The 966

The 966and host, Richard Wilsonwelcome to Episode #134 Laura Morgan, Market Intelligence Lead, MEA, JLL to discuss Saudi Arabia’s Booming Construction Sector. Ms. Morgan expands on JLL's Q1 2024 KSA Construction Market Intelligence Report which noted that with $1.5 trillion in the Saudi pipeline of unawarded construction projects, Saudi Arabia accounts for almost 40% of the total MENA pipeline value.  Within that pipeline the construction sector represents $950 billion (62% of the total $1.5 trillion), while transportation, infrastructure, and other utilities account for $582 billion (38%). 

According to MEED Projects, the thriving KSA construction sector reported the highest value of awarded projects in 2023, reaching USD97 billion compared to USD60 billion in 2022. Aligning with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic diversification and investment goals, this value represents only 6% of the potential pipeline, highlighting substantial opportunities within the sector.

Join us for another timely and informative episode of The 966.

Summary

Laura Morgan, Market Intelligence Lead Middle East, and Africa for JLL, discusses JLL's latest KSA Construction Market Intelligence Report and the construction market in Saudi Arabia. The report highlights the potential for GDP growth in Saudi Arabia, driven by Vision 2030 giga projects and infrastructure developments. The report also examines the construction pipeline, awarded and unawarded projects, and the challenges faced by the sector. Laura emphasizes the importance of data and transparency in understanding market trends and risks. She also discusses the progress of economic diversification in Saudi Arabia and the impact of rationalization efforts on the contracting sector.

KeywordsJLL, KSA Construction Market Intelligence Report, Saudi Arabia, construction market, Vision 2030, infrastructure developments, GDP growth, construction pipeline, awarded projects, unawarded projects, challenges, data, transparency, economic diversification, rationalization, contracting sector.

Takeaways

Titles

Sound Bites

"Saudi Arabia's progress on numerous Vision 2030 giga projects and infrastructure developments has cemented the kingdom's position as a leader in construction activity regionally and globally."

Chapters

00:00    Introduction and Overview of JLL and the Construction Market in Saudi Arabia

03:11    Vision 2030 and Infrastructure Developments Driving Growth

08:11    The Construction Pipeline: Overview and Status of Projects

13:12    Data and Transparency: Understanding Market Trends and Risks

15:57    Building Local Capability: Challenges and Progress in the Contracting Sector

23:14    Commitment to Vision 2030: Overcoming Challenges in Saudi Arabia's Construction Market

In Episode #133 of The 966 podcast, Dr. Jennifer Peck, Swarthmore College, expands on her excellent article in Foreign Affairs magazine (Working Women are Changing Saudi Arabia: Reforms Have Made the Economy More Productive, Families More Resilient, and Saudis More Tolerant) where she writes, "This economic transformation has also raised women’s visible participation in public life, made families more financially resilient, and boosted businesses’ productivity by increasing their access to talent. These shifts, in turn, appear to be driving a feedback loop: the more Saudi society embraces women in the workplace, the more the government is encouraged to pursue ambitious reforms." 

In this episode Dr. Peck also discusses the evolution of women's participation in the Saudi labor force and the impact of reforms on the economy and society. She highlights key historical timeframes, such as the 60s, 80s, Arab Spring, and Vision 2030, that have shaped women's access to and impact on the workforce. 

She also discusses the challenges and opportunities that remain, including cultural adaptation, mentorship programs, and the long-term effects of labor quotas on firms.

On the ground the latest Gaza war has caused untold human carnage and massive damage to buildings and infrastructure.  It has also severely damaged the reputation of the United States in the region as well as negatively impacted US company brands. Stefanie Hausheer Ali,senior director at international affairs consulting firm Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC and Atlantic Council nonresident fellow joins host Richard Wilson on The 966 for a deeply informative Episode #132 in which she discusses five impacts of the Gaza war to watch.

1. The reputation of the United States and US company brands have taken a major hit in the region.
2. Boycotts of certain US brands are occurring and will continue to flare up periodically.
3. Israel’s ability to bring in foreign direct investment may be diminished.
4. Arab states are pulling away publicly from the United States in some ways, but still desire close ties.
5. The potential for destabilizing regional protests and lone-wolf attacks has increased.

To read more about this topic please see Ms. Ali's excellent article published by The Atlantic Council.

Show Notes

The 966, episode #131, with Reiting Lee, Founder of The Oriental Hybrid, explores the impact of the growing participation in sports and healthy activities in Saudi Arabia on the fashion industry, particularly sportswear and athleisure. 

Reiting Lee is deeply involved in the youth, sportswear and streetwear fashion sectors in Saudi Arabia and the region and is the dynamic founder of The Oriental Hybrid, a boutique consulting firm specializing in innovation strategy and intercultural communications, that serves Arab fashion brands and provides market insights and trend analysis for corporates and media outside of Saudi Arabia. 

The sportswear athleisure market in Saudi Arabia is currently valued at $1.3 billion and is expected to reach $1.5 billion by 2027, with an annual growth rate of 13%. The primary factors driving this lifestyle change and participation include social media influence, health awareness, overseas education, and government initiatives. Soccer, basketball, yoga, and volleyball are popular sports influencing fashion choices in Saudi Arabia. 

International brands like Adidas, Nike, Puma, and Fila dominate the market, with Adidas being the market leader. 

The Saudi 100 brand initiative, launched in 2021, aims to promote Saudi brands, including sportswear and streetwear. 

The sector has tremendous potential for growth, with opportunities for more female founders and female-friendly products. Collaboration between Saudi brands and international brands, as well as investment in localized campaigns and designs, can further accelerate the sector. The boost in tourism in Saudi Arabia is also expected to contribute to the growth of the sector. The conversation concludes with optimism about the future of Saudi sportswear and the potential for Saudi brands to become prominent in the global market.

Takeaways

Titles

Sound Bites

Chapters

00:00Introduction and Background of Oriental Hybrid

03:07The Impact of Sports Participation on Saudi Fashion

05:15The Growth of the Sportswear Category in Saudi Arabia

09:28The Dominance of International Brands in the Saudi Market

11:50The Emergence of Saudi Brands and the Saudi 100 Program

16:21The Most Influential Sports in Saudi Arabia

20:36The Future Potential of the Sportswear and Athleisure Market

23:12Women-Only Gyms and Modesty in Sportswear

26:46Conclusion and Outlook for the Sector

Keywords

Saudi Arabia, sports participation, fashion industry, sportswear, athleisure, Oriental Hybrid, innovation strategy, intercultural communications, market insights, trend analysis, social media influence, health awareness, overseas education, government initiatives, soccer, basketball, yoga, volleyball, international brands, Adidas, Nike, Puma, Fila, Saudi 100 brand initiative, female founders, female-friendly products, collaboration, localized campaigns, tourism, growth potential

Saeed Al-Ansari, Founder and CEO of Tawaref, a Saudi Arabia-based tech investment community that also provides startup advisory, legal consultancy and due diligence support joins Richard Wilson on The 966to discuss what is needed to establish a business in Saudi Arabia.  Saeed and Tawaref bring an extraordinary amount of experience to this challenge. In addition, Tawaref has published a series of invaluable articles in Wamda, a well-known platform, media site and venture capital firm, on how to establish a business in KSA. 

The series currently includes 8 articles that, “provide a one-stop resource to answer all the repetitive queries that we see throughout our work. Through insightful articles, Tawaref provides valuable insights and guidance on various topics, such as legal and regulatory requirements, key challenges, tips and tricks, how-to manuals, sector-specific information, and opportunities for growth. Showcasing the key hubs, dos and don’ts, common missteps, incorporation detail, facts that save money. “

The articles include: 

Tawaref Series: navigating Saudi expansion

Tawaref Series: an entrepreneur’s journey in Saudi Arabia, from bootstrapping to big bucks

Tawaref Series: A blueprint for foreign investment success in Saudi Arabia

Tawaref Series: The truth behind Saudi landing hard costs

Tawaref series: Categorising Saudi setup partners by soft costs 

Tawaref Series: Saudi corporate annual operating costs explained

Tawaref Series: Understanding annual operating cost in Saudi Arabia

 
“The Saudi Arabian investment landscape has been thriving in recent years, attracting investors from around the globe. With the introduction of business-friendly reforms and attractive incentives by the Saudi Government, the country has become an increasingly potent and vibrant market for entrepreneurs and investors alike. However, navigating the market can be challenging without access to authentic and authoritative content that provides useful and concise information.”

The Saudi-US Trade Group and The 966 strongly recommend the series for anyone looking to establish a presence in Saudi Arabia. 

Saudi cinema re-opened six years ago in April 2018 after a 35-year hiatus. The sector has exploded with revenue during that period close to $1b, over 61 million tickets sold, 1,971 films screened including 45 local productions. Saudi-based director, producer and actor Todd Albert Nims joins The 966 to discuss the origins of the Saudi film sector, how it has transformed and what remains to be done.  In addition to the recent 10th showing of the Saudi Film Festival, Todd examines other ongoing events (Cannes Film Festival, Red Sea International Film Festival, etc.) including the 2nd U.S.-Saudi Film Forum happening later this month.  The 2023 US-Saudi Film Forum Industry Report, is available here https://www.amchamksa.com/us-saudi-industry-film-forum-report. 

