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Kataeb Party leader, MP Sami Gemayel, on Tuesday welcomed at his Kataeb House office in Saifi, MP, Dr. Ghassan Skaff, in the presence of MP Elias Hankash.
The latest developments, especially the presidential elections, were presented.
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon
The Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hussein Ibrahim Taha, has praised Saudi Arabia’s various and determined efforts and its timely initiative that resulted in the evacuation of nationals of OIC member states in addition to other non-member states, crews of diplomats, international and civilian workers, from the Republic of the Sudan due to the deteriorating security situation.
The Secretary-General expressed gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister for their follow-up and guidance of the nationals’ evacuation process.
The Secretary General of the OIC renewed his call on conflicting Sudanese parties to cease-fire and resort to dialogue in order to restore the security and safety of the Sudanese people, the Sudanese state and its capabilities
Source: Saudi Press Agency
A Middle East Airlines plane arrived at 3.00 p.m. on Tuesday at Rafic Hariri International Airport, coming from Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah, carrying the first batch of the Lebanese, Palestinians and Syrians who were evacuated from Sudan yesterday (Monday).
The first batch, 12 passengers, was welcomed at Beirut’s airport by Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Abdallah Bou Habib, Lebanon’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Fawzi Kabbara, and the Secretary-General of the High Relief Commission, Major General Mohammed Khair.
Welcoming the first batch of the evacuees at Beirut’s airport, Caretaker Minister Bou Habib said: “We thank Saudi Arabia for giving priority to the evacuation of our nationals from Sudan,” stressing that “with agreement and cooperation, everything can be achieved.” Bou Habib also pointed out that “our unity always saves us and contributes to our success.”
It is to note that the second batch, 32 passengers, arrives at 11:30 pm.
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon
A delegation from the Shura Council headed by Assistant to the Speaker of the Council, Dr. Hanan bint Abdulrahim Al-Ahmadi, starts an official visit to the Kingdom of Sweden.
Al-Ahmadi said in a press statement that during the visit, the Council delegation will discuss parliamentary relations between the Shura Council and the Swedish Parliament, means to support their ties, emphasizing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s position towards various regional and international issues and Saudi Arabia’s pioneering role in supporting international peace and stability.
The meeting will tackle humanitarian aid efforts internationally by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) and its influential role in alleviating human suffering worldwide, the statement added.
Source: Saudi Press Agency
World Bank Group President David Malpass has expressed thanks and appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, for the Kingdom’s contribution and support in evacuating the World Bank staff from Sudan to Saudi Arabia.
?In a letter sent to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the World Bank Group president said: “We express our gratitude and appreciation for the generous support provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to our staff in Sudan. Saudi Arabia’s swift action and unwavering support have been truly remarkable.”
He also expressed appreciation for the Kingdom’s embassy and its staff in Khartoum for caring for the World Bank staff and their dependents, which, he said, is greatly appreciated in this time of great need.
Source: Saudi Press Agency
Prime Minister Eng. Hussein Arnous has stressed that the Government has worked, in full coordination with all segments of the society, including the associations, organizations and unions, since the first moment of the occurrence of the earthquake to encounter its repercussions and exploit all available potentials to alleviate its impacts.
Eng. Arnous added, in a press conference on the national plan and basic orientations for building the government’s policy in dealing with the repercussions of the earthquake, that today, the government has started a more advanced phase which is the start to rebuild scores of buildings in Aleppo and Lattakia as a first step to ensure permanent housing for those affected by the earthquake.
The Prime Minister stressed that the national action plan for dealing with the repercussions of the earthquake is comprehensive and cares for tackling all the damage, affected the individuals and the entire society, asserting that the rehabilitation is the responsibility of the State and the society.
He pointed out that hundreds of thousands of apartments have been detected, adding that more than 59,000 buildings need consolidation.
Arnous added that the government works, in cooperation with the private sector, to ensure job opportunities for the earthquake-affected people, asserting that the government continues to offer facilitations to reoperate the damaged economic facilities and financing the small projects.
He stressed that the government also ensures social services for the most vulnerable groups, of orphans, people with special needs and plans to secure shelters for all of them.
Eng. Arnous said that 4500 families, so far, can start getting loans designated to deal with the aftermath of the earthquake.
The Prime Minister said that loans are not the only way to deal with the repercussions of the earthquake as the state with all its components will provide all it can in this regard.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency
Iran and Saudi Arabia have resumed trade ties after a thaw of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Iranian Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade Reza Fatemi Amin said on Tuesday.
