Category: Business

Riyadh, Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Interior and General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Minister of Interior of the Kingdom of Bahrain, chaired the second meeting of the Security and Military Coordination Committee which is affiliated with the Saudi-Bahraini Coordination Council.

The meeting was held at the Ministry of Interior’s office here today.

At the beginning of the meeting, Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud welcomed the Bahraini Minister of Interior and the accompanying delegation, and conveyed to them the greetings of 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, and their wishes the success of the meeting and its expecting fruitful outcome that may contribute to preserving and strengthening the security of the two fraternal countries.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz also hailed the well-established historical relations, which have become a model for strategic cooperation in the field of employing resources and capabilities in order to maintain the common interests of the two fraternal countries, stressing that the meeting comes as a continuation of strengthening cooperation and coordination in security areas of common interest.

For his part, General Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa delivered a speech in which he stressed that the historical relations between the two countries contribute to strengthening their security, citing the distinguished relations between the ministries of the interior in the two countries, which are witnessing tangible development in various security fields.

The meeting discussed topics on the agenda, and issued a number of necessary recommendations and initiatives.

The meeting also witnessed the signing of a cooperation agreement in the security field between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

OPEC+ looks set for deep cuts to its oil output targets when it meets on Wednesday, curbing supply in an already tight market despite pressure from the United States and others to pump more.

The potential OPEC+ cut could spur a recovery in oil prices that have dropped to about $90 from $120 three months ago due to fears of a global economic recession, rising U.S. interest rates and a stronger dollar.

OPEC+, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, is working on cuts of 1-2 million barrels per day, sources told Reuters, with several sources saying cuts could be closer to 2 million.

The United States is pushing OPEC not to proceed with the cuts arguing that fundamentals don’t support them, a source familiar with the matter said.

Sources said it remained unclear if cuts could include additional voluntary reductions by members such as Saudi Arabia or if cuts could include existing under-production by the group.

OPEC+ fell about 3.6 million bpd short of its output target in August.

Source: National News Agency

Manama, Oct. 5(BNA): Finance and National Economy Minister Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa hailed deep-rooted fraternal relations binding the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, led by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. 

He praised the keen interest of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in supporting joint ties and bolstering partnerships between the two countries. 

The minister made the statement as he received today Saudi Ambassador to Bahrain HRH Prince Sultan bin Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. 

The two sides highlighted strong historic and brotherly relations and steadily-growing cooperation, particularly in the financial and economic fields. 

They also reviewed ways  of further strengthening joint cooperation and coordination between the two countries, in the financial and economic sectors, in addition to issues of common interest. 

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Riyadh, The Minister of Economy and Planning in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Faisal Al-Ibrahim, received the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain in Riyadh, Shaikh Ali bin Abdulrahman bin Ali Al Khalifa.

The Saudi minister welcomed Shaikh Al Khalifa, praising the deep-rooted relations between both countries, wishing him success in his diplomatic duties.

For his part, Shaikh Al Khalifa valued the growing brotherly relations, expressing his appreciation to the Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning for his support in enhancing bilateral cooperation.

The two sides reviewed the close relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and ways to enhance them to meet common interests.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

RIYADH,  Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Finance Mohammad Al Jadaan and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva signed Monday a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on setting up a regional office in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The memo focuses on bolstering cooperation between the IMF and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, and boosting relations with the governments of the region’s countries, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported.

It also aim to expand the fund’s activities in developing capabilities that makes Saudi Arabia the second largest contributor to building capabilities in the region, it added.

During a news conference following the signing, Al-Jadaan said the meeting of GCC ministers of finance and Governors of the central banks discussed with the IMF all means aiming contribute to strengthening relations between the two sides.

Signing the MoU will meet all needs relating to advice and consultations given to the GCC states, he noted.