William Greene, MD, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of the Hevolution Foundation, joins The 966 to talk about Hevolution's investment strategy and role as an investor in the emerging field of Healthspan Science. As CIO, Dr. Greene oversees all aspects of Hevolution Foundation’s investment strategy, planning, analysis, and execution.

The Hevolution Foundation, based in Riyadh, is a non-profit organization that provides grants and early-stage investments to incentivize research and entrepreneurship in healthspan science.

Last month, Hevolution announced its first ever impact investment to catalyze the healthspan and geroscience ecosystem and drive transformative breakthroughs in healthy aging. 

Dr. William Greene’s leadership positions have included founder, biotechnology executive, investor, and clinician. As CEO, he built Iconic Therapeutics through discovery, clinical development and venture financing, leading to a successful sale of the company. He later helmed longevity biotech company Fountain Therapeutics and co-founded digital therapeutics startup Pear Therapeutics.

Dr. Greene spent 12 years at MPM Capital where he was a Managing Director and member of its Investment Committee, responsible for biotechnology and medical technology investments worldwide. He was also founding Chairman and head of the Investment Committee at the Global Health Investment Fund, a groundbreaking impact-oriented venture fund in collaboration with the Gates Foundation, which successfully scaled both investment returns and health impact simultaneously.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Greene was an Assistant Professor of Medicine at University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) and led clinical trials and strategy for a variety of therapeutic areas at Genentech.

Dr. Greene earned his BA from Wesleyan University and his MD from UCSF. He was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at Yale and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Scholar at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).

U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Michael Ratney joins The 966 to talk diplomacy and U.S.-Saudi relations. 

In recent years, he was the Acting Deputy Director of the U.S. Department of State’s training center, the Foreign Service Institute, where he had also been Dean of the State Department’s School of Language Studies.  He was Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem in 2021, and earlier served on the faculty of the National Defense University.

Ambassador Ratney was the U.S. Special Envoy for Syria from 2015 to 2018, and also served as acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Levant and Israel and Palestinian Affairs.  He was the U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem from 2012 to 2015, where he was responsible for U.S. relations with Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza, and Jerusalem.  He has been Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Media, overseeing a network of State Department media hubs throughout the world, and was Spokesman for the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.

What is the state of the Saudi labor market today?How do Saudis find jobs, and how are young Saudis viewing their prospects in a changing and modernizing Saudi economy and society? Saudi labor market expert Dr. Hanaa Almoaibed talks with Lucien Zeigler about Saudi Arabia's changing labor force, the job market in the Kingdom, youth and employment, the embrace of technical and vocational training, women in the workforce, and so much more.

Before the conversation, Lucien's One Big Thing is *the* one big thing in Saudi Arabia for pretty much every citizen and non-citizen alike: Ramadan. Lucien shares his initial experience with Ramdan in Riyadh, his first despite being a long-time regular visitor since 2009 and now living in Riyadh. He discusses how his fasting is going and observations on how the city changes during the holy month.

Ramadan Kareem and a blessed holy season to all The 966 listeners and viewers. 

In Episode 125, the hosts welcome veteran columnist and analyst Hussein Ibish onto The 966 for his third appearance on the program to unpack the implications of Israel's brutal war in Gaza and the shifting regional and global power dynamics since October 7th. 

Hussein Ibish is a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington and is a weekly columnist for The National (UAE) and The Atlantic. He's also a former columnist for Bloomberg, regular contributor to The New York Times and The Daily Beast, and frequent contributor to many other U.S. and Middle Eastern publications.

Hussein discusses the war in Gaza and calls it a "savage war of vengeance" and the Biden Administration's response to it. He also talks about how the war has aligned the U.S. and Saudi Arabia's interests in forming a Palestinian state when the war is over and how the issue has brought the U.S. and Saudi Arabia closer diplomatically. 

Abdullah Alshamrani, General Manager of the Digital Entrepreneurship Center at Saudi Arabia’s MCIT join The 966 to talk ecosystem development in the Kingdom, the entrepreneurship scene, and the Kingdom as a future destination for tech.

The conversation comes as the Kingdom's flagship tech event, LEAP, is set to kick off in Riyadh in March.

He also shares his journey to becoming General Manager of Digital Entrepreneurship Center at Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, his time in the USA, and more...

The Kingdom’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology works to grow KSA’s digital economy and investment to make Saudi Arabia a global leader in the digital economy. 

The boys are back for their normal format and catch up on just some of the seemingly endless new developments and storylines emerging from Saudi Arabia of late. 

Lucien's "One Big Thing" this week is a first person perspective on living in Riyadh with his family during Riyadh Season, and all of the events, activities and other things to do in the Kingdom that make for an amazing experience for citizens and expats alike. Lucien notes that he's tried to attend every event possible, from sports to arts exhibitions to conferences and more. Formula E, Riyadh Season Cup,  World Defense Show, Diriyah Season, Saudi Ladies International presented by PIF, PIF Private Sector Forum, Formula 1, art exhibitions, tech conferences, AI events...the list goes on. Lucien notes that even with an active schedule he's been unable to see even close to all the things on offer in Riyadh, leaving him to draw the conclusion that the Kingdom is increasingly becoming a globally attractive destination for people looking for nice weather and a busy "high" season when cold winters plague other world capitals. 

The hosts jump then to Yallah! and offer a bonus two additional storylines, bringing the total to 8 this week. 

-Saudi Arabia has tapped an ex-Dell Technologies executive to lead the recently formed Public Investment Fund company Alat, an industrial electronics company with $100 billion in backing that aims to become a local manufacturing powerhouse. 

-Saudi Arabia’s budget deficit reached $21.57 billion in the 2023 fiscal year, narrower than the government’s previous estimates, as oil revenue dipped amid production cuts.
It came as the kingdom increased its spending to boost the economy, the Ministry of Finance said in a budget update on Wednesday.

-Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the United States Princess Reema bint Bandar has addressed criticisms leveled against Saudi Arabia’s potential hosting of the Women's Tennis Association Finals. The ambassador's remarks came as a direct response to an opinion piece in The Washington Post, by tennis greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, which she described as laden with "outdated stereotypes and western-centric views."

-Saudi Arabia’s NEOM has opened its first US office in New York City, which will serve as a base for its business across the US. The announcement comes months after it launched its London office in November to serve as a base for its UK and European business.

-Saudi Arabia’s state-controlled Aramco announced it is pausing plans to raise its crude production capacity from 12 million barrels per day to 13 million barrels per day.

-Organized by Saudi defense regulator General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), the World Defense Show CEO Andrew Pearcy said the biennial event held February 4-8 aims to “grow and support” an industry for which the government has budgeted $71.73 billion in 2024 – up from $69 billion in 2023.

-South Korea beat Saudi Arabia 4-2 in a penalty shootout to advance to the Asian Cup quarter-finals after a thrilling last-16 tie ended 1-1 after extra time at Education City Stadium on Tuesday. After South Korea's Cho Gue-sung equalised in the 9th minute of second-half added time to cancel out Abdullah Radif's opener, Sami Al-Najei and Abdulrahman Ghareeb had their penalties saved by Jo Hyeon-Woo to send South Korea through.

-According to a recent report from Knight Frank, Residential transactions, which accounted for 58.7% of all real estate deals by total value, registered a -16% fall in the number of deals to just under 150,000 sales between January and November 2023, according to global property consultancy Knight Frank’s Winter 2023/24 Saudi Residential Market Review report.

***
 

Waleed Abdel-Fattah, President of the MENA Region at Hill International, joins The 966 to talk about Saudi Arabia’s building boom and Hill’s traction in KSA since entering the market to help build out what is now known as KAFD. Hill has 100 offices across 42 countries, and its main geographical areas are the US, Europe and the North Africa/Middle East region.

Hill has worked on developments like King Salman Park, Jabal Omar development in Makkah, the Riyadh Metro, and others.

Lucien Zeigler sits down with an exclusive conversation with Jerry Todd, Head of the National Development Division at the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, in a new format and program called 966 Live, recorded at PIF studios in a fireside chat style of engagement.

Jerry Todd, who is also on the PIF’s Management Investment Committee, speaks with Lucien about a range of topics related to the PIF’s investment in key sectors in the local economy, human capital in Saudi Arabia, the development of strong supply chains and competitive ecosystems, and more. 

The conversation takes place just days before the PIF is launching its second annual major forum in Riyadh, called the Private Sector Forum, which will see the massive sovereign wealth fund engaging directly with private sector partners as the PIF continues to develop the local content ecosystem. That Forum, which is set to be at least twice the size of the inaugural event in 2023 in Riyadh, will feature panel discussions, fireside chats, an exhibition for the PIF’s 80+ companies to engage with private sector suppliers, and more. 

The conversation begins with a discussion of the Forum and what it hopes to accomplish. 

Then, Lucien asks Jerry about the PIF as an investment institution. How can the PIF “crowd-in” competing companies in spaces in which it is operating to create a thriving local ecosystem? 

The conversation then steers to a discussion of Musahama, the formal name of the PIF’s wide-ranging efforts to achieve important local content goals, and how PIF companies are working toward achieving a local content target of 60% by 2025.

