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QUOTED
“It’s clear today that the strong comeback for nuclear energy that the IEA predicted several years ago is well underway, with nuclear set to generate a record level of electricity in 2025,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. A new era for nuclear energy beckons as projects, policies and investments increase [IEA]
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TOP STORY
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah meets with Lebanon’s newly-elected President Joseph Aoun and the leader of the new Syrian administration, Ahmad al-Sharaa, on a diplomatic tour. [more]
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MORE TOP STORYLINES
Via Brett Samuels in thehill.com: President Trump held his first official call with a foreign leader since being sworn in for his second term with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a controversial figure who Trump on Thursday praised as a “fantastic guy.” Trump spoke with the crown prince Wednesday, according to a readout from the White House. The two discussed security concerns in the Middle East and stabilizing the region, as well as planned investments by Saudi Arabia in the United States. The president, addressing political and business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, highlighted reports that Saudi Arabia plans to invest at least $600 billion in the U.S. in the coming years. “I’ll be asking the crown prince, who’s a fantastic guy, to round it out to around $1 trillion,” Trump said. “I think they’ll do that, because we’ve been very good to them.”
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Via Cagan Koc and Dinesh Nair in mining.com: Saudi Arabia is looking for mining deals in a push to secure supplies of critical minerals for its industrialization plan, just as a wave of attempted consolidation sweeps the sector. Joining the consolidation drive “could be a good way of entering the market or getting at least access to different assets in a more structured way,” Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He didn’t elaborate whether this would be buying stakes in assets or buying companies outright. Deals have been on Saudi Arabia’s radar for a while as it pushes through with an ambitious economic transformation plan. The overseas drive has had limited results so far with just one major completed deal and another in the works in Pakistan, but recent dealmaking efforts by major companies may give the Saudis an opportunity to deploy their cash.
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Via Ramadan Al Sherbini in gulfnews.com: Global demand for Saudi palm dates have increased, propelling the product’s exports to rise from 579 million tons in 2016 to about 1.5 billion tons in 2024, official figures have shown. Saudi Arabia boasts about 300 different types of dates, with more than 37 million palm trees producing more than 3 billion tons of dates annually, the Saudi news agency SPA reported, citing the National Centre for Palms and Dates. The number of factories of date products and processing industries has reached 137. Al Qassim in central Saudi Arabia tops the kingdom’s regions in terms of date production with more than 578,000 tons and having 10.7 million trees, the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture has recently said.
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MORE ON THE KINGDOM AND BEYOND
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Ongoing transformation in the global screen industry has created an opportunity for GCC countries to establish themselves as prominent players. As the industry grapples with...[By Tarek Matar, Karim Sarkis and Maansi Sagar via strategyand.pwc]
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The delegation consists of nine technical teams covering various sectors, including goods, services, investment, general provisions, e-commerce, intellectual property, government procurement, rules of origin, and...[via spa.gov]
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After years of regulatory uncertainty under both Democratic and Republican administrations, Trump has pledged to protect bitcoin ownership and encourage blockchain...[By Carla Sertin via agbi.com]
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68.1m international tourists visited the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries by the end of 2023, according to data issued by the Statistical...[via arabianbusiness.com]
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Since China is the US’s third-biggest export destination for food and agricultural products after Canada and Mexico, Beijing may retaliate by...[By Martin Keulertz via agbi.com]
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A recent analysis by Capital Economics highlights the consequences of these tariffs and their broader implications for global trade dynamics. The administration's agenda to...[By Issac John via khaleejtimes.com]
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Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economy started 2025 on a high as business conditions improved substantially. This improvement was largely due to the fastest increase in total...[By Yara Abi Farraj via economymiddleeast.com]
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Some of the Kingdom’s prominent military branches are participating in the drills, including forces from the Presidency of State Security and the Saudi Arabian National...[via arabnews.com]
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Strategic inbound and domestic M&A activity in the region surged 88 per cent year-on-year to reach $36 billion during the first 10 months...[By Tala Michel Issa via arabianbusiness.com]
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The Saudi Arabia Council of Health Insurance (CHI) has announced penalties against several employers for failing to meet mandatory health insurance...[By Roxanne Libatique via insurancebusinessmag.com]
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Iran's annual inflation rate reached 31.8% in January 2025, with monthly inflation climbing to 2.9%, the Statistical Center of Iran (SCI) reported on January 22,...[via substack.com]
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Syria's new authorities are using Islamic teachings to train a fledgling police force, a move officers say...[By Amina Ismail and Khalil Ashawi via reuters.com]
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Investcorp, a leading global alternative investment firm, is pleased to announce that it has been chosen by a large Asian institution to invest in South-East...[via investcorp.com]
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In neighbourhoods levelled by 15 months of war with Israel, Hamas officials are overseeing the clearance of...[By Nidal Al-Mughrabi via reuters.com]
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The politics on both sides are fraught. It’s not clear who can speak for Hamas. Israel killed...[By Jon B. Alterman via csis.org]
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President Trump comes into the White House from a position of relative strength compared to the outgoing Biden administration. He is inheriting two ceasefire agreements:...[By Burcu Ozcelik via rusi.org]
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China broke its own records for new wind and solar power installations again last year, official data...[By Farah Master, Colleen Howe, Lewis Jackson via reuters.com]
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Hamas released three Israeli hostages and Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, the first day of...[By Mohammed Salem, Nidal Al-Mughrabi and James Mackenzie via reuters.com]
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President-elect Donald Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, is considering a visit to the war-torn Gaza Strip as part...[By Olympia Sonnier via yahoo.com]
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