Georgieva lauded Saudi Arabia’s vital role at the international level, especially its support to the countries of the region, mainly the vulnerable ones affected by several shocks, including the Covid 19 and the geopolitical situation.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Casablanca, The Federation of Saudi Chambers and the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM) organized today the Moroccan-Saudi Economic Forum in Casablanca, Morocco, in the presence of Minister of Commerce Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, and Moroccan Minister of Industry and Trade Riad Mazur, with the participation of 130 Saudi and Moroccan companies, in order to advance the economic partnership that links the two kingdoms, strengthen commercial cooperation and expedite investments in the targeted sectors.

Minister of Commerce Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi stressed, during his speech at the forum, the need for business owners in the two countries to agree to draw up plans for attracting and a clear roadmap and targets for the Saudi-Moroccan economic relations, noting the opportunities that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Morocco have in light of the projects of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, especially joint investment opportunities in Africa and Europe.

For his part, Moroccan Minister of Industry and Trade Riad Mazur said that it is aimed to raise the volume of trade exchange between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Morocco to $5 billion annually in the coming years, stressing that this goal is possible in light of the huge opportunities and capabilities of the two countries, calling on Saudi investors to benefit from 670 industrial projects in Morocco.

A number of Saudi and Moroccan entities discussed the opportunities and services available to investors, including: Ministry of Investment, the Saudi Export Development Authority, the National Center for Palms and Dates, and the Moroccan Bank of Industrial Projects.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Istanbul The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that more than 6 million tons of Ukrainian grain has been shipped since the conclusion of the Istanbul Agreement in early August.

The Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement today, Tuesday, that the number of ships loaded with grain that left the ports of Ukraine from the beginning of August until the end of last September, in implementation of the grain agreement concluded between Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations, reached 260 ships.

It is noteworthy that Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations had signed the document of the initiative for the safe shipment of grain and foodstuffs from Ukrainian ports” during a meeting hosted by Istanbul on the twenty-second of last July.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Riyadh, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has jumped 15 ranks on the 2022 Global Innovation Index (GII) issued by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), after it realized advanced ranks on several sub-indicators and ranked among the top 10 internationally on four indexes, including the index of venture capital investment in emerging technological companies, where the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ranked seventh, advancing 73 ranks, in addition to the indexes of accessibility to ICT infrastructure, organizational environment for doing business and the use of ICT infrastructure.
This improvement on GII is a result of innovative movement represented by the support of the wise leadership to the research, development and innovation sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the integration of the innovation system and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s launching of national aspirations and priorities for research, development and innovation that aim at making the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia one of the leading countries in the field of innovation worldwide in a way that realizing its ambitious vision in transforming into an innovation-based economy and contributing to the development and diversity of the national economy.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Manama, His Majesty the King’s Advisor for Media Affairs and the Honorary President of the Bahrain Public Relations Association (BPRA) Nabeel bin Yacoub Al Hamer received Al Ahsa Chamber Chairman Abdulaziz Saleh Al Mousa, who handed him The Golden Sail Award for Excellence in Public Relations 2022.

The advisor congratulated Al Mousa for winning the award and the Al-Ahsa Chamber represented by the Institutional Communication Department with this award and praised the Chamber’s achievements and its role in revitalizing the trade and investment movement in the Al Ahsa region.

Al Hamer expressed pride in the distinguished historical relations between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and the development in cooperation in all sectors.