Jerry Todd is a member of the PIF Management Investment Committee. Prior to joining the PIF, he served as a Managing Director and Head of Business Development for NCB Capital, the largest investment bank in Saudi Arabia (2014-2020). Previously, he was a Managing Director and Head of Private Equity and Investment Banking at Jadwa Investment, a Saudi merchant bank (2007-2014). Mr. Todd was an Associate Principal at McKinsey & Company, where he focused on identifying and evaluating investment opportunities, developing and implementing growth strategies, and creating high performing organizations (1999-2006). Early in his career, Mr. Todd worked as an Energy Engineer for Dobbs International and Johnson Controls (1994-1997). Mr. Todd holds an MBA from Cornell University (1999) and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Christian Brothers University (1994).

In episode 120, The 966 once again has on offer a menu of excellence discussing some of the most important topics happening in Saudi Arabia this week -- a tough decision for the editorial team as Saudi Arabia continues to create headlines as it marches forward with economic and social reforms. 

5:55 - Richard's One Big Thing this week is Saudi Arabia's Arab Peace Initiative and the status of Saudi diplomacy vis-a-vis the ongoing Israeli invasion of Gaza. 5 countries are working on a path to peace, including Saudi Arabia, which is contingent on a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel. The hosts lament the tragedy unfolding on the ground in Gaza and identify the troubling developments rippling across the region as a result. 

17:45 - Lucien's One Big Thing is the upcoming Private Sector Forum organized in Riyadh by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. The Forum is set to be much larger from its inaugural edition last year and expand the role of the event in fostering new opportunities in Saudi Arabia's private sector. The event will take place at the King Abdul Aziz International Conference Center, which is adjacent to the massive Ritz Carlton in Riyadh with the aim to support the fund’s private sector engagement strategic initiative. The Forum will showcase the PIF and its portfolio companies’ business opportunities, signal potential opportunities for investors/suppliers, and create probably one of the best networking platforms in Saudi Arabia this year. 

Lucien notes that the event will nearly double in size -- with double the expected attendees, double the number of exhibiting companies and booths, and double in physical size with a much larger area to work with at the KAICC. 

27:32 - Yallah!

•Saudi Arabia has said it will open a shop in Riyadh selling alcohol to a select band of non-Muslim expats, the first to open in more than 70 years.

•Rapper Ty Dolla $ign's performance in Jeddah's oldest neighbourhood, known as Al-Balad, alongside artists like Wu-Tang Clan and Major Lazer underscored efforts to revamp the UNESCO World Heritage site, expanding its allure for young Saudis and foreigners.

•The rapidly growing gaming market in Saudi Arabia has received a huge boost after Dubai-based e-sports brand, True Gamers, signed a franchise deal worth $45 million with investment firm, Falak, reports Meed.

•A Saudi doctor saw his fortune close in on $12 billion on Thursday as shares of his healthcare firm rebounded, returning him to the ranks of the Middle East’s wealthiest private individuals.

•Numerous foreign law firms are attempting to set up offices in Saudi Arabia following changes to the country’s Code of Law Practice, which mean that being affiliated with a local firm is no longer sufficient.

•The Israel-Hamas war has halted progress on what’s known as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor — a project touted last year by Washington and key allies that envisages building new rail links across the Arabian peninsula.

***

In Episode 119, The 966 hosts Lucien and Richard discuss a variety of topics and some of the latest news and developments on Saudi Arabia. First, the hosts discuss Richard's One Big Thing, an update on the Saudi Pro League and the latest news and developments for football in Saudi Arabia heading into key portion of season. The hosts discuss some developments with PIF's investments into the sport and the planned upcoming match between Ronaldo and Messi in the Kingdom. Next, the hosts discuss Lucien's One Big Thing, his first since moving to Riyadh for a few months with his family: two new announcements for large entertainment projects that are impressive and unique, even by Saudi standards these days. Lucien was struck by how quickly Riyadh is changing in virtually every neighborhood, and how seemingly every week there's a new announcement of a project or development. This last week saw the rollout of new designs for a Saudi football/soccer stadium in Qiddiya, the Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium, which are jaw-dropping and innovative. The second project that had been announced but which had new details released is The Rig, an entertainment destination that is situated on an oil rig 10km off the coast of Saudi Arabia to be built and owned by the Public Investment Fund. 

The hosts conclude as always with Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to speed on Saudi Arabia this week. 

•The 54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) is taking place in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, from January 15–19.

•Aramco, one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, has allocated an additional $4 billion to its global venture capital arm, Aramco Ventures.

•Analysts at real estate firm Savills KSA told Arabian Business that apartment rents in Riyadh surged by as much as 23 percent in northern neighborhoods last year. 

•Aramco Digital and Intel plans to establish Saudi Arabia’s first Open RAN (radio access network) development center

•Konoz, an initiative of the Saudi Ministry of Media’s Center for Government Communication, launched "Horizon", a new documentary documenting the Kingdom’s rich biodiversity and natural resources.

•Rafael Nadal's role in helping to grow tennis in the Gulf is set to increase significantly after the Spanish great was appointed ambassador of the Saudi Tennis Federation (STF).

The 966 speaks with Rayan Alyusufi, a young Saudi researcher in public diplomacy and international communication to discuss the Kingdom’s public diplomacy, "sharp power," and evolution of Saudi as an emerging diplomatic player. Rayan is a PHD Candidate at Bournemouth University in the United Kingdom.

Recently, Rayan wrote a blog post entitled "The Transformation of Saudi Arabia’s Public Diplomacy" for the University of Southern California’s Center for Public Diplomacy website that discussed Saudi Arabia's "significant influence in the international arena."

"As the wealthiest Middle Eastern state and the birthplace of Islam, it holds a prominent position in the Middle East and the Muslim world. Internationally, Saudi Arabia is a major contributor to organizations such as the Global Fund and the World Health Organization, in addition to being the largest oil exporter. However, its soft power and public diplomacy remain underexplored."

The 996 team explores the reasons for this with Rayan and how Saudi Arabia's public diplomacy has evolved since the launch of Vision 2030.

The 966 hosts kick off the new year after a refreshing holiday break following a successful year for the podcast in which the growth of the audience more than doubled across all platforms, and in some cases, grew significantly more than that! The team thanks all of its listeners and viewers for tuning in each week.

First, the hosts discuss Richard's One Big Thing, the Dakar Rally, which is set to take place again this year across Saudi Arabia. The race has moved to the Kingdom and began January 5th, running until January 19th, and will pass Riyadh on January 13-14. Lucien will attend the festivities and race there in person. Richard gave a run-down of the race's challenges, vehicle classifications, and importance of Saudi Arabia as a host. According to the Dakar Rally's official site, the race's origins began in 1977, when Thierry Sabine got lost on his motorbike in the Libyan desert during the Abidjan-Nice Rally. Saved from the sands in extremis, he returned to France still in thrall to this landscape and promising himself he would share his fascination with as many people as possible. He proceeded to come up with a route starting in Europe, continuing to Algiers and crossing Agadez before eventually finishing at Dakar. The founder coined a motto for his inspiration: "A challenge for those who go. A dream for those who stay behind."

Next, the hosts discuss Lucien's One Big Thing, the PGA-LIV merger and the future of golf which hangs in the balance as a deadline for an agreement announced in 2023 between PIF and PGA passed with no concrete deal, other than to keep discussions going. The delay creates uncertainty for both pros and fans as the PGA season kicks off in Hawaii. Just weeks after top golfer John Rahm joined the LIV golf tour, 4-time champion Rory McIlroy walked back criticism of LIV players. "I think at this point, I was maybe a little judgmental of the guys who went to LIV golf at the start, and I think it was a bit of a mistake on my part because I now realise that not everyone is in my position or in Tiger Wood's position," the former world number one told the Stick to Football podcast. "We all turn professional to making a living playing the sports that we do, and I think that's what I realised over the last two years. I can't judge people for making that decision."

Lucien discusses the latest with the merger and notes a reason why many Saudis don't care as much about it compared to the coverage it receives.

The hosts conclude as always with Yallah! 6 top storylines from Saudi Arabia this week...

-U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will travel to the Middle East region this week to “discuss urgent mechanisms to stem violence, calm rhetoric, and reduce regional tensions,” according to a press release from the State Department.

-A recent study by Gallup International, in collaboration with the Saudi Center for Opinion Polls, has revealed the high level of optimism among Saudi citizens as they look forward to the year 2024.

-Saudi state TV said on Tuesday that the Kingdom had officially begun its membership of the BRICS bloc. Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister had said in August that the Kingdom would study the details before the proposed January 1 joining date and take “the appropriate decision.” Prince Faisal bin Frahan had said BRICS was “a beneficial and important channel” to strengthen economic cooperation.

-Saudi capital Riyadh has emerged as a new regional hub for over 200 international companies, aligning with an upcoming Saudi government policy. Effective January 1, 2024, the policy requires international firms to establish their regional headquarters in the Kingdom to be eligible for government contracts.

-Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund spent more than any other last year after splashing out $31.5bn (£24.7bn) on investments ranging from a stake in Heathrow to ownership of a US gaming company. The Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has topped an annual ranking of sovereign investment fund spending, compiled by consultancy Global SWF, for the first time.

