MUST-READS

• Oil Markets Steady Despite Growing Insecurity in the Middle East

  The oil market has been relatively stable despite the geopolitical storm in the Middle East engendered by the war in Gaza and the disruption of maritime traffic in the Red Sea by the Houthis in Yemen. Oil prices have traded either side of $80 per barrel even since a number of OPEC+ plus producers, led by Saudi Arabia, said in early March that they would extend oil production cuts totaling 2.2 million barrels per day until midyear.

• Biden asks Israel PM to send team to discuss alternatives to Rafah invasion

  “Today, President Biden asked the Prime Minister to send a senior interagency team… to Washington in the coming days to hear U.S. concerns about Israel's current Rafah planning and to lay out an alternative approach that would target key Hamas elements in Rafah and secure the Egypt/Gaza border without a major ground invasion,” Sullivan told journalists at the White House briefing today (March 18), following the first Biden/Netanyahu call in a month.

• Foreign investors to be treated as Saudis under Nitaqat

  The Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has approved the classification of foreign investors (owners of private establishments) as Saudis under the Nitaqat Saudization program. This is one of the provisions for the classification of categories of people who will be treated equal to Saudis while calculating the percentage of Saudization, according to the Qiwa platform affiliated with the ministry, Okaz/Saudi Gazette has learnt.

• Saudis Tackle How to Pay for Vision 2030

  Saudi Arabia is embarking on an unrivaled spending spree on everything from mega projects to sports and technology in a bid to prepare for a post-oil future. It appears the country is only just getting started, with annual deployment of capital by the powerful sovereign wealth fund set to hit $70 billion a year from 2025. But even the giant petrostate has limits to what it can afford and that’s prompting the Public Investment Fund, the government and local banks to look for new ways to raise money.

• Feeding Gaza: Scenes from the desperate scramble to avert famine

  Food shortages in parts of the Gaza Strip have already far exceeded famine levels, and mass death is now imminent without an immediate ceasefire and surge of food into areas cut off by fighting, says the U.N.-backed IPC, the global hunger monitor that formally declares famines.

• How Saudi Arabia has become a global hub for manga and anime

  The announcement last Friday of the death of ‘Dragon Ball’ creator Akira Toriyama was met with sadness around the world, as fans of Japanese manga and anime were united in grief at the loss of a legend. In Saudi Arabia, the news was also keenly followed. Manga and anime have long been an important part of the social fabric of the Kingdom, with cartoons such as Captain Tsubasa (renamed Captain Majid in Arabic) winning the hearts and minds of people across multiple generations. With an estimated 13 million anime viewers in Saudi Arabia in 2022, and around 85 million across the Arab world, the medium’s popularity in the region is undeniable.

• Saudi influencer family help Hilton win top travel marketing award

  Hilton’s Destination Marketing Team has won a top travel marketing award by using a Saudi family in its campaign. The Badr family have a following of 11 million and were chosen by the hotel chain to front a global brand platform called ‘For The Stay’. It focuses on positioning ‘the stay’ experience as a key element of a guest’s travel plans. The campaign won the Global Adrian Award (Silver and President’s) in the Advertiser – Influencer Marketing category.

• Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, others shower Russia’s Putin with congratulatory messages

  Russia’s allies in the region were quick to congratulate President Vladimir Putin on his reelection, as the Russian leader faces growing Western isolation over the war on Ukraine. Putin secured 87.3% of the votes cast during the three-day elections that closed on Sunday, the Russian Central Election Commission announced on Monday, in elections international organizations say were marred by irregularities and no real competition. Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2024/03/iran-saudi-arabia-uae-others-shower-russias-putin-congratulatory-messages#ixzz8UvADYp7K

• Blinken to visit Saudi Arabia, Egypt to discuss Gaza ceasefire: Official

  US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Saudi Arabia and Egypt this week to discuss efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and increase humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory, a State Department spokesperson said Tuesday. Blinken will hold talks with Saudi leaders in Jeddah on Wednesday before travelling to Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian authorities, spokesman Matthew Miller said from the Philippines, where Blinken is touring. This will be Blinken’s sixth trip to the Middle East since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7.

• Saudi Arabia’s First International Music Academy Launches in Taif

  The Nahawand Center will offer educational, training and musical research programs, aiming to support emerging Saudi talents and contribute to evolving the music industry within the Kingdom. The academy features various departments such as the oud and oriental singing, the piano and vocals training, along with the lute and Eastern music.

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