Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Almarai’s second-quarter revenue rose 11 per cent year on year to SAR5.87 billion, as stronger demand for dairy, poultry and bakery products helped the Riyadh-listed food group absorb higher shipping, energy and raw material costs. The company’s first-half revenue reached SAR12.03 billion, up 9 per cent from the same period last year, reinforcing its position as one of the Gulf’s most closely watched […]
The training, announced on July 6, brings together the King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity, known as Mawhiba, and Huawei as Saudi Arabia expands its pipeline of students capable of working across artificial intelligence, cloud computing, big data and telecommunications. The initiative forms part of a wider partnership that aims to train 500 beneficiaries in advanced technology fields.
Participants are being exposed to a mix of theoretical instruction and practical exercises, with the programme structured around real-world AI applications, global technology practices and workplace-based learning. The Shenzhen placement gives students direct access to one of Huawei’s main innovation centres, where they are expected to study how artificial intelligence tools are developed, deployed and integrated into digital infrastructure.
The programme covers core areas including AI fundamentals, machine learning, deep learning, foundation models and AI development tools. Its practical component is intended to help students move beyond classroom-level understanding into applied problem-solving, particularly in fields where AI systems are increasingly tied to business operations, public services and industrial automation.
Mawhiba’s role reflects its long-standing mandate to identify and support gifted students, while Huawei’s participation gives the programme an international industry dimension. The partnership is aimed at matching academic talent with technologies that are shaping labour-market demand, especially as Saudi Arabia increases investment in data centres, digital government, smart cities and automation.
The Shenzhen cohort follows the launch of the first joint Mawhiba-Huawei training track for Saudi university students in China. The programme is being presented as both a skills initiative and an international exposure opportunity, giving participants familiarity with advanced technology ecosystems outside the Kingdom.
Saudi Arabia has placed AI capacity-building at the centre of its digital transformation agenda. The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority has been expanding training schemes for students, professionals and government leaders as part of efforts to create a national workforce capable of supporting data-driven economic diversification.
A separate programme at the authority’s headquarters in Riyadh began with 215 male and female students from 28 universities, giving participants training in data, artificial intelligence and advanced technologies. That initiative was designed to connect academic knowledge with practical experience in computer science, data science and AI, while aligning university outcomes with labour-market needs.
The scale of national AI training has grown sharply. More than 779,000 citizens have been trained through data and AI initiatives, including 9,775 specialists and 260 scientists and experts. More than 80 government leaders have also received training focused on the design and implementation of data and AI strategies.
The Mawhiba-Huawei programme adds a private-sector and cross-border layer to that domestic training push. For students, the China placement offers exposure to applied AI in a corporate setting. For policymakers, it supports an effort to create a wider base of young specialists who can work with global platforms while contributing to local technology goals.
Saudi Arabia’s AI strategy has increasingly focused on building human capital alongside infrastructure. The country has moved to strengthen data governance, support Arabic AI models, expand cloud capacity and encourage the adoption of emerging technologies across education, healthcare, finance, energy and government services.
The emphasis on training also reflects a growing recognition that AI adoption depends on more than hardware and software. Surveys and academic studies on generative AI use in Saudi Arabia show strong public engagement with AI tools, but also uneven technical understanding and concerns over privacy, misinformation, trust and responsible use. Structured training is therefore being treated as a way to improve both competence and confidence.
For universities, the programme underlines the pressure to update curricula as AI changes entry-level skill expectations. Employers in technology, finance, logistics and energy are increasingly looking for graduates who understand data handling, model behaviour, automation workflows and ethical safeguards. Programmes that combine classroom instruction with industry exposure are seen as a route to narrowing that gap.
Gulf Cooperation Council banks are bracing for slower growth as the Middle East war and wider geopolitical uncertainty weigh on credit demand, investor confidence and corporate activity, even as lenders retain strong profitability, capital buffers and stable funding. S&P Global Ratings analyst Tatjana Lescova said banks across the six-nation bloc are expected to continue delivering solid earnings despite pressure from the conflict, higher risk premiums and uneven […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai ADNEC Group delivered AED9.2 billion in economic impact in 2025, marking its strongest annual performance and strengthening Abu Dhabi’s position as a regional centre for exhibitions, conferences, hospitality and business tourism. The figure represented an 8 per cent rise from AED8.5 billion in 2024, supported by higher event activity, stronger visitor flows and deeper integration across venues, events, services, catering, tourism and media. […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai ADNOC Distribution has agreed to buy Shell Downstream South Africa from Shell South Africa Holdings in a transaction that values the business at about $1 billion, giving the Abu Dhabi-listed fuel retailer a large platform in one of Africa’s most developed downstream markets. The definitive agreement covers 100% of SDSA’s share capital, before adjustments for net debt and working capital. Completion is expected […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Saudi Arabia has slashed the price of its flagship crude for Asian buyers by the widest margin in more than two decades, signalling a tougher fight for market share as rising supply and softer demand reshape the oil trade. Saudi Aramco cut the August official selling price of Arab Light crude by $11 a barrel, setting it at $1.50 below the Oman-Dubai average, […]