Investment by PIF accounted for just over a quarter of the $123.8bn (£97.2bn) spent in total

-The ongoing ‘Riyadh Season’, featuring a series of entertainment, fashion, technology and gaming events, attracted a whopping 12 million visitors in the last 60 days, the organizers said. The popular event, which opened in October 2023, targeted 12 million visitor participation during the entire event period, but achieved the target in the middle of the season.

The 966 speaks with Princess Mashael bint Saud Al Shalan and Princess Noura bint Turki Al Saud, co-founders of AEON Collective based in Riyadh, to discuss the recently-concluded COP28 meetings in the UAE earlier this month and where the world stands in the fight to combat climate change and transition away from fossil fuels. 

The two princesses, as part of AEON, played a leading role in support of the Kingdom's Net-Zero targets under the Saudi Green Initiative and the Circular Carbon Economy Framework, and recently co-authored an important report along with KAUST and KAPSARC that presents a broad perspective on the implications of a 3°C warmer world, highlighting how this scenario may challenge different aspects of the natural, social, and economic landscapes over the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

AEON Collective is a Riyadh-based consultancy and advocacy group that aims to lead Saudi Arabia towards a sustainable future by designing and scaling pioneering, science-backed, researched based business and policy solutions that create and sustain equal benefits for the nation’s economy, ecology and society.

Princess Mashael bint Saud Al Shalan and Princess Noura bint Turki Al Saud discuss their reactions to the dialogue and outcomes of COP28 as the world begins collective action to slow climate change and mitigate its damaging effects.

There's so much that has happened in Saudi Arabia since The 966's last full, normal-format episode. The hosts are back in their normal seats and with a special guest, Dr. Basma Al-Buhairan, Managing Director for the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR), who joins The 966 to talk about tech adoption and the Center's role in enabling Vision 2030's success. 

Before the conversation, the hosts discuss some key projects for Vision 2030 being delayed, as reported in Bloomberg, and why that is a good thing. Richard reads from a recent Bloomberg item highlighting the delays based on comments from Mohammed Al-Jaddan, Minister of Finance. "The government, which is forecasting budget deficits every year out to 2026, has decided on the extension to build capacity and avert huge inflationary pressures and supply bottlenecks, Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan said Thursday. He didn’t specify which projects would be affected..."

Then the hosts discuss Lucien's One Big Thing, the new US Embassy building in Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh. The United States has officially broken ground on its new embassy project in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, a sprawling new building blending traditional and modern architecture on a 27.5 acre site.

When completed, it will be the largest embassy in Riyadh. U.S. and Saudi officials participated in a ceremony to break ground on the new compound this week, marking a milestone in the longstanding U.S.-Saudi bilateral relationship. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Arabian Peninsula Affairs Daniel Benaim and Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister, His Excellency Mr. Waleed bin Abdulkarim Al-Khuraiji, joined U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Michael Ratney for the event. 

Next, Lucien and Richard welcome onto The 966 Dr. Basma Al-Buhairan, Managing Director for the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR). Dr. Basma discusses her work leading Saudi Arabia's efforts at developing what is called "Industry 4.0" or "the Fourth Industrial Revolution" or "4IR" which is the next phase in the digitization of the manufacturing sector, driven by disruptive trends including the rise of data and connectivity, analytics, human-machine interaction, and improvements in robotics. The center supports Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 by being a platform for public-private, multi-stakeholder collaboration to maximize technological benefits to society and minimize the risks associated with 4IR technologies in The Kingdom. 

Dr. Basma is also an adviser and part of the founding team of the Research Development Innovation Authority (RDIA)

Lucien and Richard conclude as always with a jam-packed "Yallah!" segment, covering 6 top storylines from Saudi Arabia from the last few weeks, including Expo2030 in Riyadh, a new type of Saudi-made sustainable firewood, and much more...

The 966 Podcast features a special episode this week for episode 114 with an exclusive, live duo of conversations, first with HRH Dr. Haya Bint Khaled Bin Bandar Al-Saud, Vice President of Organizational Strategy and Development for the Hevolution Foundation, and then with Hevolution's CEO, Dr. Mehmood Khan. Lucien and Richard recorded conversations with top Hevolution officials after the launch of Hevolution's "Global Healthspan Summit" in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event was the organization's coming out party and first major event - unique in the growing field of healthspan science in which Hevolution is aiming to make a big impact and lead the way with hundreds of millions in investments into figuring out how to make humans age healthier. 
HRH Dr. Haya tells Lucien and Richard how she got involved with Hevolution as "Employee #1," the importance of the Foundation's work, the importance of Hevolution as an impact investor, and much more.

After that conversation, Lucien and Richard welcome back onto The 966, in perhaps the quickest return for a special guest to-date, the incomparable Dr. Mehmood Khan, Chief Executive Officer of The Hevolution Foundation. Dr. Khan, always dynamic and engaging, recaps the event and all the prizes and grants awarded at the event, while discussing some of the Foundation's next steps in their battle to combat the challenges associated with aging and advancing geroscience from their main HQ in Riyadh. 

Amit Sharma, CEO and Founder of FinClusive Capital, a hybrid fin-/reg-tech company based in the United States, joins The 966 to talk digital banking, fintech and more. Finclusive, headquartered in New York, New York, is a global compliance, digital identity and payments platform for a new era of financial services. 
The 966 talks about the sector, FinClusive's approach to streamline services for clients, and the rise of the sector in Saudi Arabia. 

The 966 speaks with Dr. Mehmood Khan, CEO of Saudi Arabia’s Hevolution Foundation, a global non-profit revolutionizing the healthspan field launched by Royal Decree and chaired by HRH the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Dr. Khan shares his journey, Hevolution’s vision and insights into how he is working to build the organization’s operations from the ground up. The 966’s conversation with Dr. Khan takes place ahead of Hevolution’s inaugural Global Healthspan Summit on Nov. 29-30 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The two-day event at the Four Seasons Hotel promises to serve as a seismic shift in how the world perceives and acts, catalyzing the discussion from lifespan to healthspan.

Dr. Khan's interview begins at the 7:55 mark. 

#Hevolution is headquartered in Riyadh with additional international hubs to support the expansion and execute the global mission. Its vision is to expand healthy human lifespan for the benefit of all humanity.  Hevolution Foundation aims to be positioned as a global leader, catalyst, partner, and convener, to increase the number of scientists entering the field, to increase the investable opportunities in the field of aging, to help shape the regulatory and government environment.

Dr. Khan also currently serves as the Executive Chairman of Life Biosciences Inc. where he joined the company in April 2019 as the Chief Executive Officer and Board Member. Life Biosciences was founded to advance scientific research and develop innovative new therapies to improve and extend healthy lives for everyone.

Dr. Khan previously served as Vice Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer of Global Research and Development at PepsiCo, a Fortune 50 company employing upwards of 250,000 employees across 22 brands. At PepsiCo, Dr. Khan played a pivotal role in the company’s global R&D efforts to create breakthrough innovations in food, beverages, and nutrition, including the incorporation of healthier and more nutritious offerings across its portfolio. Dr. Khan also oversaw PepsiCo's global sustainability initiatives based on the belief that success in business is inextricably linked to the sustainability of the world we share. Prior to joining PepsiCo, Dr. Khan served as President of Global R&D at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, leading the global efforts of one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world by revenue.

Before moving into industry, Dr. Khan had a distinguished medical career as a faculty member in endocrinology at the Mayo Clinic and Mayo Medical School where he served as Director of the Diabetes, Endocrine and Nutritional Trials Unit. He also spent nine years leading programs in diabetes, endocrinology, metabolism and nutrition in Minneapolis, MN.

Dr. Khan is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Reckitt Benckiser.

Tim Callen, ex-IMF Mission Chief to Saudi Arabia and Visiting Fellow at AGSIW, joins The 966 to discuss Saudi Arabia’s budget, government spending, and more. Tim's most recent piece for AGSIW discusses how increased spending in Saudi Arabia raises risks to the Saudi budget. The hosts take advantage of Tim's extensive experience and vast knowledge on how Saudi Arabia's budgeting and fiscal policy works. At the IMF, he was responsible for engagement with the government of Saudi Arabia and for the institution’s research and publications on the country. He also led the IMF’s research program on the GCC region. From 2021-22, he served as special advisor to the executive director for Saudi Arabia at the IMF’s Executive Board. Callen’s research interests focus on oil exporting countries and include prospects and policies for economic diversification away from oil, frameworks and institutions to limit procyclical fiscal policy, and appropriate exchange rate policies.

Before the discussion, the hosts discuss Richard's One Big Thing, a follow up to a recent episode The 966 did with experts Mansour El-Zahab and Zeynep Kösereisoğlu from Frontierview on the Regional HQ program, commonly referred to as the "#RHQ" program. The RHQ program is the requirement that companies seeking to contract with the Saudi government or its affiliates must have their regional headquarters within Saudi Arabia and not in any neighboring nations. Foreign companies are scrambling to meet a Saudi deadline to locate their regional headquarters in the kingdom by January or risk losing hundreds of billions of dollars in government contracts in Saudi Arabia if their regional headquarters are based elsewhere.

