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QUOTED
“This is a clash between an ambitious young man who realizes the world is changing and an elderly cleric clinging to an outdated ideology that brought him to power.” Mustafa Fahs, a Beirut-based commentator who hails from a clerical family critical of the Islamic Republic, referring to the Saudi crown prince and Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Saudi Crown Prince MBS Moves to Exploit Vacuum Left By Iran [MSN]
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TOP STORY
Princess Reema bint Bandar, Riyadh’s ambassador to Washington, represented Saudi Arabia at the inauguration of US President Donald Trump. [more]
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MORE TOP STORYLINES
Via Faisal Alibrahim in weforum.org: Global growth is forecast to reach modest levels of between 2.7%-3.2% in 2025. At the same time, macroeconomic risks such as inflation, debt and uneven recoveries persist. On top of this, splintering trade ties, technological disruptions to business and labour markets and the complexities of the energy transition are reshaping the foundations on which growth has traditionally been built. As high-growth ambitions collide with the hard realities of the geoeconomic landscape, we need a clear and irreversible pathway towards inclusive, sustainable and resilient growth. Opportunities to rebuild and reimagine economic development models in the wake of both the global financial crisis of 2008 and the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic were not fully grasped. Now, we are compelled to course correct. We will only draft a new economic playbook that succeeds if we double down on global collaboration, not if we turn away from it.
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Via Joumanna Bercetche & Abeer Abu Omar in theedgemalaysia.com: Saudi Arabia’s membership in the BRICS bloc of emerging economies is still being assessed more than a year after the kingdom was invited to join the alliance, according to the country’s minister of economy and planning. “The kingdom is always focusing on fostering more global dialogue,” Faisal Al-Ibrahim said in an interview with Bloomberg Television at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “We have been invited to the BRICS, similar to how we have been invited to many other multilateral platforms in the past historically,” he said. “We assess many different aspects of it before a decision is made, and right now, we are in the middle of that.” Saudi Arabia’s hesitation to join BRICS group — made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa initially — is in contrast to most other countries that were invited to join the bloc in 2023. Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates all agreed to inclusion as the alliance looks to expand its global influence.
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in jdsupra.com: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) continues to develop and promote initiatives to modernize and accelerate its economy and attract international investment. Align with this goal, on 11 January 2025, government entities in the KSA announced funding of SAR10 billion (£2.19 billion) for the Standard Incentives Programme to activate and support the industrial sector. The Standard Incentives Programme offers funding of up to 35% of the initial project investment (capped at SAR50 million for each qualifying project). The support is divided evenly across the project lifecycle, granting 50% during the construction phase and 50% during the production phase. This programme is initially offered to investments in transformative chemical industries, automotive manufacturing and parts, and machinery and equipment. Further successive phases of funding will be announced throughout 2025. The focus of this programme is to develop the manufacturing of products not currently produced in the KSA and develop national resources and talent.
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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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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]
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"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]
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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]
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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]
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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]
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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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