Majid Al Futtaim’s VOX Cinemas at Mall of the Emirates has been recognised as the first fully accessible cinema in the Middle East, marking a significant shift in how entertainment venues in the region are adapting to universal design standards. The flagship Dubai cinema has secured Dubai Municipality’s Wosool Certificate of Compliance with Accessibility Regulations for Existing Buildings, becoming the first cinema in the GCC to receive […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai The UAE has emerged as the GCC’s busiest confirmed construction market, with 700 execution-ready projects valued at $138 billion, underscoring the country’s shift from post-boom recovery to a broader phase of active development across real estate, energy, infrastructure and specialised industrial assets. Saudi Arabia ranks close behind by project count, with 628 confirmed schemes, though its pipeline is larger in value terms at […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai OPEC+ has approved another increase in oil output targets for August, adding 188,000 barrels per day to planned supply as Gulf exports move back through the Strait of Hormuz and crude prices ease from wartime highs. The decision, taken at a virtual meeting on Sunday, extends a sequence of monthly quota increases that began in April and continued through June and July. Saudi […]
Cape Verde’s breakthrough World Cup campaign ended in Miami Gardens after the Blue Sharks pushed defending champions Argentina to extra time before falling 3-2 in a round-of-32 match that turned one of the tournament’s smallest teams into one of its defining stories. Argentina advanced to a round-of-16 meeting with Egypt, but the night belonged almost as much to Cape Verde, whose players twice came from behind and […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Abu Dhabi’s e& Carrier & Wholesale Services has signed a strategic partnership with Lenovo Connect to deliver global connectivity for electric vehicles, connected cars and industrial IoT systems, strengthening its push into cross-border digital infrastructure as mobility platforms demand faster, safer and more compliant data services. The agreement brings together e&’s international network reach, 5G capabilities and regulatory experience with Lenovo Connect’s IoT […]
Gulf banking systems remain well placed to absorb near-term shocks from the US-Iran conflict, but their credit strength is now tied closely to whether the ceasefire holds and whether the Strait of Hormuz returns fully to dependable commercial use. Fitch Ratings says the durability of the truce between Washington and Tehran will be central to the outlook for banks across the Gulf Cooperation Council, where lenders entered […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Reports that Washington may scale back its troop presence in Saudi Arabia have sharpened scrutiny of a defence relationship that has long underpinned Gulf security, after Riyadh resisted the use of its bases and airspace for operations tied to the Strait of Hormuz during heightened confrontation with Iran. The episode has exposed a difficult shift in one of the region’s most consequential partnerships. […]
Private foreign investment in Saudi Arabia’s private markets reached SR20 billion in 2025, making overseas capital a dominant force in the Kingdom’s fast-expanding private investment landscape as reforms, larger deal pipelines and stronger exit prospects draw more global fund managers to Riyadh. The Saudi Venture Capital Company said foreign inflows accounted for about 60 per cent of total private investments last year, putting the overall market near […]
Kuwait has opened a $4.25 billion three-year term loan to a wider group of lenders, using the Kuwait Investment Authority as borrower on behalf of the Ministry of Finance in a transaction that underlines the Gulf state’s broader return to international financing markets. The facility has moved into general syndication after a group of major international banks was appointed to lead the deal. Mizuho Bank, HSBC, Standard […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Iran has rejected French involvement in clearing mines from the Strait of Hormuz, declaring that Tehran alone will manage security operations in the strategic waterway under its memorandum of understanding with the United States. The rejection, delivered by Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, followed President Emmanuel Macron’s offer for France to work with Oman and other partners on demining and safe passage through […]
Fourteen Saudi nationals were killed when a helicopter belonging to Aramco crashed on Sunday morning at Ras Tanura, a key energy hub on Saudi Arabia’s eastern Gulf coast, authorities said, opening an investigation into the cause of the accident. The aircraft went down at about 6am local time in the Ras Tanura area, west of the Strait of Hormuz, with all those on board reported dead. The […]
There is a particular kind of conversation happening in Munich, Vienna, and Zurich right now. A founder runs the numbers on another year of operating at home, looks at the tax line, the energy bill, and the months lost to permits and paperwork, and starts asking a question that would have seemed exotic a decade ago: what would it actually take to run this from Dubai? In […]
Iraq has signalled that it may reconsider its position inside OPEC unless its production quota is lifted sharply, opening a new dispute inside the oil producers’ group at a time when war-related disruption in the Gulf has strained export revenues and weakened confidence in the cartel’s cohesion. The warning marks an unusually direct challenge from one of OPEC’s five founding members and its second-largest producer after Saudi […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has assured Gulf Arab partners that Washington will not pursue a deal with Tehran at the expense of their security, as the Trump administration tries to build regional support for a preliminary accord aimed at ending months of confrontation with Iran. Rubio delivered the message in Manama at a meeting with Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers and […]
State-backed hacking groups are increasingly borrowing ransomware tactics to conceal cyber-espionage campaigns, with Iran-linked MuddyWater emerging as a prominent example of a wider shift blurring the boundary between criminal extortion and intelligence operations. NCC Group has warned that threat actors tied to governments are using ransomware branding, extortion notes, victim leak sites and negotiation channels not only to increase pressure on targets but also to complicate attribution. […]
Dubai WoodShow 2026 opened with deals worth more than AED150 million, strengthening the exhibition’s role as a regional marketplace for timber, woodworking machinery, furniture inputs and advanced manufacturing technology. The three-day trade event, running from 22 to 24 June at Dubai World Trade Centre, has drawn more than 400 exhibitors from over 45 countries, with more than 600 international brands and five country pavilions. The opening-day transactions […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Abu Dhabi-listed Burjeel Holdings has launched a $1.5 billion senior unsecured sukuk programme on the London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market, giving the healthcare group a new funding platform as it pushes into specialised care, research, digital transformation and AI-enabled medical services. The programme, established through Burjeel Sukuk Limited, marks one of the group’s most significant capital-market steps since its Abu Dhabi Securities […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai U. S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain from June 23 to 25 as Washington moves to reassure Gulf partners over a preliminary accord with Iran that has stirred unease across the region. The visit marks the Trump administration’s most direct diplomatic push to explain the terms of the framework to close allies whose […]
