“I believe our dispute is past the stage of danger. The divorce with Washington is past us; now, our focus is on transparent, honest talks to restructure our relations. On our part, our mistake was setting high expectations on the history of our bilateral relations and our ability to build on them. Surely, ours was a vital and successful relationship that served both countries for decades.”
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed, Are we nearing the end of the Saudi-US dispute? [Al-Arabiya]
“The three countries announce that an agreement has been reached between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, that includes an agreement to resume diplomatic relations between them and re-open their embassies and missions within a period not exceeding two months, and the agreement includes their affirmation of the respect for the sovereignty of states and the non-interference in internal affairs of states. They also agreed that the ministers of foreign affairs of both countries shall meet to implement this, arrange for the return of their ambassadors, and discuss means of enhancing bilateral relations. They also agreed to implement the Security Cooperation Agreement between them, which was signed on 22/1/1422 (H), corresponding to 17/4/2001, and the General Agreement for Cooperation in the Fields of Economy, Trade, Investment, Technology, Science, Culture, Sports, and Youth, which was signed on 2/2/1419 (H), corresponding to 27/5/1998.”
-The Saudi Press Agency, announcing a new agreement to normalize ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran for the first time in 7 years. [SPA]
“I am happy to welcome our Tourism Ambassador [Lionel Messi]… and his family and friends this month… to enjoy our most beautiful tourism destinations, connect with our people and enjoy unique experiences!”
-Ahmed Al-Khatib, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Tourism. [Reuters]
“Launched in 2019, Tamakani is [PepsiCo’s] official woman empowerment platform with the goal to empower one million Saudi women by 2030….Vision 2030 has introduced women to new levels of leadership and economic empowerment. In Saudi Arabia, female entrepreneurs are now establishing and managing more small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with the number of female entrepreneurs increasing…The kingdom believes that women are important to the sustainable development of the country’s human capital, and their empowerment is vital in its transformation, and we take great pride in our initiatives that are in line with Saudi Arabia’s vision.”
Aamer Sheikh, PepsiCo CEO Middle East, shares how the company’s women empowerment platform aims to support one million Saudi women by 2030. [Gulf Business]
“The challenge is to stay focused because the boom here is well beyond anything in the UAE. The scale of projects is like nothing anyone has ever seen. My first tour of the Neom site in 2018 took three days! And that was just an overview. Traditional site monitoring techniques don’t work on these massive programmes in Saudi, so they moved to drone technology and now they use satellite imagery on certain sites. You almost have to be here to understand that it’s real.”
-Rick Hopper, new managing director for Mott MacDonald in Saudi Arabia, and the new chair of the CIOB’s MENA region hub. [Construction Management]
“Economic conditions remain favorable across business activities [in Saudi Arabia]. Despite tighter monetary conditions, demand and supply balance seemed robust and spurred by the ongoing projects around the kingdom.”
-Naif Al-Ghaith, chief economist at Riyad Bank. [Bloomberg]
“Economic conditions remain favorable across business activities [in Saudi Arabia]. Despite tighter monetary conditions, demand and supply balance seemed robust and spurred by the ongoing projects around the kingdom.”
-Naif Al-Ghaith, chief economist at Riyad Bank. [Bloomberg]
“This is definitely not on the table.”
An unnamed source commenting to Reuters about a Wall Street Journal report which said the UAE is considering leaving OPEC+. The UAE has said publicly and privately it is sticking to a deal with fellow members of the OPEC+ alliance that will remain in effect for the rest of this year, according to Bloomberg.
“Art is a message…Everyone is free to express themselves through art and every generation has its own ideas to offer. But does this message reach the people within our community or does it stay within the artist’s own bounds?”
-Mohammed Al-Monif, Saudi artist and writer. Al-Monif has made a comeback after a four-decade hiatus with his latest exhibition “As I See” at L’Art Pur Foundation in Riyadh. [Arab News]
“Future green hydrogen projects would likely be developed by the same consortium behind the Neom Green Hydrogen Company, which also includes US-based Air Products & Chemicals Inc. and Neom. The new plants will likely be cheaper than the first one at Neom as developers get more experienced, technology improves and a local supply chain develops.”
Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power Eyes Three More Giant Hydrogen Plants [Bloomberg]
