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Gulf intelligence
Policy, investment, residency and the transformation of everyday life in the Kingdom.
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PARIS — Saudi Arabia and the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) signed the "SEE Agreement" to establish the legal and administrative framework governing the participation of countries and…
Read the full brief →RIYADH — Saudi Arabia maintained a merchandise trade surplus in June 2026, despite national non-oil exports declining 11.4 percent compared with the same month last year, according to the General Authority…
PARIS — Saudi Arabia and France have extended their strategic partnership for the development of AlUla until 2035.The extension was formalized through an agreement amending and extending the existing…
PARIS — Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman and French President Emmanuel Macron held bilateral talks at the Élysée Palace in Paris on Monday before chairing the inaugural meeting of the…
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron announced a €6 billion Saudi-backed investment to develop three theme parks in Cergy-Pontoise, northwest of Paris, describing the project as unprecedented and the…
PARIS — French foreign direct investment stock in Saudi Arabia reached SR63.9 billion (€16.3 billion) in 2024, more than doubling from its 2021 level and making France the Kingdom’s fourth-largest source of…
JEDDAH — The Council of Ministers reiterated Saudi Arabia’s categorical rejection of repeated Iranian attacks on commercial vessels and tankers. The Cabinet session, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy…
JEDDAH — The Jeddah Mayoralty, through its Agency for Branch Municipalities and affiliated municipalities, has intensified simultaneous field inspection campaigns to combat negative practices across several…
Type 2, no AI processing
MANAMA — Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan attended the 168th session of the Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Manama on Sunday. The meeting was chaired by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain and Chair of the current session of the GCC Ministerial Council Dr. Abdullatif Al Zayani. It was attended by the…
MANAMA — The Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) called for designating the Houthi militia as a terrorist group and dealing with it in the same manner the international system addresses terrorist groups that threaten security, peace, development, and prosperity. In a final communique, issued at the end of the 168th session of the…
ABU DHABI — The United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan received Saudi Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. During the meeting, they discussed the fraternal relations between the two countries and ways to further enhance joint cooperation. Sheikh Mohammed and Prince Khalid also reviewed the latest…
MANAMA — Six Saudi citizens were injured and three homes and three vehicles sustained material damage when a projectile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia struck a residential area in the city of Najran on Sunday, the General Directorate of Civil Defense revealed. **media[2781803]** The Civil defense teams responded to the incident and followed…
MANAMA — Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov in Manama on Sunday. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the ninth Gulf Cooperation Council—Russia Joint Ministerial Meeting for Strategic Dialogue.Prince Faisal and Lavrov reviewed bilateral relations between the two friendly…
RIYADH — Minister of Justice Dr. Walid Al-Samaani affirmed that the rules governing the work of technical offices, recently approved by the Supreme Judicial Council, will enhance institutional maturity and quality of judicial work.The minister noted that the development of judicial work is founded on establishing quality standards, integrating roles, and…
RIYADH — The rules governing the work of technical offices, recently approved by the Supreme Judicial Council, establish an institutional framework for organizing case preparation and technical review processes in the courts, based on artificial intelligence technologies, Okaz reported quoting well-informed sources.The framework defines responsibilities…
RIYADH — Saudi Arabia's economy remains resilient despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, supported by strong financial buffers, a well-capitalized banking system and prudent economic policies, Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) Governor Ayman Al-Sayari said during the 2026 IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Thailand.In the Kingdom's statement to the…
RIYADH — The King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) received two Best Paper Awards at the 25th WPC Energy Congress in Riyadh, recognizing its research contributions to global energy challenges, including the energy transition and clean cooking solutions in Africa.The center concluded its participation as a National Partner at the…
RIYADH — Students in public schools across Saudi Arabia will enjoy their first extra school holiday of the current academic year next Sunday, Oct. 25. This holiday was approved by the education departments across the Kingdom but is not included in the academic calendar issued by the Ministry of Education. These include six extended school holidays during…
