MUST-READS

• Saudi Aramco chief says world should ‘abandon fantasy’ of phasing out fossil fuels

  "One of the challenges here is that while society wants to see emissions reduced, nobody wants to pay for it," Woods said. Nasser called for policies more in tune with the "real world." While alternative energy can reduce emissions, "when the world does focus on reducing emission from hydrocarbons, it achieves much better results," Nasser said.

• Iraq-Saudi engagement weathers tumultuous regional climate

  Amid growing regional tensions, Iraq has sought to strengthen relations with Saudi Arabia and advance its nascent economic ties with the Kingdom. The bilateral relationship was fraught for decades, sparked by former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein’s (1979-2003) invasion of Kuwait in 1990. This situation continued for well over a decade after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, when Riyadh declined to send an ambassador to Baghdad.

• Saudi Arabia controversially elected chair of UN forum for women’s rights

  The country’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has framed these reforms — and other milestones, like the nation’s debut at the Miss Universe pageant — as steps toward equality, though human rights organizations have pointed out that the new laws did not eliminate the country’s male guardianship system and in fact codified some pieces of it.

• Saudi Arabia aims to be among top 10 global destinations in 2024
  Saudi Arabia aims to be among the top 10 global touristic destinations this year, with national tourism strategy aiming to attract more than 150 million visitors by 2030.
  Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Saudi Arabia’s minister of tourism, spoke at the Manafea Forum in Medina stating how the Kingdom is on the right path to make the tourism sector an important contributor to the country’s overall gross domestic product (GDP).
  In 2023, Al-Khateeb said that the tourism sector accounted for 5 per cent of GDP, with the target of increasing this figure to 10 per cent.

• Saudi Arabia declares annual Saudi Green Initiative day to promote climate action

  In a move to underscore its commitment to environmental sustainability, Saudi Arabia has established March 27 as the annual Saudi Green Initiative Day, coinciding with the date of the initiative's launch in 2021. This day is set to foster awareness and inspire action across the Kingdom towards achieving a more sustainable future, in line with the ambitious Saudi Green Initiative (SGI). Marked under the theme "For Our Today and Their Tomorrow: KSA Together for a Greener Future," the inaugural Saudi Green Initiative Day aims to mobilize collective efforts from all segments of society.

• Vision 2030: How Water Scarcity in Saudi Arabia Persists

  Around eight government agencies, including the Ministry of Environment, Water, Agriculture (MEWA), Water & Electricity Regulatory Authority (WERA), and Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) are actively dedicated to pursuing a solution. Given the geographical and climatic limitations posed upon Saudi Arabia, desalination facilities built by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be an addition to Vision 2030 to meet water demands as the population increases.

• Top 10 Netflix Films in Saudi this week

  Weekly Top 10 lists of the most watched TV and films in countries around the world.

• Perspective: Saudi Arabia Goes for Transformative Hat Trick

  The idea is to open up the economy and end its dependence on oil and gas; modify the existing fundamentalist tradition, which dates back to the alliance between Saudi authorities and Wahhabism in the 18th century; and globalize Saudi Arabia, placing it among the world’s powers. The challenge the crown prince faces is to accomplish this hat trick without weakening the overwhelming power of the monarchy.

• Saudi Arabia denounces Israeli decision to confiscate West Bank land

  Israel’s actions “undermine the chances of a just and sustainable peace based on the two-state solution,” the statement on SPA added.

  Saudi Arabia also called on the international community to halt the systematic violations by Israeli settlers and to ensure the return of confiscated Palestinian lands.

  Last week, Israel announced the seizure of 800 hectares (8,000 dunams) of land in the occupied West Bank, which activists called the largest action of its kind in decades.

• How smaller GCC states view the Iranian-Saudi détente

  Both Iran and Saudi Arabia have taken steps to build on their diplomatic breakthrough. There has been a reopening of embassies with a return of ambassadors, and a fruitful bilateral dialogue has continued. That the Israeli war on Gaza’s ripple effects have not derailed the détente speaks to Riyadh and Tehran’s vested interests in managing tensions through diplomacy and a commitment to non-aggression. Neither side desires a return to the hostility that shaped bilateral affairs in early 2016 and in the years that followed.

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