Then the hosts discuss Lucien's One Big Thing, a preview of an exciting mega-conference coming up presented by the #Hevolution Foundation called the Global Healthspan Summit, and some interesting and exciting announcements for The 966 in the coming weeks.  

The hosts conclude as always with Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to speed heading into the weekend. 

-Saudi Arabia has postponed the fifth Arab-African summit that was scheduled for Friday and will, instead, host emergency Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Co-operation summits on Friday and Saturday to discuss Israel’s war on Gaza.

-Foreign direct investment into Saudi Arabia rose 22 per cent annually last year as the kingdom continues to pursue its economic transformation agenda and open up more sectors for foreign investments.

-International investors no longer have to visit a Saudi embassy to get a visa to travel to the Kingdom after the process for applying for the permit was moved online. The government have introduced the second phase of the “Investor Visitor” e-visa service, expanding its coverage from nearly 60 nations to include all countries worldwide, as reported by the Saudi Press Agency. 

-Saudi Arabia was recently crowned the Overwatch World Cup Champions at the Overwatch World Cup becoming the first team from the Middle East to win the tournament.  

-The Red Sea International Film Festival (Red Sea IFF) has unveiled the line-up for its Competition and Arab Spectacular strands.
The festival will take place from November 30-December 9 in the port city of Jeddah under the theme ’Your Stories, Your Festival.’

-The Saudi Fund for Development will sign agreements worth 2 billion riyals ($533 million) with African countries, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said on Thursday during the Saudi-Arab-African Economic Conference in Riyadh.

In Episode 110, Maria Medvedeva, Vice President, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain for MasterCard joins to discuss the company’s KSA strategy, fintech, payments, innovation, and her experiences living and working in a changing and evolving Saudi Arabia. Maria, based in Riyadh with her family, is responsible for Mastercard's growth strategy and delivering innovative payment experiences for consumers and merchants.

Before the discussion with Maria, the hosts discuss Richard’s One Big Thing, which is Saudi Arabia’s recent adoption of the Gregorian calendar for all official business going forward. Saudi Arabia has approved the use of the Gregorian calendar for all official dealings, except those related to the provisions of Islamic Shariah where the calculation of periods will continue to be based on the Hijri calendar. The Kingdom has traditionally prioritized the Hijri calendar with the Gregorian used as a secondary measure. However, some official and legal activities had already been aligned with the Gregorian calendar before Tuesday’s ruling.

Then the host discuss Lucien’s One Big Thing, which is the announcement of key details surrounding Neom’s new destination, Leyja. The mountainous wellness resort joins Trojena and Sindalah as tourism locations for Neom, and new photos and a video released of the designs of the area are fascinating. One of the details announced this week is that Habitas, the luxury hotel management company who Lucien notes has created a masterpiece experience in Al Ula, having recently stayed at that resort. Habitas Neom will likely be something for many people’s bucket list, when completed. 

The hosts conclude as always with Yallah! 6 top storylines on Saudi Arabia to get you up to speed heading into the weekend.

Chances are if you’ve seen any of the high-quality, professionally-produced promotional videos from Saudi government authorities or leading Saudi companies anywhere online, you've seen some incredible drone footage of Saudi Arabia. The 966 welcomes on to the program for Episode 109 Mohammed Ghazi and Abdulhadi Azouz from the aerial drone production company AZAerials, which films many of these amazing shots for high-profile public and private sector entities including the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Sports, Saudia Airlines, Aramco, MDLBeast, the General Entertainment Authority, Riyadh Season, Netflix, and many others. They are the Saudi-based drone operators and film producers creating the footage from the skies using state of the art drone technologies giving the world a never before seen view of a changing Kingdom. They've also worked on several of Saudi Arabia's jaw-dropping "drone light shows" at major events, creating images in the sky using hundreds or even thousands of drones for spectators below. The 966 hosts discuss their journey as Saudis growing up in America who moved to the Kingdom recently to take advantage of the significant opportunities in the filmmaking and content creation industry in Saudi Arabia and how Vision 2030 has created an opportunity for them as entrepreneurs.

Before the discussion, the hosts discuss Richard's One Big Thing, which is an overview of the Kingdom's efforts to create a car industry from scratch with a diversified set of investments and initiatives that are just now gaining traction in Saudi Arabia. 

Then the hosts discuss Lucien's One Big Thing, which is Saudi Arabia's forecasted non-oil economic growth in 2023 and beyond. Saudi Arabia’s Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan addressed Saudi Arabia’s economy and fiscal situation in 2023 and beyond during his speech at the FII in Riyadh, noting that Saudi Arabia’s non-oil gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by around 6% this year and said it would continue to see similarly healthy growth in the years ahead.

The hosts conclude as always with Yallah! 6 top storylines on Saudi Arabia to get you up to speed heading into the weekend. 

•A White House readout reported that President Joseph R. Biden Jr. spoke with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohamed bin Salman about the situation in the Middle East region.

•JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, Citigroup’s Jane Fraser and other top names on Wall Street were in Saudi Arabia for the 7th FII investment conference as they try to look beyond risks that the Israel-Hamas war could widen into a regional conflict and deal a new blow to the global economy. 

•Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Tuesday that recent multi-billion dollar acquisitions by U.S. oil majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron of smaller rivals showed that hydrocarbons were "here to stay".

•A “boundary-pushing” esports festival is to take place in Saudi Arabia next summer. The inaugural Esports World Cup was announced by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during The New Global Sport Conference and will be held annually.

•South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Constructionand Hyundai Engineering have signed a $2.4 billion contract with oil giant Saudi Aramco to build a gas processing plant, Seoul's presidential office said on Tuesday.

•NEOM has today announced the inauguration of its strategic investment arm, the NEOM Investment Fund (NIF), NEOM’s wholly owned subsidiary which is set up to support the buildout and development of NEOM’s 14 priority sectors and deliver long-term value while enabling creation of jobs in NEOM.

In episode 108, Mansour El-Zahab and Zeynep Kösereisoğlu from Frontierview, a leading market intelligence and research company, join The 966 to discuss Saudi Arabia’s Regional HQ program (commonly referred to as the "RHQ" program) and dive into some of the legal and practical details ahead of the effective date of the program starting in 2024. The RHQ program is the requirement that companies seeking to contract with the Saudi government or its affiliates must have their regional headquarters within Saudi Arabia and not in any neighboring nations. That has posed some challenges but also opportunities for foreign investors ahead of a key deadline on January 1, 2024. What companies are subjected to this rule, and what defines compliance here? How have these requirements of compliances changed over time since they were announced? What are some challenges that MNCs are facing in their new HQ setting, or in their journey to get there? And how are neighboring states, like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), reacting to the policy? Mansour and Zeynep dive into these questions and much more.

Before the conversation, the hosts discuss Richard's One Big Thing, which is Saudi Arabia's investments into the development of its own local defense sector. The Kingdom is effectively seeking to build a local military industry from scratch - a tall order with a high price tag. But an even higher price tag for Saudi Arabia to-date has been its foreign military purchases from other nations, especially the United States. The hosts discuss the progress of the development of the sector, headed by GAMI and SAMI in Riyadh, ahead of the forthcoming World Defense Show in Saudi Arabia in 2024.

Next, the hosts discuss Lucien's One Big Thing - a Goldman Sachs article that was published earlier this week on the progress and achievements of Vision 2030. The 154 year old financial services behemoth, maybe the most recognizable name in banking and financial services in the world, and the second largest investment bank by revenue in the world behind only JP Morgan Chase, published an article entitled "How Saudi Arabia is investing to transform its economy" and is available on the Goldman Sachs website. Goldman Sachs Research identifies as areas that are benefiting from increased investment and are likely to drive a “capex supercycle” through the end of the decade.

The hosts conclude as always with Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to speed on Saudi Arabia heading into the weekend. 

•A week after revealing talks with Australia about bidding to co-host the 2034 World Cup, Indonesian soccer leader Erick Thohir said his federation is now supporting Saudi Arabia's candidacy to host the tournament. 

•The second edition of the “Made in Saudi Expo” exhibition will be held at the Roshn Front in Riyadh from October 16 to 19, 2023, under the patronage of Bandar Alkhorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources and Chairman of the Saudi Export Development Authority. 

•Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports in August hit their lowest level in 28 months as they fell for a fifth straight month, data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Monday.

•Saudi Arabia’s $700 billion Public Investment Fund has disclosed that Swedish venture capital fund Northzone has taken investment from its venture investment arm Sanabil — the only European VC firm known to have done so. 

•Amin Nasser, said his company is looking at more investments in liquefied natural gas (LNG) to boost its plans to become a leading player in the seaborne gas market.

•A landmark report released during the Middle East and North Africa Climate Week, which ran here from Oct. 8 to 12, highlights the challenges that Saudi Arabia might face in a world that is warmer by 3 degrees Celsius.

Hamas' horrific and stunning attack in Israel last week has upended the status quo in the region. With Israel now retaliating in Gaza, bombing an already desperate populace in the Gaza strip, leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless there, and with thousands dead and injured on both sides, the war has thrown the Levant into crisis and threatens to spillover into a wider conflict in the Middle East. The deal that was reportedly close to completion between Saudi Arabia and Israel, brokered by the United States, is now all but dead. Israel appears poised for a ground invasion that may leave even more dead and displaced. The internet, meanwhile, is dangerously divided and chronically misinformed, with the general discourse lacking nuance and with the ignorant empowered by a short-sighted view of the centuries-old conflict for supremacy in the region with peace perpetually elusive. 

