Foreigners will no longer be allowed to work in Saudi Arabia’s numerous shopping malls, the labour ministry announced Thursday, in the latest measure to boost employment of Saudis. The kingdom has intensified efforts to develop more jobs for its citizens under a wide-ranging drive that began last year to diversify the oil-dependent economy. Known as Vision 2030, the plan calls for development of non-oil industries, small and […]
By Warren Strobel and Arshad Mohammed | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The United States wants new commitments from Saudi Arabia to improve its targeting procedures to minimize civilian casualties in its part in the Yemen civil war as it weighs resuming sales of precision-guided munitions to Riyadh, U.S. officials told Reuters. An announcement of the weapons sale had been anticipated last month, but objections by mostly Democratic lawmakers and […]
CAIRO: US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis arrived in Cairo Thursday on the latest leg of a regional tour, as ties with Egypt continue to warm under President Donald Trump.After touching down at Cairo airport, Mattis set off to meet President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who was hailed by Trump during a White House visit earlier this month.Sissi’s visit marked a shift in relations after Trump’s predecessor Barack […]
Following years of acrimony between OPEC and the hedge fund community, which the cartel dismissed simply as “speculators”, things suddenly changed in 2016 when the two groups got so close, there were outright reports of collusion between the two on various occasions. We documented this last month in “Why OPEC Is Colluding With Hedge Funds.” However, as Reuters’ energy analyst John Kemp pointed out on twitter this […]
The chairman of Saudi-based construction giant Dar Al-Arkan on Wednesay rang the market opening bell to celebrate the listing of a $500 million sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai, the region’s international exchange. Yousef Bin Abdullah Al-Shelash said the listing provides support for Dar Al-Arkan’s capital-raising strategy as it prepares for further property development activities across Saudi Arabia. The sukuk was two times oversubscribed and received significant interest from […]
ABU DHABI Kuwait’s oil minister Essam al-Marzouq said on Thursday he expected a global pact to cut oil supplies to be extended beyond June, supported by higher compliance from non-OPEC producers. “We have a noticeable increase in compliance from non-OPEC which shows the importance of extending the agreement,” Marzouq told an industry event with other Gulf oil ministers including Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Khalid al-Falih in Abu […]
By Lesley Wroughton | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday accused Iran of ‘alarming ongoing provocations’ to destabilise countries in the Middle East as the Trump administration launched a review of its policy towards Tehran. Tillerson told reporters the review, which he announced on Tuesday, would not only look at Tehran’s compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal but also its behaviour in the […]
A Saudi military helicopter that crashed in Yemen killing 12 Saudi soldiers was likely hit by “friendly fire”, military sources said Wednesday. The soldiers, including four officers, died Tuesday when the helicopter went down in Yemen’s Marib province, the Saudi-led Arab coalition fighting Iran-backed Huthi rebels said in a statement. “As the Saudi helicopter was not identified by the ground operations centre, the air defence system was […]
The defense secretary said Iranian support for the Houthis was destabilizing Yemen, and he talked up the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia. Relations are enjoying salad days in the Trump administration after years of friction between the Obama administration and the Saudi leadership, which thought Obama officials were too friendly with Iran. Continue reading the main story Mr. Mattis’s two-day visit, the start of […]
By Steve Holland | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump may add a visit to Saudi Arabia to a trip to Europe in May in what will be his first overseas journey since becoming president, a senior administration official said on Wednesday. Such a trip is “being discussed,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Trump is already planning to attend a NATO summit in Brussels […]
LONDON OPEC plans to meet with non-OPEC oil producers on the same day as its scheduled May 25 conference, sources familiar with the arrangements said, as they decide whether to extend supply cuts into the second half of the year. Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will convene at their Vienna headquarters. Joint talks with non-OPEC oil ministers will also take place that day, […]
Twelve Saudi soldiers, including four officers, were killed on Tuesday when their helicopter went down in Yemen, the Arab coalition fighting Yemeni rebels said in a statement. The Saudi Black Hawk “fell during operations in the province of Marib” east of Sanaa, the coalition said in a statement carried by SPA state news agency, without clarifying the reason. “The causes of the incident are being investigated,” the […]
