MUST-READS

• Lucid CEO Says Struggling EV Maker Is Crucial to Saudi Arabia

  Lucid Group Inc. is more than just a financial investment to Saudi Arabia, which sees the electric-vehicle maker as critical to diversifying its economy, the carmaker’s chief executive officer said. “We’re in this together for the long run. Nobody wants this more than Saudi Arabia,” Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson said in an interview at the Geneva International Motor Show. “This is like a marriage.”

• Commentary: Why the U.S. and Saudis Want a Two-State Solution, and Israel Doesn’t

  Amid the war in Gaza, a major crisis has been brewing, largely behind the scenes, between the United States and Israel over the need for a Palestinian state. The two governments’ positions have long diverged—except during the administration of Donald Trump, whose peace proposal envisaged Israel annexing an additional 30 percent of the occupied West Bank and enveloping a conditional Palestinian state in an even more empowered Greater Israel. Now that divergence has a harder, sharper edge than ever: Washington’s strategic goals in the region require a Palestinian state in the long run and Israeli acknowledgment of that aim in the short run; the Israeli government is having none of it.

• Saudi Arabia’s aquaculture ambitions advanced through Topian joint venture

  NEOM has previously invested in a number of seafood industry initiatives, including an initiative with Cargill and ARASCO to expand the country's aquafeed supply, and a USD 20 million (EUR 19 million) investment in BluNalu to help it expand and continue its commercialization of cell-based seafood. “Topian Aquaculture reflects NEOM’s mission to implement innovative solutions that strengthen key industry sectors, while mitigating our impact on the environment,” NEOM CEO Nadhmi Al-Nasr said. “The strategic joint venture with Tabuk Fisheries Company highlights the role collaboration plays in NEOM’s goal of redefining business and in meeting the national objectives of Saudi Arabia.”

• Deep Data: The Iranian economy in 2024

  Barely two months into 2024, there are strong indications that Iran will face major challenges in sustaining a reasonable economic development path this year. The economy desperately needs investment, but there are only limited prospects of the latter given the continuation of harsh US sanctions and low odds of a diplomatic breakthrough with the west.

• Warring sides still cautious after Biden says Gaza truce is close

  Israel, Hamas and Qatari mediators all expressed caution on Tuesday about progress towards a truce in Gaza, after U.S. President Joe Biden said he believed a ceasefire deal could be reached in less than a week that would halt the war for Ramadan. Hamas is now weighing a proposal, agreed by Israel at talks with mediators in Paris last week, for a ceasefire that would suspend fighting for 40 days, the first extended truce of the five-month-old war.

• Saudi executes seven for ‘terrorism’ offenses

  Saudi Arabia on Tuesday executed seven people for "terrorism" offences, state media said, the highest single-day figure since 81 were put to death in March 2022. The seven were convicted of "creating and financing terrorist organizations and entities," the official Saudi Press Agency said, citing the Gulf kingdom's interior ministry.

• Saudi Air-abia: $50,000 Prize For Big Air Snowboard Contest In Middle East

  Only time will tell, but riders have officially landed in Saudi Arabia for an upcoming big air contest with a prize purse not heard of in recent years in North America. $50,000 is up for grabs for the first place spot, with $30,000 for second and $20,000 for third at the Snowblast KSA Cup being held outside on a scaffolding jump in the Al Malqa area in Riyadh, the largest city and capital of the country. There isn’t a ton of info on Riyadh Season, but it looks like it is a three-day festival, with the contest going down on Feb 28, and we have heard rumors there will be more in the future.

• Saudi source denies reports that commerce minister met Israeli counterpart

  An official Saudi source denied on Monday allegations circulating on social media platforms regarding a meeting between Majid Al-Qasabi, Minister of Commerce, and an Israeli occupation official, Saudi Press Agency reported. The same source said in a statement carried by SPA that the video circulated was while Al-Qasabi was standing with his Nigerian counterpart, prior to the opening of the thirteenth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in Abu Dhabi. “The individual shook (the Saudi minister’s) hand and then was introduced, without (Al-Qasabi’s) prior knowledge,” the source told SPA.

• Saudi Arabia refutes claims of meeting between Minister and Israeli official

  An official Saudi source refuted claims circulating on social media about a supposed meeting between the Saudi Minister of Commerce Dr. Majid Al-Qasabi and an official from the Israeli occupation. The source clarified that the video in question was taken while Al-Qasabi was with the Nigerian Minister of Commerce, just before the commencement of the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in Abu Dhabi. "During this time, an individual approached to greet him and only revealed his identity as the Minister of Economy in the Israeli occupation government after the fact, with Al-Qasabi having had no previous knowledge of who the individual was."

• Saudi Arabia records 10% surge in number of factories

  The number of industrial units in Saudi Arabia recorded a 10 percent surge year on year in 2023 to reach 11, 549, according to the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources. A spokesman for the minister, Jarrah bin Mohammed Al-Jarrah, revealed that the new industrial establishments were set up with an investment of SR1.54 trillion ($48.4 billion). The rise in the number of factories falls in line with the Kingdom’s plan of boosting industrialization and achieving a target of 36,000 plants by 2035. Moreover, the number of new industrial licenses issued in 2023 reached 1,379, with investments amounting to more than SR81 billion.

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