The 966 hosts discuss the situation, some of the meaning for Saudi Arabia and the region, and what might happen next.

After that, the hosts discuss an interesting quote from Karim Benzema on his participation in the Saudi Pro League. Karim Benzema joined Al Ittihad this summer because he always wanted to live in Saudi Arabia and "help Saudi football grow."

The hosts finish the episode as always with Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to speed headed into the weekend. 

Dr. Robert Mogielnicki, Senior Resident Scholar at The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington and professorial lecturer at George Washington University joins The 966 to discuss the growing size and role of the Kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Robert has previously characterized the PIF as, “screaming onto the scene” with an “everything, everywhere, all-at-once investment approach.” The 966 hosts dive into that, and many other PIF related topics and questions. Before that, the hosts discuss Richard's One Big Thing, the Saudi bid for the World Cup in 2034. Then, the hosts discuss Lucien's One Big Thing, the upcoming 7th FII Initiative in Riyadh in just a few weeks. 

Richard's One Big Thing is Saudi Arabia's bid for the World Cup in 2034. The Saudi announcement came shortly after FIFA named Morocco, Spain and Portugal as hosts of the 2030 World Cup, with Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay hosting the opening matches to mark the tournament's centenary, per Reuters. "Saudi Arabia’s inaugural FIFA World Cup bid is backed by the country’s growing experience of hosting world-class football events and its ongoing plans to welcome fans across the world to the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup and 2027 AFC Asian Cup."

Lucien's One Big Thing is the upcoming 7th Future Investment Initiative which will take place in Riyadh in just a few weeks. The new theme and slogan (which it rolled out earlier this year) is “The New Compass." Lucien notes that in recent years, the FII conference in Riyadh was a truly massive and frankly an impressive sight to be seen, but that might change slightly in coming years as the FII Institute becomes established and serializes the event in different formats around the world throughout the year. 

Dr. Robert Mogielnicki, Senior Resident Scholar at The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington and professorial lecturer at George Washington University joins The 966 to discuss the growing size and role of the Kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Robert has previously characterized the PIF as, “screaming onto the scene” with an “everything, everywhere, all-at-once investment approach.” The 966 hosts dive into that, and many other PIF related topics and questions.

Episode 105! Amjad Ahmad, a leading venture capitalist and seasoned investment professional with extensive experience in VC and private equity in emerging markets, joins The 966. Amjad discusses the VC ecosystem in Saudi Arabia, the MENA region, and globally today. In addition to over two decades of experience investing in the region, Amjad is also chairman and founding director of the EmpowerME initiative at the Atlantic Council, a program which empowers entrepreneurs, women, and the private sector in the region and which oversees in collaboration with Georgetown University the WIn Fellowship, a fully sponsored year-long program for female entrepreneurs from the region. Amjad also sits on the board of directors for several companies in the US and across the region. Before the discussion, the hosts discuss crypto in the MENA region, an incredible report on giga-projects from Knight Frank highlighting growth in Saudi Arabia, and much more in the concluding Yallah! segment.

6:50 - Richard's One Big Thing is crypto in the MENA region and the region's growth as a player in that space. Saudi Arabia is the fastest growing crypto economy globally amid a regional drive in the sector. The kingdom led globally with a 12% increase in crypto transaction volume reaching nearly $31 billion from July 2022 through June 2023, according to an industry report released Tuesday cited by Al Monitor.

17:27 - Lucien's One Big Thing is a recent report from the real estate firm Knight Frank on Saudi Arabia, which included an excellent update on the progress and top-level figures of Saudi Arabia’s giga-projects. This one is available online and published by 2x previous guest of The 966, Faisal Durrani, who is partner and head of MENA research for the global real estate firm. The firm reviews how the total value of real estate (and infrastructure) projects since the launch of Saudi Arabia’s National Transformation Plan in 2016 has crossed US$ 1.25 trillion. "The phenomenal transformation in 2022’s fastest- growing major global economy is clearly visible across the entire urban landscape, with the Kingdom’s Giga projects set to deliver a new urban future for Saudi Arabia through a transformed and vastly expanded residential, office, retail, hospitality and industrial offering, designed to support the projected population growth which is expected to top 50 million by 2030 (government forecasts) as well as the arrival of 100 million international visitors by 2030," the report said.

24:18 - Amjad Ahmad, a leading venture capitalist and seasoned investment professional with extensive experience in VC and private equity in emerging markets, joins The 966.

1:24:30 - Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to speed on Saudi Arabia this week.

Saudi Arabia said on Monday it has decided to end light-touch oversightof its nuclear activities by the U.N. atomic watchdog and switch to full-blown safeguards, a change the agency has been demanding for years.

Soudah Peaks is Saudi’s new luxury mountain destination opening in Aseer in 2033. Spanning across 627 square kilometres, it will sit 3,015 metres above sea level on the highest mountain peak in Saudi and will have 2,700 keys, 1,336 residential units, over 30 attractions and 80,000 square metres of commerical space.

As many as 500 leaders, sector experts and officials from 120 countries are expectedto attend the World Tourism Day in Riyadh on September 27-28, the organising committee for the events said. World Tourism Day 2023 will be held under the slogan “Green Tourism and Investment”.

Saudi traffic authorities have said a visitor is allowed to use a foreign driving licence for one year in the kingdom, which is seeking to attract more tourists as part of efforts to diversify its oil-reliant economy.

In a significant move toward economic diversification and revolutionizing the national transportation landscape, the Economic Cities and Special Zones Authority has granted Lucid Motors a permit to operate a manufacturing unit in King Abdullah Economic City.

The Saudi foreign minister addressed the UN General Assembly on 24 September in a speechcalling for the establishment of a Palestinian state and a “just, comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue” while criticizing Israel for its ongoing illegal building of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Gautam Sashittal, the CEO of Riyadh's financial district that has redefined Riyadh’s skyline and is the city’s most sought-after business address and lifestyle destination, joins The 966 podcast. The district is home to many of Saudi Arabia’s largest companies and regional headquarters of international corporations doing business in the region, as well as the Kingdom’s finest restaurants and real estate. KAFD is now owned by Saudi Arabia’s PIF whose headquarters, the PIF tower, is now located in the Financial District. Gautam took over as CEO of KAFD in January 2021, before that, he was CEO and COO of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre DMCC Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, Which was eight times crowned ‘Global Free Zone of the Year’.  Before the discussion, the hosts discuss the upcoming Saudi National Day, the Crown Prince's interview with Fox, and much more...

2:35 - Richard's One Big Thing is the upcoming celebration of Saudi Arabia's National Day, a Kingdom-wide holiday celebrating Saudi Arabia's rich history and unique culture - as well as its national identity.

7:53 - Lucien's One Big Thing is HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's interview with Fox News and reacting to some themes and takeaways from the momentous conversation - his first in English with an American news channel. The interview was billed in advance by a media release as “no holds barred." The Crown Prince discussed Vision 2030, the economy, foreign policy, Iran, Israel, the United States, oil, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, legal reforms in Saudi Arabia and much more. Lucien notes that we don’t get a lot of these interviews and this is the first ever of its kind, so as such, it was fascinating to get the rare insight into the Crown Prince's thinking and vision.

22:28 - Gautam Sashittal, the CEO of #Riyadh's financial district that has redefined Riyadh’s skyline and is the city’s most sought-after business address and lifestyle destination, joins The 966 podcast. The district is home to many of Saudi Arabia’s largest companies and regional headquarters of international corporations doing business in the region, as well as the Kingdom’s finest restaurants and real estate.
KAFD is now owned by Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund (PIF) whose headquarters, the PIF tower,  is now located in the Financial District.
Gautam took over as CEO of KAFD in January 2021, before that, he was CEO and COO of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre DMCC Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, Which was eight times crowned ‘Global Free Zone of the Year’.

55:47 - Yallah! 6 top storylines on Saudi Arabia this week to get you up to speed this week.

•As part of the inaugural Cityscape Global meeting recently held in Riyadh, promoters of NEOM were on hand to present plans for the TROJENA and OXAGON segments of their $500 billion NEOM megaproject.

•Saudi Arabia welcomed positive results from discussions to reach a road map supporting the peace process in Yemen, the kingdom's foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday,after Houthi negotiators' talks with the Saudis in Riyadh.

•Saudi Arabia officially unveiled "The Garage," its latest addition to the thriving startup ecosystem on Monday. Situated within the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology in Riyadh, The Garage spans an impressive 28,000 square meters, earning the title of the largest innovation district in the Middle East.

•Saudi nationals employed in the private sector have witnessed a substantial 45% increment in their salaries over the past five years, as per the data released by the Kingdom’s National Labor Observatory.

•Founded in 1955 as the European Cup, the UEFA Champions League (UCL) represents the pinnacle of European club soccer, with the best teams from across the continent all striving to lift the famous trophy. 

•Red Sea Global has teamed up with British adventurer and TV presenter Bear Grylls to bring his adventure and survival brand to Saudi Arabia.