19 April 2017 Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the Federal Republic of Nigeria have discussed potential collaboration in Science & Technology, innovation and food security. The discussion took place at the IsDB headquaters led by Mr. Sayed Aqa, IsDB Vice President, Cooperation and Country Programming, with Chief Ogbonnaya Onu, Nigeria’s Minister of Science & Technology. “IsDB is scaling up in the […]
For the few who might not be familiar with the business, what’s the story behind Aldar? Aldar was founded just over a decade ago in 2005, and is now the leading real estate lifestyle developer in Abu Dhabi. Since we began, we have always pushed boundaries, resulting in some of Abu Dhabi’s most iconic real estate projects. Our business focuses on two main areas – real estate […]
Terrorism and declining oil prices affected the regional hospitality sector especially in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt, according to Mark Willis, Vice president Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. Willis is however optimistic about the results of the Saudi economy during the first quarter of 2017 while stressing that the most difficult performance for their Radisson Blu hotels was in Turkey and Egypt. “We […]
RIYADH British Prime Minister Theresa May called for an investigation into reports of a chemical weapons attack in northern Syria on Tuesday. “I’m appalled by the reports that there’s been a chemical weapons attack on a town south of Idlib, allegedly by the Syrian regime,” May said while visiting Saudi Arabia. “If proven, this will be further evidence of the barbarism of the Syrian regime.” She urged […]
British Prime Minister Theresa May arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday hoping to tap the oil-rich kingdom’s “immense potential” as she looks to secure post-Brexit investment and trade. May landed at a military airport in the Saudi capital, state news agency SPA said, coming from Jordan. Facing criticism at home and calls to raise rights issues with Saudi leaders, May insisted she had no problem talking about […]
RIYADH British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday she would raise “hard issues” with Saudi Arabia’s leaders during her visit, as critics urged her to pressure Riyadh over its war in Yemen and human rights record. May was expected to explore ways of boosting trade ties with the kingdom during her two-day visit, her second to a Gulf Arab state since Britain decided to leave the […]
The ‘Panama Papers‘ scandal was one of the biggest data leaks in history. But a year on from the exposé by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), it appears to be simply ‘business as usual’; as few governments have meaningfully tackled the issues of tax avoidance and evasion. Unparalleled leaks The leak was huge. It contained 11.5 million documents, and named more than 200,000 companies, 14,153 clients in […]
For traders trying to decipher if Opec’s output cuts are finally tightening the oil market, the evidence may lie out at sea. Data provided to the Financial Times show that crude oil being shipped over the oceans or stored on supertankers has dropped by as much as 16 per cent since the beginning of the year, in a signal that supplies could be dropping faster than many […]
Saudi Arabia posted its first rise in non-oil exports for eight months in January, according to latest data released by the country’s Central Department of Statistics and Information. The value of Saudi Arabia’s imports shrank 11.6 percent to SR43.2 billion from a year earlier in January while non-oil exports rose by 10.3 percent to more than SR14 billion over the same period. Non-oil exports traditionally account for […]
Knowledge+™ provides Saudi leaders the skills to lead their own communications teams 04 April 2017Knowledge+™ provides Saudi leaders the skills to lead their own communications teams Al Riyadh – Leading public relations and communications agency Hill+Knowlton Strategies (H+K) has launched Knowledge+™, a communications training academy created as a solution to the talent development needs of the Middle East and North Africa region. Bridging the skills gap through […]
Benjamin J. Rhodes, who was a foreign policy adviser to President Barack Obama, wrote on Twitter: “Kushner in Iraq before the National Security Advisor or Secretary of State. Totally normal.” Continue reading the main story That was not the only way the trip broke with usual government practice: On Sunday evening, as word of Mr. Kushner’s trip began to spread, the White House incorrectly told reporters on […]
That big hug was just what Mr. Sisi’s government sought, said Eric Trager, a scholar on Egypt at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “It wants to see the White House legitimate it, and set it on a new course.” Continue reading the main story The scene provided a powerful counterpoint to Mr. Sisi’s many critics, in Egypt and abroad, for whom he is known as […]