The chairman expressed his appreciation to the advisor for honoring the achievement and praised his efforts in serving the Bahraini community and developing public relations, communication and media at the regional level.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Riyadh, As part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s continuous support to the Yemeni people and the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY), represented by its Supervisor General Ambassador Mohammad bin Saeed Al Jaber, and the Yemeni government, represented by Minister of Electricity and Energy Eng. Mane Yaslam Bin Yamin signed a grant agreement of Saudi oil derivatives with a total value of USD 200 million to provide a total of 250,000 metric tons of oil derivatives to the Republic of Yemen.
This came in response of a request of the Yemeni government to help it provide oil derivatives to operate power generation stations in Yemen.
The signing ceremony was also attended by Yemeni Minister of Finance Salem bin Saleh bin Braik.
SDRPY has already implemented the procedures of delivering the first batch of Saudi oil derivatives with a value of USD 30 million out of the total value of USD 200 million to operate more than 70 power generation plants in Yemen.
During the signing ceremony, Al Jaber said that the new grant agreement of Saudi oil derivatives reflects the bonds of brotherhood and solid relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Yemen and an extension of Kingdom’s development and economic support to Yemen through SDRPY in all fields and aims to enhancing and supporting the Yemeni economy in a way that enables the Yemeni government to fulfil its other commitments.
For his part, Bin Yamin praised the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through SDRPY in securing the Saudi oil derivatives grant, which directly contributed to increasing the capabilities of government institutions and the stability of electric power in various government and private institutions and the industrial sector, in addition to boosting the commercial activities in all governorates. He noted that providing electricity has also contributed to improving the basic services provided to citizens, mainly security and social stability. The minister added that the Saudi oil derivatives grant had a direct impact on providing electricity in Yemen and maintaining good reserves of oil, as well as disbursing amounts of oil derivatives in an organized and stable manner, which reflected in increasing operation periods of electricity plants, reaching more than 20 hours per day in some governorates.
The new oil derivatives grant stresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s keenness to realize security, stability and development for the Yemeni people, and is an extension of previous grants totaling USD 4.2 billion, the latest of which was a grant of USD 422 million that was completed over a year and contributed to economic stability, boosting the budget of the Yemeni government, increasing the purchasing power of Yemeni citizens and improving security conditions, as well as boosting the service sector and improving citizens’ lives, increasing the rate of daily service hours for the operation of power stations and ensuring the self-operation of power plants in Yemen.
Previous oil derivatives grants, provided by SDRPY, contributed to partially lowering government expenditure through alleviating the public expenditure on the government and securing operational budget and wages of the Public Electricity Company with an amount exceeding USD 21 million between May 2021 and April 2022, and doubling the production capacity to reach a target of 2,828 gigawatts per hour during the operation duration of plants.
The grants also played a role in covering the needs of electricity plants in Yemen, where the total energy sales of electricity by Public Electricity Company by USD 81.7 million, marking an increase of 20% compared with previous years, where the cash collection went up by 41% compared with previous years, and contributed to lowering the consumption of the Central Bank of Yemen from foreign currency reserves to buy oil derivatives to generate electricity from international markets through lowering prices of selling fuel derivatives to generate electricity by 79% for diesel and 94% for fuel oil between May 2021 and April 2022.
SDRPY, through oil derivatives grants, seeks to contribute to realizing economic stability in Yemen and taking part in the rehabilitation of the infrastructure of the electricity sector in Yemen, and retrieving basic services with direct impact on the Yemeni people.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– Minister of Communications and Information Technology and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Communications and Information Technology Commission Eng. Abdullah Al-Sawaha held a number of bilateral meetings with his counterparts in Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Spain, the United States of America and Australia. He also met with officials of international organizations, in the presence of Governor of Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) Dr. Mohammed bin Saud Al-Tamimi.

This came on the sidelines of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, held in Romania.

During the meetings, they discussed enhancing cooperation and partnership in the field of technology and communications. They also discussed issues of common interest and ways to enhance the fields of technology, research and innovation in emerging technologies and communications, and harnessing digital technologies for sustainable social and economic development.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Saudi British Joint Business Council (SBJBC) to cooperate in building a joint digital platform “Saudi UK TechHub”, to connect entrepreneurs from both countries with potential supporting companies and institutions in each country.

Under this MoU, signed by Undersecretary of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology for Technology Ibrahim Al-Nasser and SBJBC CEO Chris Innes-Hopkins, the two sides will cooperate in forming a board of directors comprising workers in the public and private sectors from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UK, while SBJBC will be responsible for its financial issues and offering support to realize envisioned goals.

The digital platform aims at connecting, enhancing and supporting technological systems in the two countries, where both sides agreed to work jointly through the Saudi UK TechHub to enable transferring knowledge, enhancing investment and building up relations before enhancing the status of the two kingdoms as regional centers for development and innovation.

Source: Saudi Press Agency