS: The Emergence of the GCC+4 Against ISIS
     

    SUSRIS.com shares an assessment of the surge in recent diplomatic activity from Gulf expert Theodore Karasik, Director of Research and Development at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis (INEGMA) in Dubai.  “A day before the meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia agreed to an American request to provide a base to train moderate […]

     
  • Female Saudi Student Abroad: ‘I can confidently claim that being able to drive has transformed my daily life’
     

    In an op-ed published by the Riyadh-based english daily Arab News, PhD student Hatoon Kadi writes that being able to drive while abroad in the U.K. “has transformed my daily life.” The post, entitled “Memoirs of a Saudi Ph.D. student: Convenience of owning a car,” was published in Monday’s edition of the newspaper. It is the latest […]

     
  • Analysis: Threat of ISIS, U.S. Diplomacy Help Re-build Tested U.S.-Saudi Ties
     

    For the U.S.-Saudi diplomatic relationship, what a difference 9 months makes.  Less than a year ago, a flood of analysts and commentators were debating whether the U.S.-Saudi alliance would survive what some were calling the lowest point in that relationship in decades.  But just 9 months later, with Secretary Kerry in Jeddah for talks on […]

     
  • Nitaqat Three Years On: A Summer 2014 Report Card
     

    Four years into the Arab Spring, Saudi Arabia has been an oasis of relative calm and stability in an otherwise tumultuous Middle East region. This is partially because the perceived social, economic and political dysfunction resulting from Arab Spring reform movements has had a sobering effect on Saudi perceptions.  In fact, many Saudis consider the […]

     
  • Social Media’s Arab Future
     

    One could argue that of all the repercussions from the Arab Spring in 2011 none will be more consequential than the kickstart of a period of phenomenal growth of social media in the Arab World.  The pace is astonishing. Apart from the numbers, what does it actually mean if Saudi Arabia has the highest per-capita […]

     
  • President Obama, Biden, Kerry Meet with Washington’s Foreign Policy Elite for Strategic Dinner
     

    U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden hosted a dinner meeting at the White House with several of Washington’s top foreign policy experts on Monday, according to reports. The timing of the meeting yesterday with bipartisan guests “seemed more for Mr. Obama to give his guests, several of whom are fixtures on television […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia Fast-Tracks Nuclear Power to Meet Soaring Domestic Demand
     

    In an excellent round-up of the shifting energy sector in Saudi Arabia, James Conca in Forbes discusses Saudi Arabia’s embrace of nuclear and renewable energy sources to meet demand – an important initiative for the increasingly energy-hungry Saudi society. “Saudi Arabia burns almost a billion barrels of oil a year to produce electricity, this change […]

     
  • Saudi Arabian Northern Border Security Project Breaks Ground
     

    Saudi Arabia has begun the first phase of a new border security project along its northern borders, according to the Saudi Press Agency. Phase 1 of the “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques project for border security” was kicked off at a ceremony in Jeddah with a visiting delegation from neighboring Bahrain. Crown Prince Salman, […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Saudi Arabia announces discovery of seven oil, gas deposits

    Saudi Arabia's energy minister announced on Monday the discovery of seven oil and gas deposits in the kingdom's Eastern Province and Empty Quarter, the official Saudi news agency SPA reported. Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said state oil group Saudi Aramco had discovered "two unconventional oil fields, a reservoir of light Arabian oil, two natural gas fields, and two natural gas reservoirs", SPA said.

  • Trump Tower is coming to Saudi Arabia

    The Trump Organization revealed plans Monday to develop a luxury Trump Tower in Saudi Arabia. The new tower will be built in Jeddah and developed in tandem with Dar Global, the international arm of Saudi mega-developer Dar Al Arkan. If completed, it appears the Jeddah tower would be the Trump Organization’s first major project in Saudi Arabia.

  • Iran’s Presidential Hopefuls: Strongman, Surgeon, and Pen Pusher

    The presidency in Iran is to some extent what the president makes of it: While strongmen empower the institution, weak presidents reduce it into a largely ceremonial office. Therefore, who occupies the Office of the President in Tehran is significant.

  • Saudi Arabia Records 231.7 Points in the UN Maritime Index

    This year has witnessed the continuation of the authority's efforts to develop infrastructure in the Kingdom's ports to enhance the competitiveness of ports at the regional and international levels, and to support and facilitate global trade. The development work of the Red Sea Gateway Terminal in the northern part of Jeddah Islamic Port has been completed, with investments amounting to SAR 1 billion. Mawani has also completed the deepening of the northwestern approach channel in the port with a length of 3,000 meters, a width of 300 meters, and a depth of 18.5 meters, which was previously 17 meters.

  • flynas Launches Saudi Arabia’s First Program to Train Airline Cabin Crew in Sign Language

    The Saudi air carrier flynas has launched the first program of its kind in Saudi Arabia to train airline cabin crew in sign language. Implemented in collaboration with the Saudi Association for Hearing Impairment, this program underscores flynas' commitment to adopting sustainable initiatives that positively impact society.

  • Why Saudi Arabia matters more than ever to the US in a volatile Middle East

    That the stability of the Arabian Peninsula is taken completely for granted by many observers in the West represents a failure of the imagination, as Saudi Arabia, with its wealth and holy places, is a country that jihadi Islamists such as Al Qaeda, and revolutionary Iran and its proxies, have sought to capture for decades. Indeed, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the ultimate prize for those who want to topple the U.S.-led order in the region. Failure to recognize this or to imagine what would happen should radical revisionist elements succeed in disrupting Saudi stability is short-sighted and strategically dangerous.

  • Who does Saudi Arabia play in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers?

    Saudi Arabia learned its 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying fate on Thursday as the Green Falcons were handed a tough third round group that includes fellow Asian heavyweights Australia and Japan. Roberto Mancini’ side, which labored to a second place finish behind Jordan in second-round qualifying, will need to improve if it is to claim a spot at the World Cup finals in the USA, Canada and Mexico in two years’ time.

  • Saudi Reserves Jump to 18-Month High Thanks to Aramco Dividends

    Net foreign assets held by the kingdom’s central bank jumped 5% to $445 billion, or 1.67 trillion riyals, at the end of May, the highest since November 2022, according to figures released Sunday. That coincided with Aramco paying out more than $25 billion in dividends to the government the same month, up from about $18 billion a year earlier.

  • Banks drag Saudi down, Qatar hits 3-month high

    The Saudi index closed lower on Sunday, with the financial sector leading the losses, while the Qatari index hit a three-month high having risen consistently through the month. Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index (.TASI), opens new tab, which recorded its first monthly gain after three months of consecutive losses, dropped 0.4%. The losses in the index were driven by Saudi Arabia's two biggest lenders, with Al Rajhi Banking And Investment Corporation (1120.SE), opens new tab declining 1.8% and Saudi National Bank (1180.SE), opens new tab dipping 1.2%.

  • Saudi Arabia ranks 3rd in remittance outflows globally in 2023: World Bank report

    Saudi Arabia ranked third globally and second in the Arab world in terms of countries sending international remittances during the year 2023. Total outward remittances amounted to nearly SR 144 billion ($38.4 billion) during the last year.  Foreign remittance is the money that immigrants send directly to their families or communities in their country of origin in the world.  According to a recent report by the World Bank titled “Migration and Development Brief,” the United States of America topped among the world countries sending international remittances, with total external remittance flows reaching about $85.8 billion during the year 2023.  The United Arab Emirates came in second place globally and first in the Arab world, with total remittances amounting to about $38.5 billion, while Kuwait ranked tenth globally and third in the Arab world.