MUST-READS

• US gives Saudis green light to try to revive peace deal with Houthis

  US determination to keep Saudi Arabia engaged in a peace process with Israel has led Washington to give Riyadh an informal green light to try to revive a peace deal with the Houthis, the Yemen-based rebels who have been attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea since November.

• Saudi Mega Projects Seek Partners in Bid to Hit Goals

  Executives from The Line, New Murabba and Diriyah Company — complex developments ranging from a futuristic mega city on the Red Sea to an urban development housing a cube-shaped skyscraper set to be the tallest in the Saudi capital — discussed challenges with supply chains, costs and finding skilled workers as they underscored the urgent need for experienced partners to assist in completing projects.

• UK launches major trade push in Saudi Arabia at Riyadh talks

  Five UK ministers will be at the head of a huge British delegation visiting Saudi Arabia this week, as Britain seeks to strengthen trade and cultural ties with the kingdom. Oliver Dowden, the UK's Deputy Prime Minister, Lucy Frazer, the Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, Dominic Johnson, the Investment Minister and Nick Markham, minister at the Department of Health and Social Care, have taken a British delegation of more than 450 business and cultural leaders to Riyadh, where the UK is hosting an event called Great Futures, aimed at highlighting the co-operation and partnerships between British companies and institutions, and their Saudi counterparts.

• Saudi dates exports jump by 13.7% in Q1 of 2024

  The National Center for Palms and Dates announced that the value of Saudi Arabia’s exports of dates during the first quarter of 2024 rose to reach SR644 million, an increase of 13.7% compared to the same period in 2023 when the value of its exports reached SR566 million.

• Ministry of Interior joins hands with SDAIA in providing high tech services for pilgrims

  During the sixth year after the launch of the initiative in 2017, with the exemption of two years during which there was a restriction for the Hajj of foreign pilgrims due to the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Interior and SDAIA launched the highly advanced system, which allowed beneficiaries to complete procedures automatically, by taking biometrics, reading pilgrims’ passport data, and facilitating procedures for the elderly and people with disabilities, using the latest technologies to achieve the highest levels of safety and reliability.

• In Saudi Arabia, Ancient Desert Walls Are Rewriting the Stone Age

  The ancient town at Hegra, just outside the modern town of Al-Ula in northern Saudi Arabia, is famous for its Nabataean monuments carved directly into the red rock, many ornately decorated and complete with inscriptions. Similar in style to its more famous Nabataean sibling, Petra, in Jordan, Hegra only recently received a comparable level of attention from archaeologists. When it did, the finds were spectacular. In 2008, excavations began on tombs that still contained not only bodies but also the ceramics and jewelry buried with them (astonishingly undisturbed, unlike the tombs at Petra).

• Why tourism is set to drive economic diversification in the Gulf

  Saudi Arabia reported more than 106 million tourists in 2023, up 12 per cent from 2022 and an astonishing 56 per cent higher than 2019. Of this 106 million, slightly more than a quarter, or 27.4 million, were international visitors.

  Dubai attracted a record 17.2 million international visitors last year, up by about 20 per cent year on year, while the other emirates also reported strong growth in both domestic and international visitor numbers in 2023.

  Hospitality was the fastest-growing sector in both Dubai and Qatar in the first nine months of last year, posting double-digit growth. In Bahrain, hospitality was the second fastest-growing sector after transport.

• Saudi benchmark index closes in green with $1.8bn trade volume

  Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index wrapped up Monday’s trading session at 12,259.60 points, witnessing an increase of 42.55 points, or 0.35 percent. Nomu, the parallel market, ended the day at 26,859.37 points, shedding 336.56 points or 1.24 percent. Concurrently, the MSCI Tadawul Index grew by 5.34 points to close at 1,535.83, a 0.35 percent increase.

  TASI reported a trading volume of SR7 billion ($1.86 billion), with 85 stocks making gains and 134 witnessing declines.

• Saudi Film Commission takes charge of cinema sector

  Saudi Arabia’s Film Commission has announced it will now have oversight over the cinema sector, which will no longer fall under the jurisdiction of the General Authority of Media Regulation. The Council of Ministers had ordered the change, which has now been implemented after the completion of the required regulations, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.

  The first phase includes regulating licensing for the operation of permanent, temporary and special cinemas, as well as the production, distribution and import of movies, videos and television programs.

• China-Gulf free trade talks stall on Saudi industrial agenda, sources say
  Negotiations between China and an Arab bloc for a free trade agreement have stalled over concerns by Saudi Arabia that cheap Chinese imports could undermine its ambitions to transform the kingdom into an industrial powerhouse, sources say.
  Saudi Arabia has backed renewed efforts over the past two years for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Arab bloc which includes the kingdom, United Arab Emirates and Qatar, among others, to finally seal a long sought deal with China.

• 10 of 61239 results<< 1 … 344 345 346 … 6,124 >>