“We like the innovation and the technology culture that Israel has, and we try to find ways to benefit from that. As part of our investment process — other than Shariah compliance — we are country-agnostic, and sector-agnostic.”
Muhammad Asif Seemab, managing director of Mithaq Capital. Saudi Family Office Builds Largest Stake in Israel’s Otonomo [Bloomberg]
“If you have money you should ‘raise the bar’ and create something innovative and different. ‘Since we are doing it from nothing, why should we copy normal cities? I believe it’s going to be the best liveable area – by far – in the whole planet.’
Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince says NEOM Mega-project to list in 2024 [Reuters]
“Chinese manufacturers of high-end weapons systems face a deficit of trust combined with a lack of field testing in conflict zones. American, European, Russian and even Turkish weapons systems have greater experience in that regard. For the time being, China is growing its market share for weapons sales in the Middle East, but to truly break into the high-end weapons market, it will take a war featuring high-end Chinese weapons outperforming competitors.”
-Nicholas Heras, deputy director of the human security unit at the Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy. China emerges as an arms supplier of choice for many Middle East countries, say analysts. [Middle East Eye]
“People [in Saudi Arabia] have become more accepting of change, and of different patterns of decoration and design….Now there is an optimum use of the space. We have taken a step towards improving our way of life.”
Haitham al-Madini, a 52-year-old human resources officer in Saudi Arabia, discussing his home renovations in Riyadh. Confined during a pandemic lockdown, Madini “decided to open things up, adding a street-facing patio, redoing the exterior walls in limestone and installing soft lighting in the entryway….Local architects and engineers say such features have become a hallmark of renovation and newly-built projects across the capital Riyadh as Saudis, spurred in part by revised building codes, embrace homes and businesses that are inviting rather than imposing.” [AFP/Al Monitor]
“The coming crisis gives regional governments even more reason to partner broadly with U.S. institutions, U.S. businesses, and the U.S. government. Neither Russia nor China have much to offer the Middle East in this regard, and they have little interest in going down that road at all. Instead, they are bent on extracting as much as they can for as little as they can.”
Jon B. Alterman, Senior Vice President, Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy, and Director, Middle East Program. The Middle East Transition We Need to Talk About [Center for Strategic and International Studies]
“The world relies heavily on three nations for crude: the US, Saudi Arabia and Russia. Together, they account for nearly 45% of global total oil supply. With US investors unwilling to finance a return to the days of “drill, baby, drill” at home, American output growth is now slower than it was in the 2010s. Russia faces an even darker outlook as the impact of Western sanctions not only curb current supply, but also hinder its ability to expand in the future.”
Javier Blas, Saudi Arabia Reveals Oil Output Is Near Its Ceiling [Bloomberg]
“[President Joe Biden], a man who is regarded primarily as a retail politician took a great risk to restore American interests at personal expense. I think that is close to an operational definition of statesmanship.”
–David Des Roches, Associate Professor at the National Defense University, and a Non-Resident Fellow, AGSIW, speaking with The 966 Podcast. [The 966]
“As for us Arabs, it was unimaginably refreshing to hear Biden explicitly say that it was wrong for America to walk away from this region. We are delighted to see Washington finally realize what we have been trying for so long to explain: If you leave a vacuum, it is going to be filled by others — and you may not like who they are.”
-Faisal Abbas, Forget The Trivia, Here’s What Really Mattered In Jeddah [Arab News]
“The reason that I’m going to Saudi Arabia is…we have an opportunity to reassert what I think we’ve made a mistake of walking away from: our influence in the Middle East.”
-President Joe Biden [CNN]
“This energy crisis needs long-cycle investment in infrastructure like refineries, and addressing energy and military security issues,” said Jeff Currie, head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. “The questions over OPEC production capacity are a sideshow.”
