“Young people say to me, ‘Why are you wearing this, and why are you working like this?’ This is my job,” I like to share my work with my team. Work is an honor, it is not a shame, and there is no prophet who did not herd sheep — work on yourself.”
Prince Nayef bin Mamdouh bin Abdulaziz, Restaurant-owning Saudi prince cooks up social media sensation [Arab News]
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is trying to become a “central figure in world politics. In a sense, the only one in the world who’s able to keep equally good relations with Biden, Xi, Modi, Putin and von der Leyen.”
Marcus Schneider, the Lebanon-based project director for the Regional Peace and Security Project at Germany’s Friedrich Ebert Foundation New India-EU trade route: Bringing the Gulf states closer? [DW]
“Despite its image as a serial acquirer of high-profile western trinkets, the PIF only deployed 21% of its assets outside the kingdom in 2022. By comparison, funds like the Qatar Investment Authority, Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala and Singapore’s Temasek invest only about a quarter of their wealth at home, according to Global SWF.”
Saudi’s $700 billion PIF is an odd sort of sovereign fund [Reuters]
“Economically speaking, the amount lost through tourism direct GDP was $4.2 trillion over the four years, which equates to roughly the value of Germany’s economy in 2021. It’s a loss that has been felt unevenly, however, as the report writers explain: “The COVID-19 pandemic caused the largest loss in tourism revenues and economic output in recorded history, impacting millions of jobs, small businesses and livelihoods all over world, particularly in emerging economy destinations such as small island developing states where tourism is more labor intensive and a major part of the balance of payments.”
Anna Fleck, Global Tourism’s Slow Recovery From the Pandemic [Statista]
“Saudi Arabia is so big, so I’m quite sure most any person on the world, directly or indirectly, you have something to do with Saudi Arabia.”
-HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al-Saud, in a landmark interview with Bret Baier. [Fox News]
“In a span of ten program cycles, The Garage has successfully graduated more than 230 startup companies and nurtured 450 founders hailing from over 50 countries worldwide. These startups have not only achieved significant milestones during their tenure at The Garage but have also collectively generated revenues exceeding SR24.5 million (approximately $6.5 million). Furthermore, they have secured substantial investments amounting to over SR215 million (approximately $57.3 million), in addition to benefiting from comprehensive training programs.”
The Garage: Saudi Arabia officially unveils largest startup hub in the Middle East [Saudi Gazette]
“Several Middle Eastern leaders and prime ministers will be attending the UNGA in person this year, while others have sent foreign ministers to lead the delegations. The leaders and prime ministers include Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, King of Jordan Abdullah II, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Kuwaiti Prime Minister Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.”
From Iran to Israel, 5 Middle East stories to watch at UNGA summit [Al-Monitor]
“These indices will serve as valuable benchmarks for investment products and will allow both local and foreign investors to access and benefit from our dynamic and growing capital market.”
Mohammed Al Rumaih, chief executive of the Saudi Exchange. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul stock exchange has launched four new indices as it seeks to attract local and international investors. [The National]
“We are in regular contact at senior levels with Saudi Arabia about ensuring a stable and affordable supply of energy to global markets. And we’ll continue that conversation in the days ahead.”
-Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security Advisor, in a press briefing at the White House on Friday. [WhiteHouse.gov]
“We’ve got about 10 billion lined up in balance sheet credit although we haven’t drawn the first six yet because we actually have enough money within our business at the moment from our receipts. But we will be drawing it down in the next three to nine months because we have some other investments that we need to make in terms of putting cash in to start projects.”
-David Grover, Roshn Group Chief Executive Officer, said in a recent interview. [Bloomberg]