Exports of Iranian commodities to Saudi Arabia are on the agenda, IRNA quoted Fatemi Amin as saying.
“With the beginning of trade between Iran and Saudi Arabia, our colleagues at the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade have commenced the process of exports,” the minister said.
Iran and Saudi Arabia have recently agreed to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies and agencies in both countries, with china’s help.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency
The Syrian, Russian, Iranian, and Turkish defense ministers held quadripartite meeting on Tuesday to discuss withdrawal of Turkish forces from Syrian territory and implementation of the agreement on the M4 International Highway, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
On December 28th of 2022, the Ministry announced that a meeting had been held among Syrian Defense Minister, Director of Syrian General Intelligence Administration with their counterpart, the Turkish Defense Minister and Turkish Head of Intelligence Apparatus in the Russian capital of Moscow with the participation of The Russian side.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed a number of issues, and the meeting was positive
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency
Salalah Free Zone, a subsidiary of Asyad Group, signed an agreement to establish a project for processing ferrous alloys and high-quality recycled wrapping paper. The agreement was signed with Chinese silicon industry company Besto Hengda Oman.
The project will be built on an area of 300,000 square meters, with an investment worth USD 230 million (RO 88.5 million.
In its first phase, its production capacity is scheduled to reach about 90,000 tons of ferrosilicon alloys annually. The output will be doubled in the second phase to 180,000 tons per annum.
The production capacity of recycled wrapping paper in the first phase is about 300,000 tons annually.
Represented by Asyad of Oman Investment Authority (OIA), Salalah Free Zone provides competitive incentives that make it easier for investors and industrialists to establish projects and start operating, producing and exporting rapidly and efficiently.
Source: Oman News Agency
The National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) issued the 2nd edition of the “Quarterly National Accounts Indicators” report, which highlights the most important indicators at current and fixed prices, growth rates of economic activities and prominent indicators boosting the rise in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), until the end of December 2022.
The Sultanate of Oman’s GDP at fixed prices increased by 4.3% by the end of December 2022 to stand at RO 36.1 billion compared to the corresponding period in 2021.
Statistics indicated that this rise is attributed to the growth in oil activities by 10.2% at fixed prices compared to the same period in 2021. It is also attributed to the rise in activities of mining and utilizing quarries by 10.5%. Meanwhile, the construction activities declined by 23.2% in 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, being the lowest among economic activities.
The report indicated that the Sultanate of Oman’s GDP at current prices recorded an increase by 30% to stand at RO 44.1 billion till the end of December 2022 compared to the same period in 2021.
This rise is contributed to the surge in oil activities by the end of 2022 at current prices by 61.6% compared to the corresponding period in 2021, being the highest among economic activities. It is also contributed to the growth of the activities of converting industries by 49.6% during the same period.
The per capita GDP for 2022 at current prices amounted to RO 8,936.
Source: Oman News Agency
A student company called “ECOF”, from Dohat Al Adab School’s (grades 10-12), in Muscat Governorate, succeeded in developing environmentally friendly and sustainable filaments for 3D printers. The filaments are made of waste organic materials and bioplastics.
The student company’s supervisor, Iman Ali Al Rahbia, told Oman News Agency (ONA) that the idea of the product emerged with the large spread of 3D printers, which means an increase in the consumption of plastic filaments.
Iman said that the outcome would be a shortage in supply in the Middle East region and a major rise in prices of the product, since most companies import filaments from North America, China and other countries.
Iman added that the yarns made by her company (ECOF) command high mechanical properties, which qualifies them to compete with the best yarns in the market. She explained that ECOF company’s eco-friendly and biodegradable yarns have a competitive price, which spares the beneficiaries the hardship of importing the product from abroad and paying additional amounts for shipping.
Regarding the company’s future plan, Iman pointed out that the company is working on an integrated production line to produce and export yarns. This, she observed, would eventually provide many jobs and support the national economy.
Source: Oman News Agency
Oman oil price (June Delivery 2023) today reached 82.74 US Dollars, comprising a rise by 1.49 US Dollars from the price of yesterday (Monday), which was 81.25 US Dollars.
The average price of Oman oil (April Delivery 2023) has stabilized at 82.23 US Dollars per barrel, thus 1.31 US Dollar per barrel higher than March Delivery 2023.
Source: Oman News Agency