MANAMA — The ninth Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)—Russia Joint Ministerial Meeting for Strategic Dialogue commenced in Manama on Sunday afternoon, with the participation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and foreign ministers of other GCC states.Bahraini Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullatif Al Zayani, who…
RIYADH — As of July 2026, industrial investments in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states reached $426 billion, with the number of factories standing at nearly 22,000. The industrial sector in the Gulf has employed more than 1.7 million people, according to the latest statistical data released by the GCC Statistical Center (GCC-Stat). The report showed…
RIYADH — Two Saudi National Guard officers died when an AH-6i reconnaissance helicopter crashed in the Najran region due to a technical malfunction, the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen announced Sunday.Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki said the helicopter, belonging to the Ministry of National Guard, crashed inside Saudi territory in…
RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Commerce seized more than 1.3 million noncompliant products during Q3 of 2026, alongside more than 144,000 inspection visits to combat commercial fraud and strengthen compliance among commercial establishments. According to the ministry’s Q3 2026 Consumer Protection Bulletin, 1,399,251 products violating the Commercial…
JEDDAH — Red alerts for heavy rain have been issued across parts of Jazan, Asir, Al-Baha and Makkah on Sunday, as moderate to heavy thunderstorms are forecast across several Saudi regions, according to the National Center for Meteorology (NCM). The red alerts cover parts of the four regions, with heavy rainfall expected in the affected areas. The…
RIYADH — Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan received a phone call from his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi to discuss regional developments and ongoing efforts to contain conflicts. During the call on Saturday, Prince Faisal and Safadi, Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, reviewed efforts to limit…
RIYADH — The Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen announced early Sunday that it had intercepted and destroyed two Houthi ballistic missiles targeting Khamis Mushait and three drones over the Riyadh and Eastern regions.Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki said the two ballistic missiles were launched by the Houthi militia toward Khamis Mushait…
RIYADH — Saudi security forces arrested a total of 13,822 illegal residents in a week. The arrests were made in joint inspections, carried out in cooperation with the relevant government agencies, during the period between October 8 and 14, the Ministry of Interior announced on Saturday. Those who were arrested include 6,547 violators of the Residency Law,…
BANGKOK — Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan affirmed that investments by countries such as Saudi Arabia had helped mitigate the impact of the energy shock on the global economy. “The shock would have been far more severe without these investments,” he said. Al-Jadaan, who is also chairman of the International Monetary and Financial Committee…
CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi affirmed that Egypt would take all necessary measures to protect and defend Saudi Arabia, in accordance with the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. He stressed that any Egyptian action, if requested, would be strictly defensive…
RIYADH — The General Directorate of Civil Defense urged the public to exercise caution and stay in safe places amid forecasts of thunderstorms to continue across most regions of the Kingdom through Wednesday. It called on people to keep away from valleys and flood-prone areas, refrain from swimming in them, and follow instructions issued through the media…
ISLAMABAD — Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif received the new Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Dr. Rajeh Albugamy in Islamabad on Friday.Sharif congratulated the ambassador on his appointment, stressing that Pakistan-Saudi relations have developed significantly in recent years, and reaffirmed his country's commitment to strengthening…
RIYADH — The Ministry of Tourism has launched a service allowing private and non-profit tourism establishments to pay financial penalties in installments, under Cabinet Decision No. 105 and the installment rules approved by the Ministry of Finance.The ministry started receiving applications for this service from Tuesday, Oct. 13 until the expiry of the…
NAIROBI — President of Senegal Bassirou Diomaye Faye has awarded Saudi Ambassador to Kenya Saad Al-Nofaia the rank of Commander of the National Order of the Lion, one of Senegal's highest national honors. This is in recognition of his efforts and contributions to strengthening bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and Senegal during his tenure as the…
Opportunity Intelligence
Aramco, Maaden form mining JV to explore nearly 10% of Saudi Arabia’s land The exploration program may create future supplier and specialist-service demand across Mining, Logistics, Professional Services. This is an analytical inference from the reported development, not an opportunity explicitly offered by the source. Foreign participation requirements are not yet clear.
Introduction of a new organizational regulation governing the Higher Education Fund, replacing the previous framework and providing transitional provisions for ongoing governance.
