Last year, Saudi Arabia led the Middle East in military investments, ranking fifth globally with a defense budget of $75 billion. This surpassed many European nations, emphasizing the strategic defense priorities of Middle Eastern countries amidst global powerhouses. Qatar's military expenditure, meanwhile, reached $15.4 billion last year, ranking close to...

Manama, Bahrain - A fourth Bahraini soldier has died after an attack this week on his country's contingent in the Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen's Houthi rebels, the Gulf archipelago's army said.Bahrain had previously announced the deaths of three of its soldiers in Monday's attack near the Saudi border with Yemen. It...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia has unveiled plans to expand the number of licensed companies authorized to offer services to overseas pilgrims for the 2024Haj season, local media reported. Under the new regulations, the licenses will be valid for a period of five years, and the estimated fee for both...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia--Iran has proposed to Saudi Arabia to set up a working group to look into the idea of cancelling visas between the two countries.In this regard, the Iranian deputy tourism minister traveled to Saudi Arabia to proposed the to Saudi Arabia the idea of visa cancellation.A ceremony was...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-- The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has signed two loan agreements with Seychelles to support the social housing in the country.In this regard, CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Marshad signed two development loan agreements with Seychelles Minister of Finance, National Planning...

According to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, a basic framework has been hammered out by all sides that could form the outline of a historic US-brokered deal to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel after decades of hostility. The deal could earn Israel recognition by the guardian of...

Athens, Greece - Greece and Saudi Arabia announced their agreement to establish a jointly-owned company with the goal of connecting their power grids. This marks the initial phase of their ambitious plan to provide Europe with more affordable green energy, according to a statement from the Greek energy ministry, as...

Islamic fintech assets will rise from 0.8% to more than 1 percent globally by 2025, driven by young Muslim demand and favorable regulations, predicts Moody's.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Assets held by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) declined by SAR 24 billion ($6.39 billion) month-on-month (MoM) to SAR 1.76 trillion in August.When compared to August 2022, SAMA’s assets fell by around SAR 229.2 billion, according to data released by SAMA, Argaam reported.SAMA’s investments in foreign...

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi said that preliminary free trade agreement (FTA) between the GCC and Pakistan will help strengthen trade relations and economic cooperation with countries and international blocs.The statement was made during the signing ceremony of the preliminary FTA...

Washington, United States - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held discussions in Washington, highlighting the potential of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. The significant initiative, born out of India's G20 presidency, aims to foster transparent, sustainable, and high-standard infrastructure investments."At the G20...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia  -- Saudi Arabia aims to become a global player in manufacturing electric vehicles (EVs) and related products, including electric batteries, Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Al-Khorayef said on Thursday “The inauguration of Lucid Motor’s plant confirms the sound implementation of the National Industrial Strategy (NIS)...

JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA - The Red Sea International Film Festival has said that internationally renowned writer, director and producer Baz Luhrmann will preside over the festival's Red Sea: Features Competition Jury this year.The festival's third edition will take place from November 30 to December 9 in Jeddah.The Red Sea: Features...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia--Red Sea Global (RSG) will become the exclusive agent for Bear Grylls Survival Academy (BGSA) bringing the world-famous survival and adventure brand to Saudi Arabia.It is the second outdoor tourism project of Grylls’ in the Middle East, who has another outpost in the UAE’s Ras Al Khaimah mountains....

AlUla, Saudi Arabia – The world's most popular obstacle-course racing challenge, Tough Mudder, announced the launch of a Tough Mudder Infinity race for the first time in the Middle East, to be held on February 24 next year in AlUla Governorate, one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the...

According to financial daily Handelsblatt, production came to a complete standstill in Wolfsburg and at the company's plants in Emden, Osnabrueck and Zwickau. Offices at the Wolfsburg headquarters were also affected, Handelsblatt said.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia has announced its intention to revise its tourism goals, increasing the target number of visitors from the previous 100 million by 2030 to a new goal of 150 million, Mahmoud Abdulhadi, the Deputy Minister of Destination Enablement at the Ministry of Tourism, said  during...

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - Lucid Group, which is partially owned by the Public Investment Fund, launched Wednesday its first international factory in Jeddah-based King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC).The manufacturing unit extends over an area of more than 1.35 million square meters, occupying about 31% of the total area allocated to...

The Biden administration made the decision after Israel in July promised a series of steps to comply with longstanding US demands to treat all US passport holders equally -- without discriminating against Americans who are of Palestinian or other Arab heritage or who are Muslim. Visa-free travel marks "a critical...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The Saudi Commission launched Wednesday "Saudi Football Trouq", a unique initiative that is dedicated to the documentation of Saudi football club chants. This endeavor, driven by the commission's commitment to preserving the Kingdom's diverse musical and artistic heritage, is carried out in collaboration with the Saudi...

The bank will extend three-year credit facility of $500 million.

The former Mastercard chief executive told the Council on Foreign Relations in New York that the bank should alter its current twin mandate of poverty alleviation and boosting shared prosperity to include climate change. Banga's comments in New York come shortly before global leaders are due to gather for the...

Sudairi's delegation, which crossed overland from Jordan, was the first from Riyadh to visit the West Bank since the 1993 Oslo Accords, which had aimed to pave the way for an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. When asked whether there will be a Saudi embassy in Jerusalem, Sudairi recalled there...

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – China on Tuesday granted Approved Destination Status (ADS) to the Gulf Kingdom.The bilateral agreement, signed on behalf of the Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia allows Chinese citizens to travel to the Kingdom in group tours in addition to facilitating greater ease of access.ADS is a...

