MUST-READS

• New unified Gulf tourism visa to bolster Saudi economy

  In November 2023 the Gulf Cooperation Council approved a landmark unified tourist visa set to launch between 2024 and 2025. Similar to the Schengen scheme, the permit will enable tourists to travel across all six GCC member states: Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The new visa was announced by Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaiwi, GCC secretary-general, on Nov. 9, during the 40th meeting of the organization’s interior ministers in Muscat, Oman.

• CFA Puts Saudi Arabia at the Heart of Its Middle East Expansion

  The CFA Institute is working to expand its membership network in the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia a key focus as the country opens up its financial markets and looks to diversify its investment industry. The non-profit educational organization for chartered financial analysts aims to double the number of members in the kingdom to about 1,000 over the next three years, while also growing the pool of candidates by 20% a year, said Marg Franklin, its president and chief executive officer.

• Saudi-China Collaboration in the Context of a Circular Carbon Economy: Priorities and Opportunities in the Globalization of Hydrogen Markets

  Developing clean hydrogen industries and markets are strategically crucial for Saudi Arabia and China to achieve their net-zero climate goals. Saudi Arabia has made significant progress in hydrogen development from extraction to commercialization. Different options for galvanizing clean hydrogen production are being explored, with the goal of reaching four million tons of clean hydrogen annually by 2030, most of which will be exported to major energy consumers in East Asia and Europe. China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of hydrogen. The construction of an integrated hydrogen industry by 2035 will promote the use of hydrogen across the transportation, energy storage, and industrial sectors.

• Saudi Arabia’s Fast-Developing Blueprint for Growth is Powered by AI

  Saudi Arabia plays a significant role in shaping the global narrative on sustainable and technological advancement, with AI as a central theme in its collective development efforts. The recent Cisco AI Readiness Index in Saudi Arabia finds that 93% of organizations in the kingdom have an AI strategy in place or under development.

• The Red Sea Crisis Continues with No Resolution in Sight

  The difficulties in deterring and degrading the Houthis have raised questions about whether a shift in U.S.-led strategy is warranted. Some argue that the U.S.-led coalition should not escalate its campaign against the Houthi arsenal but instead continue to push for a Yemen political settlement. According to this argument, a Yemen settlement would entail, as a condition, an end to the Houthi attacks on the Red Sea. Talks between the Houthis, Saudi representatives, and U.S. and regional mediators on a political settlement have continued uninterrupted despite October 7 and the Red Sea crisis, although with no breakthroughs.

• Saudi FM warns of ‘catastrophic consequences’ if Israel attacks Rafah, slams international ‘double standards’

  Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Monday warned against the “catastrophic consequences” of any Israeli attack on Rafah, south of Gaza, during his speech at the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council. “In this light, we warn against the disastrous repercussions of an attack on Rafah, as the last refuge for civilians, who are there due to the displacement by the Israeli army.” Prince Faisal denounced the double standards adopted by some countries toward the crisis in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. He also reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire.

• Iran Reduces Near-Weapons-Grade Stockpile, Defying Expectations

  Iran reduced its stockpile of near-weapons-grade nuclear material even as it continued expanding its overall nuclear program, the United Nations’ atomic watchdog said Monday, marking a surprise step that could ease tensions with Washington. The move comes at a moment when Iran and the U.S. have sought to avoid direct confrontation in the regional conflict that grew out of Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel’s aggressive response.

• Iran: Republic of God in an Increasingly Secular Society

  Iranian leaders projected an image of confidence as the Islamic Republic commemorated its 45th anniversary on February 11. But despite their bombastic Revolution Day speeches, government-organized “spontaneous” rallies, military parades, and fanfare, they ought to have been concerned about the widening gap between state and society in Iran: The republic of God, the government’s own opinion polls show, rules over an increasingly secular society, in which 72.9% of the population demands separation between religion and state.

• 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.

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