“Without doubt Saudi Arabia is using the Xi visit and the growing relationship with China as part of a series of moves to effectively announce itself as an emerging mid-level power in an increasingly multipolar world. The United States appears to be adjusting to this new reality by emphasizing the benefits of burden sharing and cooperation on mutually shared goals rather than a protection plan based on security for oil. That’s a far healthier and sustainable approach to the relationship than trying to persist with outmoded notions of how the relationship works. The downside is that Gulf countries that are trying to assert themselves as mid-level international powers will have more independence and agency than Washington was, perhaps, happy to embrace in the past. But all this means that the U.S.-Gulf Arab relationship will start to look more like the U.S. partnership with allies in NATO.”
-Hussein Ibish, Secretary Xi’s Visit to Saudi Arabia Doesn’t Look Like a Threat to U.S.-Saudi Partnership [Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington]
“The lavender carpets are identical to the color of the kingdom’s deserts and plateaus in the spring.”
-The Saudi Press Agency, referring to the blooms on the country’s lavender, desert germander and basil plants and jacaranda trees. What does a purple carpet mean in Saudi Arabia and why do they not use red? [The National]
“China is Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partner, we have huge investments in China and the Chinese have huge investments in Saudi Arabia. We have huge equities at stake and these visits are not uncommon. The same with our other trading partners and strategic partners whether it is the United States, the UK, France, Germany, this is what countries do.”
Adel Al-Jubeir, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs [Reuters]
“Back in 2000, the largest oil producer in OPEC did not produce any non-associated gas, but stand-alone gas developments have grown to account for 46 percent of its total gas production in 2020, the EIA said in January. Saudi Arabia was the sixth-largest natural gas producer in the world behind Russia, Iran, Qatar, the United States, and Turkmenistan in 2020, the EIA has estimated.”
Saudi Arabia Makes More Unconventional Gas Discoveries [Oilprice.com]
“Saudi Arabia’s Heritage Commission announced the registration of 67 new archaeological sites at the National Archaeological Register (NAR), bringing the total number of documented historical sites across the Kingdom to 8,531. The new sites included 15 that were registered in the Northern Borders Region, 13 in Tabuk, 10 in Hail, nine in al-Jawf, five in al-Qassim, four each in Riyadh and Asir, three each in al-Madinah and al-Baha, and one in Mecca, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).”
“To encourage women’s involvement in sports, the Ministry of Education issued a decision in 2017 to implement sports classes in girls’ schools, which public schools lacked in the past. All these reforms helped skyrocket women’s participation in sports by 150 percent from 2015 to 2019. Today, the Kingdom has more than six thousand female athletes and twenty-seven women’s sports teams.”
-Lujain Alotaibi, project coordinator at King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies. Saudi Arabia lost at the 2022 World Cup. But its sports sector is winning. [Atlantic Council]
“Despite the variety of national loyalties, it’s not uncommon for rooting interests to blur into one: fans from Morocco joining forces with supporters from Saudi Arabia; Americans posing for photographs with Iranians; the colors of Brazil and England at either end of the same bench.”
Watching Qatar’s World Cup, Off the Field [New York Times]
“We did our best and we will not forget the work we did together. I am proud to work with the team and the players, but we did not deserve to win today.”
Herve Renard, Saudi Arabia National Team Head Coach. [Reuters]
“Countries in the Middle East with the greatest number of [hotel] projects in the construction pipeline are Saudi Arabia with 210 projects/57,912 rooms and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with 114 projects/31,096 rooms. Egypt follows with record high project and room counts of 75 projects/16,784 rooms, Qatar with a record high of 67 projects/accounting for 15,110 rooms and Oman with 29 projects/6,438 rooms. Continuing to top the construction pipeline in the U.A.E. is Dubai, with 79 projects/23,542 rooms.”
“There are multiple projects ongoing to redesign the air capacity and air corridors. We are trying to resolve restrictions as well as applying the latest technologies and radar information systems to shorten the trip time, open new corridors, and increase capacity. We will announce the outcome once it’s completed,”
-Mohammed Alkhuraisi, GACA Vice-President of Strategy and Business Intelligence. Saudi Arabia is in talks to open military airspace, per a report. [ch-aviation]
