QUOTED

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“Estimates suggest the global airport industry will be worth $194 billion in 2024. The Airports Council International projects that airport investment worldwide is likely to reach $2.4 billion by 2040. “The increasing interest from the Middle East is partly sparked by a desire to show their global credibility as much as the pure investment side.” John Grant, partner at the UK consultancy Midas Aviation and an AGBI columnistMiddle East investors turn to airports for safe returns [Arabian Gulf Business Insight]

TOP STORY

Ministers from 17 countries meet in Riyadh for talks on Syria

Riyadh meetings on Syria

The Riyadh meeting on Syria was attended by representatives of a number of countries from the Middle East and beyond, including Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkiye, as well as the UK and US. Officials from the GCC, EU and UN also took part. [more]

 

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Lebanese president says Saudi Arabia to be 1st destination for foreign visits

in middleeastmonitor.com: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Saturday that Saudi Arabia will be his “first destination” for foreign visits after assuming office on Thursday, Anadolu Agency reports. In a statement, the Lebanese presidential palace confirmed that President Aoun had received a phone call from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. During the call, the crown prince conveyed the congratulations of King Salman bin Abdulaziz on Aoun’s election as the president of Lebanon and extended an invitation for him to visit Saudi Arabia. In response, Aoun confirmed that Saudi Arabia would be his first foreign visit, emphasizing the country’s “historical role in supporting Lebanon” and the importance of Lebanon’s Arab identity in shaping its regional relations.

Saudi Arabia exceeds 2030 target for regional HQs

Via Pramod Kumar in agbi.com: The number of companies setting up their main regional base in the kingdom has reached 571, primarily in the industrial sector, Khalid Al Falih told Asharq Business, an Arabic-language financial portal. The Gulf state, he said, has moved beyond the HQ goals and is working to get global companies to contribute to Saudi Arabia’s economic development. The regional HQ programme is part of plans to make Riyadh one of the world’s 10 largest city economies by 2030 and increase its population to as many as 20 million. These companies will be exempt from corporate tax for 30 years, in addition to relaxed requirements for Saudisation – the programme to increase employment of Saudi nationals – and offering work permits for the spouses of company executives.

US tightens its grip on AI chip flows across the globe

Via Karen Freifeld in aol.com: The U.S. government said on Monday it would further restrict artificial intelligence chip and technology exports, divvying up the world to keep advanced computing power in the U.S. and among its allies while finding more ways to block Chinas access. The new regulations will cap the number of AI chips that can be exported to most countries and allow unlimited access to U.S. AI technology for Americas closest allies, while also maintaining a block on exports to China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. The lengthy new rules unveiled in the final days of outgoing President Joe Bidens administration go beyond China and are aimed at helping the U.S. keep its dominant status in AI by controlling it around the world. New limits will be placed on advanced graphics processing units (GPUs), which are used to power data centers needed to train AI models. Most are made by Santa Clara, California-based Nvidia, while Advanced Micro Devices also sells AI chips. Nvidia and AMD were down between 2% and 3% in premarket trading on Monday.

 

MORE ON THE KINGDOM AND BEYOND

Film and beyond: Leapfrogging into the global screen industry

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]

 

GAFT Leads Saudi Negotiating Team in GCC-Indonesia Free Trade Agreement Talks

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]

 

US ambitions are a fork in the road for GCC crypto

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]

 

GCC targets $188bn tourist spending as visitor numbers boom

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]

 

GCC should target tariff-free food deals with Trump

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]

 

Will GCC get caught in a global trade war crossfire?

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]

 

Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economy records best performance since 2014 in January, says PMI

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]

 

Saudi Arabia conducts military exercises with 15 countries at Air Warfare Center

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]

 

Gulf sovereign wealth funds drive $36bn+ mega-deal boom as UAE, Saudi buck global M&A slowdown

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]

 

Saudi Arabia cracks down on employers over health insurance violations

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]

 

Saudi crown prince receives Germany’s president in Riyadh

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Monday.  The two leaders held an official session...[via arabnews.com]

 

Oil prices: The US is in a ‘delicate dance’ with Saudi Arabia

"Ultimately, we're going to see the seasonal dance: Gas prices are going to go up this spring regardless of tariffs or not, they're going to...[By Julie Hyman and Josh Lipton via yahoo.com]

 

Saudi-PIF backed Umm Al Qura moves ahead with IPO to support $26bn Masar project in Makkah

The IPO proceeds are to be deployed for funding the infrastructure, land settlements, and development of the MASAR Destination, a major Makkah redevelopment project valued...[via arabianbusiness.com]

 

Saudi Arabia champions youth as it drives talent development to fuel Vision 2030

Figures from the General Authority for Statistics released in 2023 show that 63 percent of the Kingdom’s population is under 30 years old, and the government...[By Nadin Hassan via arabnews.com]

 

Saudi Arabia Defers $1.2B Oil Payment By Pakistan

Pakistan has signed an agreement with the Saudi Fund for Development to defer a $1.2 billion payment on the country's oil imports by one year,...[By Alex Kimani via oilprice.com]

 

Saudi Arabia increases defense spending to $78B in 2025

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has allocated $78 billion for defense spending in 2025, up from $75.8 billion spent in 2024, Governor of the General...[By Agnes Helou via breakingdefense.com]

 

How PIF is supercharging the new golden age of gaming

Valued at more than $200 billion globally – larger than the film and music industries combined – the gaming industry has evolved far...[via linkedin.com]

 

The Gulf States in a New Syria

While Egypt became the most visible manifestation of the divergence of Gulf approaches, with first Qatar (in 2012) and then Saudi Arabia and the...[By Kristian Coates Ulrichsen via agsiw.org]

 

Distinguishing Myth From Reality: Saudi Arabia’s Trade and Investment With the United States

Verifying the numbers quoted by Trump, Al-Jadaan, and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is not easy. Definitions are not always clear, data on Saudi investment...[By Tim Callen via ]

 

Final draft of Gaza truce deal presented after ‘breakthrough’

Mediators gave Israel and Hamas a final draft of a deal on Monday to end the ...[By Andrew Mills and Nidal Al-Mughrabi via reuters.com]

 

How much more ‘hell’ can Gaza ‘pay’?

President-elect Donald Trump has sounded a clear warning: If the remaining...[By Ishaan Tharoor via washingtonpost.com]

 
 

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