Author David Rundell joins to discuss King Salman's incredible impact on Saudi Arabia. King Salman has played an enormously pivotal role for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the development of the modern Saudi state. Before the conversation, the hosts discuss an archaeology summit taking place in Al Ula this week, an interesting and exciting new investment made by Saudi Aramco's VC arm, Wa'ed, into a company that is building new homes using 3D printing, and much more as always in the program's Yallah! segment.

7:36 - Richard's One Big Thing is AlUla's invite-only AlUla World Archaeological Summit taking place this week. The three-day summit’s program of panels, discussions and excursions commenced yesterday at Maraya Concert Hall, the ancient region’s giant mirror-cladded multipurpose venue located amid a wealth of archaeological treasures stemming from the Neolithic era to the early 20th century. 

16:26 - Lucien's One Big Thing is Aramco's VC arm Wa'ed and its investment into an exciting, California-based 3D homebuilding company called Mighty Buildings. The company claims its proprietary printed material, made of 60% recycled glass, is five times the strength of concrete, 70% the weight and produces fewer carbon emissions during manufacturing. It’s also rated for winds up to 150 miles per hour — hurricane-force, in other words — and compliant with the California Building Code, including Title 24 Energy requirements and other regulatory standards. Mighty Buildings employs ultraviolet light to cure its material off-site. This allows for “highly refined” and “unique” shapes with a range of customization options, the startup says, while reducing waste as only the material that’s required is cured.

28:36 - Author David Rundell joins to discuss King Salman's incredible impact on Saudi Arabia. Rundell spent 15 of his 30 total years in service as a diplomat in Saudi Arabia, including as Chief of Mission. Lately, Mr. Rundell has been active in providing commentary and analysis in the media -- two items from David which we’ve referenced recently on The 966 include his recent piece for the online publication Unherd, entitled “How MBS wins friends and influences people,” and for Newsweek earlier this year, entitled Saudi Arabia's True Role in 9/11, in which he and fellow author Michael Gfoeller dispel some common myths on Saudi Arabia’s connection to those attacks.

56:44 - Yallah! Top storylines on Saudi Arabia this week ---

•Saudi Arabia is working on its own major commercial cruise line brand designed for those with “Arabian preferences.” AROYA Cruises sets sail next year with a single ship, formerly known as World Dream, the last remaining ship of the struggling Dream Cruises company.

•The United States and Saudi Arabia are in talks to secure metals in Africa needed to help them with their energy transitions,the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people with knowledge of the talks.

•Noor Riyadh, the Largest Light Art Festival in the World, will return for its third edition in Riyadh, with the festival running from November 30 to December 16, 2023, and the exhibition from November 30, 2023 to March 2, 2024.

•Saudi Arabia's new Red Sea International airport (RSI) is on track to open this year along with the first three resorts at The Red Sea destination and Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) will become the first airline to operate out of the airport.

•Saudi Arabia's new Red Sea International airport (RSI) is on track to open this year along with the first three resorts at The Red Sea destination and Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) will become the first airline to operate out of the airport.

•The company formed to build the kilometre-high Jeddah Tower in the Saudi city of Jeddah has restarted work on the scheme and has drawn upa list of contractors who may complete the structure.

Episode 102! Rawan Hashem from the data insights firm Carma joins The 966to discuss evolving media perspectives of Saudi Arabia and Vision 2030.Before the conversation, the hosts discuss the new organization in Saudi Arabia, called Hevolution, and its $1 billion mission to advance humanity's fight against aging based on a recent Wall Street Journal article from this week. Then the hosts discuss the recent data out on Saudi Arabia's tourism industry which show the Kingdom's important new sector is growing rapidly. The hosts conclude as always with six top storylines to on Saudi Arabia this week.

4:23 - Richard's One Big Thing this week is Hevolution, and its $1 billion mission to advance humanity's fight against aging based on a recent Wall Street Journal article from this week.

13:58 - Lucien's One Big Thing this week is Saudi Arabia's tourism industry, which has put up some impressive numbers in 2023. Saudi Arabia only very recently rolled out tourist visas for visitors on September 28, 2019, months before the pandemic. Tourism revenues in Saudi Arabia tripled during the first quarter of 2023, reaching about $9.86 billion, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The Kingdom has recovered significantly since the COVID pandemic, hosting approximately 7.8 million tourists during the first quarter of the year. That number represents a 64% increase in the number of tourists so far in 2023, compared to the pre-COVID record year in 2019.

27:06 - Rawan Hashem from the data insights firm Carma joins The 966to discuss evolving media perspectives of Saudi Arabia and Vision 2030.

1:06:00 - Yallah!

•TheSaudi Esports Federation has announced a three-year partnership with American fast food company KFC. The partnership will focus on supporting local esports talent in the region by providing more opportunities to advance to international esports events.

•Saudi is planting 80 million trees in the Saudi Royal Reserves. The new forests will protect wildlife and are part of eco-tourism developments and the goal to attract 2.3 million tourists by 2030

•The second edition of the NEOM Beach Games is scheduled to start on October 21 and continuing to the end of November.

•Saudi Arabia and Russia said they would extend their cuts in oil supplies through for the rest of 2023.

•Saudi Arabia and Iran have reached a “groundbreaking” deal to resume home-and-away football matches between club sides after seven years of competing in neutral venues, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on Monday.

•Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will fully acquire the Saudi Iron & Steel Company (Hadeed) from Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) in a $3.3 billion deal, as the kingdom seeks to accelerate its industrial development.

Colin Foreman, journalist and editor for the Middle East Economic Digest (MEED), joins The 966 to talk about construction, giga-projects, and Saudi Arabia's economic development. MEED is a leading resource for executives with a highly-respected publication for the MENA region. Before the conversation with Colin, the hosts discuss the latest with the Saudi Pro League and dispelling some myths and facts about the growing football league in the Kingdom, an update on the New Murraba project in Riyadh that promises to change the face of the city, and so much more in the program's concluding Yallah! segment.

4:20 - Richard's One Big Thing is the Saudi Pro League's rise and some interesting updates and facts about the Pro League, which made its mark in the transfer season this year and, while on the rise, is nowhere close to outspending other leagues for players. The hosts also discuss the latest in big name signings and the new coach of the Saudi national team, which stands to benefit from the influx of stars into the national league. 

21:10 - Lucien's One Big Thing is an update on the New Murraba project and the importance of the recent news that the project's planners will bring on Bechtel, the world's leading construction and project management firm, for a PMC role to bring the project to fruition. The project was announced February 16th with the launch of the New Murabba Development Company, and the project is massive – it aims to develop the world’s largest modern downtown in Riyadh. 

38:34 - Colin Foreman, journalist and editor for the Middle East Economic Digest (MEED), joins The 966 to talk about construction, giga-projects, and Saudi Arabia's economic development.

1:18:41 - Yallah! 6 top storylines and topics from the week on Saudi Arabia...

•The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia assumed command of a multinational task force that monitors merchant shipping through key strategic chokepoints during an indoor ceremony here Aug. 27.

•New Saudi Arabia coach Roberto Mancini is counting on the recent influx of global stars to the Saudi Pro League to help the local players improve.

•Saudi Arabia’s Ades International Holding is set to list in Riyadh, a deal that’s set to be the kingdom’s largest initial public offering this year, according to reports. 

•White House officials have notified the Israeli government that a possible normalization deal with Saudi Arabia will require them to make “significant concessions” to the Palestinians, four US officials with knowledge of the matter told Axios.

•Saudi Arabia is considering bids to build a nuclear power station from countries including China, France and Russia as the kingdom seeks to sway the US over a sensitive security pact.

•Saudi Arabia’s newest airline, Riyadh Air, plans to focus on the niche market for flights to and from the kingdom rather than competing with its Gulf neighbors’ vast hubs, its chief executive has said, in an explanation of its “super aggressive” growth plans.

Nadia Maqbool Al-Lawatiya, a leading Riyadh-based architect and urban designer who is closely familiar with Salmani architecture, joins The 966 to share her journey and discuss some of the themes and thinking behind the new style emerging from Saudi Arabia. Nadia listened to a previous episode of The 966 on Salmani architecture and joins for this episode to discuss the style and answer some questions from the hosts. We learn about the underlying thinking and strategic vision behind the style, and explore some of its more distinctive elements. Before the conversation with Nadia, The 966 hosts reflect on 100 episodes of The 966 and note that this is just the beginning. The hosts also discuss last week's inaugural The 966 golf invitational and, just one day after their golf outing, Lucien's amazing hole-in-one!

MESSAGE FROM THE HOSTS: "The hosts want to thank the loyal, growing listenership and viewership of the program for making it a success and number one in the space. There are tens of thousands of you around the world in over 100 countries and that number keeps growing. It's a privilege and genuinely fun to be doing this - thank you!"

10:30 - Richard's One Big Thing this week is an update on the mining and minerals strategy that Saudi Arabia is executing on now.

26:12 - Lucien's One Big Thing is Saudi Arabia's invitation to join the BRICS group, and some thoughts on the pros and cons of Saudi Arabia joining the group.

45:40 - Nadia Maqbool Al-Lawatiya, a leading Riyadh-based architect and urban designer who is closely familiar with Salmani architecture, joins The 966.