Israel's Tourism Minister Haim Katz is the first Israeli minister to head an official delegation in Saudi Arabia, where he would attend a United Nations World Tourism Organization event in Riyadh.

The delegation was led by the Saudi non-resident ambassador to the Palestinian territories, Nayef al-Sudairi, who was to meet Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and top Palestinian diplomat Riyad al-Maliki. Sudairi, the oil-rich kingdom's envoy to Jordan, was last month also named for the Palestinian territories post and appointed consul general for...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia--Saudi Arabia on Tuesday condemned an attack on its territory that killed two Bahraini military personnel near the border with war-torn Yemen.Bahrain's military said late Monday that one officer and one enlisted soldier had been killed in what it described as a drone attack perpetrated by Yemen's Houthi rebels.The...

The victims "were martyred while performing their sacred national duty to defend the southern borders of the sister Kingdom of Saudi Arabia", which has led a military coalition against Yemen's Houthi rebels since 2015, the military said in a statement. The incident occurred as Saudi Arabia is pushing for a...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia has attracted 135 million visitors to events hosted in 120 cities up to the first half of 2023,Turki Alalsheikh, the head of  Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority (GEA), announced it on social media.The GEA has been instrumental in transforming Saudi Arabia's entertainment landscape, issuing...

"The Kingdom underscores the need for collective international efforts to enforce the provisions of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and ensure its universal adoption. We also stress the importance of countering nuclear proliferation in the Middle East," the Saudi minister adds.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-- Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA) has launched a new TV channel called Saudia Alaan (Saudi Now) to highlight the kingdom’s “rapid progress” towards the Saudi Vision 2030 and its recent advancements.The ceremony, held under the patronage of the Minister of Media and Chairman of the Board of Directors...

The Public Investment Fund is a related party to the contracts.

TRENDS digs into Saudi Arabia's booming real estate sector and ambitious projects to find how they offers investors lucrative, long-term, and sustainable growth opportunities.

Yinchuan, China--The sixth China-Arab States Expo commenced today in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, marking yet another chapter in the ever-expanding economic and trade nexus between China and its Arab counterparts.Spanning a sprawling 40,000 square meters, the Expo boasts an offline exhibition arena with participation from over 1,000...

JERUSALEM - Israel offered its congratulations to Saudi Arabia on the kingdom's national day on Saturday as the two countries move closer towards a possible normalization of ties."We send our sincere congratulations to the king, government and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the occasion of the 93rd...

New York, United States - Following the historic normalization deal with Saudi Arabia, six or seven additional Muslim nations are poised to make peace with Israel, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Friday in an interview with KAN News. The revelation comes on the heels of Prime Minister Benjamin...

Beijing, China - Saudi Arabia is seeking Chinese investment in mining and industrial sectors. The Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Ibrahim Alkhorayef met with Chinese investors in Shanghai, where they discussed investment opportunities available in the Kingdom in various sectors The Saudi side highlighted the goals of...

The Kingdom now ranks 17th in global economic rankings and 17th out of 64 countries for global economic competitiveness.

This comes after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hinted at the ongoing efforts to establish ties between the two nations during an interview with Fox News.

ABU DHABI, UAE - The volume of trade exchange between the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia grew by 28 percent in 2022, reaching US$37.4 billion (AED 137.51 billion), compared to US$29 billion (AED 107.41 billion) in 2018.The total non-oil trade between the UAE and Saudi Arabia rose to...

Iran announced the restoring of diplomatic ties with Djibouti over seven years after it joined other regional nations in severing ties with Tehran in support of Saudi Arabia. The decision by the Horn of Africa nation came months after Shiite-dominated Iran and Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia resumed relations under a China-brokered...

Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas's address came a day after Netanyahu discussed Saudi normalization in a meeting with US President Joe Biden. Israel and the United States believe that the Jewish state's normalization with Saudi Arabia -- guardian of Islam's two holiest sites -- would be a game-changer for the Middle...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The Anti-Money Laundering Permanent Committee (AMLPC) hosted a coordination meeting with relevant Saudi permanent committees on Thursday to discuss enhancing systems of countering money laundering, finance of terrorism, and proliferation.The meeting was chaired by Ayman Al-Sayari, governor of the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) and AMLPC chairman.The...

The pact will help manufacture vaccines in Saudi Arabia.

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA -  Saudi cinemas began the screening of the horror and thriller movie Cello, with global participation of stars from the US, England, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Syria.The movie is based on the novel released in 2021 by Chairman of General Authority for Entertainment, Advisor Turki Al Al-Sheikh,...

JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA - The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), which is a member of the Islamic Development Bank, has collaborated with Turk Eximbank to provide a joint loan worth $277 million.This loan includes murabaha facilities, an Islamic finance and investment instrument.This collaboration aims to enhance trade volume among...

Armored cars, missiles and thousands of uniformed fighters filed past Houthi dignitaries in a show of strength from the Iran-backed group, as a military jet buzzed overhead. The parade took place two days after a Houthi delegation left Riyadh following "positive" but inconclusive talks aimed at ending a war that has ravaged...

The $32.81 million deals were registered by Tadawul.

Modified Iranian drones used by Moscow in its war in Ukraine could feed back to Iran, which in turn may employ them in its campaign to prop up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich told a briefing in Abu Dhabi. Washington accuses Iran of supplying Moscow with drones...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The Uruq Bani Ma'arid Reserve in Saudi Arabia has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, becoming the Kingdom's first UNESCO Natural Heritage Site.The decision was taken during the extended 45th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh between the 10th and...