“Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, is expected to begin on June 26 – pending an official announcement by authorities. This year’s pilgrimage will see about 2.6 million Muslims come together to perform the Islamic ritual for the first time since COVID-19. The ‘Makkah Route’ initiative was implemented to provide services to pilgrims coming from Morocco, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey, and Côte d’Ivoire.”
Hajj 2023: More than 150,000 pilgrims arrive in Saudi Arabia [Al-Arabiya]
“In this context, the joint statement between the GCC foreign ministers and Mr Blinken stood out for its emphasis on a two-state solution. Both parties reaffirmed their commitment to achieving a just, permanent, and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, based on the two-state solution and the 1967 borders, with land swaps in accordance with internationally recognised standards and the Arab Peace Initiative.”
Raghida Dergham, Has Blinken’s Saudi visit reset Washington-Riyadh ties, and what would that mean? [The National]
“And one of the reasons I was anxious to get together with this group in particular is because there have been some rather remarkable changes in Saudi Arabia in recent years, in particular with women in the workforce as well as widely defined. And I was eager to hear about that, hear about that experience, the – both the work that you’re doing, but also how things may be different than they were, and also where you think you’re going and how your experience has been in your very different pursuits.”
-Secretary Antony J. Blinken, Before his Conversation with Saudi Women Leaders. [State.gov]
“When we do anything we do it in our own interest and I don’t think anybody believes that pressure is helpful. We have gone through a significant reforms process in the Kingdom. What we do in the Kingdom is based on the assessment of what is best for the country and driven by the needs of society.”
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan [Saudi Gazette]
“There will be more orders to follow and it will enable us to put connectivity into places that fulfil the ambition of the nation, but for the avoidance of doubt, this will be commercially sustainable.”
Tony Douglas, CEO, Riyadh Air Riyadh Air CEO says “we won’t have first class” [Executive Traveller]
“If you look at the size of golf, monetary wise, it’s about $100 billion today. I think the growth is there, and I think working together we can have a faster growth rate than the way it was for the past 10 or 20 years.”
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor, PIF [Axios]
“The PGA TOUR, DP World Tour and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) today announced a landmark agreement to unify the game of golf, on a global basis. The parties have signed an agreement that combines PIF’s golf-related commercial businesses and rights (including LIV Golf) with the commercial businesses and rights of the PGA TOUR and DP World Tour into a new, collectively owned, for-profit entity to ensure that all stakeholders benefit from a model that delivers maximum excitement and competition among the game’s best players.”
[PGA Tour]
“Few Saudi officials understand better than Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman the ‘never alone’ mantra. The current Saudi oil minister attended his first meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in 1987. It was a teaching moment for the young royal. For several years, Riyadh had cut oil production unilaterally to support prices, ceding market share to rivals inside and outside OPEC. At one point in late 1985, with output barely covering domestic consumption, the kingdom threw in the towel and sharply boosted output, triggering a price collapse. So why has Prince Abdulaziz, a critic of previous Saudi ministers who acted alone, taken the solo route?”
-Javier Blas, Bloomberg columnist. Saudi Arabia’s Solo Oil Production Cut Is a Risky Strategy. [Bloomberg]
“Gastat statistics from the 2022 census show that the population of Saudi Arabia reached 32.2 million, with Saudis at 18.8 million and expatriates at 13.4 million.”
Saudi Arabia’s population passes 32m, census results show [Arab News]
“This honor is incredibly humbling. Never would I have imagined when I started out as a busboy in Brooklyn, New York at age 13 that the countless voluntary acts of goodwill that come so naturally to those of us in hospitality could ripple into something so meaningful, globally. Service is at the heart of hospitality, and hospitality is at the heart of community and friendship.”
Jerry Inzerillo, CEO Diriyah Gate Development Authority, on receiving the Presidential Volunteer Service Award from President Joe Biden. [Hotelier]