1:31:32 - Yallah! 6 top storylines on Saudi Arabia to get you up to speed heading into the weekend.

•Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have bought thousands of Nvidia GPUs as they develop generative AI applications

•SRMG Ventures, the venture capital arm of Ryadh-based conglomerate Saudi Research and Media Group, has announced a small but significant $5 million investment in Anghami

•Axiom Space has raised $350 million in a funding round led by Saudi Arabia's Aljazira Capital and Korean healthcare firm Boryung as the startup works with NASA

•A falcon from a Saudi breeding facility has become the most expensive in the Middle East, fetching a record $134,000 at auction

•More than 7 million students in Saudi Arabia returned to school on Sunday, resuming their studies after a two-month summer vacation

•A video published by the UAE-based The National shows Mecca’s Clock Tower, one of the tallest buildings in the world, being dramatically struck by a bolt of lightning amid heavy rains that caused localized flooding.

Episode 99! Princess Mashael bint Saud Al-Shalan, Founding Partner, Aeon Strategy, joins The 966 to discuss her work heading one of the leading consultancies in Saudi Arabia in the field of sustainability. Aeon Strategy played a key role in support of the Kingdom's Net-Zero targets under the Saudi Green Initiative and the Circular Carbon Economy Framework. The company aims to lead Saudi Arabia towards a sustainable future by designing and scaling pioneering, science-backed, researched based business and policy solutions that create and sustain equal benefits for the nation’s economy, ecology and society. Before that conversation, the hosts the latest with The Line at Neom in Saudi Arabia, how Saudis are flocking to see 'Barbie', and so much more in the program's concluding 'Yallah' segment. 

8:50 - The hosts the latest with The Line at Neom in Saudi Arabia. The Line is ambitious, but that's the point -- and Saudi Arabia is not shying away from building a city that is unlike others in the world. The Line is a smart city under construction in Saudi Arabia in Neom, Tabuk Province. The city is designed to have no cars, streets, or carbon emissions. It will be 170 kilometers (110 miles) long and 200 meters (660 feet) wide. The Line is expected to house 9 million people. The Line is part of the Saudi Vision 2030 project, which aims to create a more sustainable and diverse Saudi Arabia. The government set a completion target for 2025, but experts are skeptical. The project's success depends on factors such as financing and technology. Construction on The Line began in the first quarter of 2021 and is estimated to cost between $100 and $200 billion.

23:47 - Saudis are flocking to see 'Barbie', with many wearing pink. The film has sparked a conversation in Saudi society about its themes and meaning. Saudi Arabia until recently banned movie theaters in the Kingdom, but this month permitted “Barbie” in its cinemas earlier this month and "many moviegoers got into the spirit of things, wearing pink abayas—the long robe overdress traditionally worn in the Arabian Gulf region—and munching pink éclairs," the Wall Street Journal noted.

According to the leading local English language news outlet Arab News, last Thursday, on the opening day in Riyadh, movie goers “descended on cinemas wearing various shades of pink and their funkiest accessories, demonstrating how the popularity of the film has affected local audiences.”

Neighboring Kuwait has banned “Barbie,” while there is heated debate underway in Lebanon on whether to do so.

34:31 - The 966 speaks with Princess Mashael bint Saud Al-Shalan, Founding Partner, Aeon Strategy.

1:34:00 - Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to speed heading into the weekend...

•Hilton Plans to More Than Quadruple its Presence in Saudi Arabia

•The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), in cooperation with Google Cloud, continues to train 1,000 women

•Saudi Arabia has appointed its first ambassador to the Palestinians

•GoDaddy, the web hosting provider has announced the launch of its .AI domain extension in Saudi Arabia

•Cristiano Ronaldo has yet again left the competition behind as the five-time Ballon D'Or winner was named Instagram's top earner for the third year in a row

•Saudi Arabia Passes Law Requiring USB-C Charging on New iPhones, Androids, and Laptops.

Episode 98! Dr. Bader Al-Saif, founding President at Al-Saif Consulting and Assistant Professor at Kuwait University joins The 966 to talk about Saudi Arabia as an emerging economic and diplomatic power in a changing region. Al-Saif is also a visiting researcher at Georgetown University, where he completed his PHD in history, and a non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (AGISW). Al-Saif is frequently quoted in the largest publications and media outlets around the world. The 966 hosts discuss with Bader Saudi Arabia's ambitions and the context of its recent domestic and foreign policy decisions in its own history as a young nation. Before that conversation, the hosts revisit Saudi-Israel relations after discussing it last week; a lot has changed in just the previous few days since they discussed Saudi-Israel normalization reports and rumors last week. Then, hosts discuss Lucid Motor's recent earnings call and some surprise details revealed by its CEO beyond the latest financial figures for the PIF-backed company. The hosts conclude as always with the Yallah segment, with six top storylines from the week on Saudi Arabia.

9:20 - Saudi-Israel normalization. A new report from the WSJ said the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have agreed to the outlines of a deal. But many obstacles still remain...The US and Saudi Arabia continue to work on a framework aimed at Saudi recognition of Israel in exchange for US security guarantees for Riyadh. The Biden administration said in response to the report that there's still a long way to go. The hosts discuss the current state of the talks and why the talks alone are a good thing for all parties and create an uptick in U.S.-Saudi diplomacy. 

27:57 - Lucid's recent earnings call revealed the company's current financial position. It also revealed its road ahead, including plans for a factory under construction now in KAEC in Saudi Arabia, the forthcoming SUV, and much more.

"We are not limited by our ability to manufacture. Most of the supply chain has now come through out of the COVID era," CEO Peter Rawlinson told Reuters. "We are limited by our ability to sell the cars right now, and that is my key focus."

44:14 - Dr. Bader Al-Saif, founding President at Al-Saif Consulting and Assistant Professor at Kuwait University joins The 966 to talk about Saudi Arabia as an emerging economic and diplomatic power in a changing region. Al-Saif is an assistant professor of history at Kuwait University and a non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. He holds a PhD with distinction from Georgetown University, a Master of Education and a Master of Theology, both with honors from Harvard University, and a Master of Law with honors from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He graduated summa cum laude from Boston College with a double major in political science and history.

1:35:05 - Yallah! 6 top storylines on Saudi Arabia to get you up to speed headed into the weekend...

•China is said to be in support of a third round of talks to find a framework for peace in Ukraine after a meeting of senior officials from about 40 countries in Saudi Arabia over the weekend.

•The long-awaited operation to resolve the issue of the ageing tanker SFO Safer, currently decaying off the coast of Yemen, is set to end in the coming days, with over 96 percent of the ship’s oil cargo transferred to a replacement tanker, the Yemeni government said on Wednesday.

•After pumping tens of billions of dollars into high-profile global investments, the $700 billion Public Investment Fund is accelerating spending at home, often on obscure startups and projects that it plans to own and operate.

•US oil production this year will rise faster than previously expected according to a new government forecast. Higher-than-expected well productivity and rising crude prices will help boost US production to a record 12.8 million barrels a day in 2023, up from a previous forecast of 12.6 million, according to a monthly report from the US Energy Information Administration released Tuesday.

•IMG has locked a series of international broadcast deals for the Saudi Pro League’s (SPL) 2023/24 season. The confirmed deals span over 130 territories, including what has been described as a “landmark deal” with DAZN in multiple territories (Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, and the UK) as well as Sport TV (Portugal), La 7 (Italy), Marca.com (Spain), and Canal+ (France).

•More than 3,000 Marines and sailors arrived in the Middle East on Sunday in a deployment meant to deter Iran from seizing and harassing merchant ships near the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.

American journalist, author, media executive, and pulitzer prize winner Karen Elliott House joins The 966. Elliott House discusses her recent work, a paper entitled 'Saudi First', for the Belfer Center at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, as well as her experiences traveling to and from Saudi Arabia for decades and her views on Saudi Arabia as an emerging regional power. Elliott House has served as publisher of The Wall Street Journal, former senior vice president of Dow Jones, and on the board of the Rand Corporation. She currently is a senior fellow at the Belfer Center for International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

In addition to writing a series of articles on Saudi Arabia for the journal in 2007, Karen is author of the book, On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines - and Future.Recently, she has written several opinion and commentary pieces for the Wall Street Journal on Saudi Arabia and the US-Saudi relationship.

3:55 - Richard's One Big Thing: the mystery of all the press and coverage of a "normalization" deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia potentially brokered by the United States. What's in it for each party, and why is it a long shot at best?

31:33 - Lucien's One Big Thing: Saudi Arabia's economy is slowing down in 2023, but non-oil figures are more than a glimmer of hope for the Kingdom as economic diversification is the name of the game for Vision 2030 and its ultimate success. 

50:42 - The 966 speaks with Karen Elliott House about Saudi Arabia's evolving role in regional and global affairs, the U.S.-Saudi relationship, and the challenges facing Saudi Arabia in realizing its Vision 2030 economic and social reform goals. 

1:39:36 - Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to speed heading into the weekend.

Episode 96! The 966 speaks with PepsiCo Middle East CEO Aamer Sheikh for a conversation about the company's strategy to plug into Vision 2030's opportunities and continue to stay on top as the number one food and beverage brand in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Mr. Sheikh, who is Pakistani-American and grew up in the United States, shares his story and how he rose to the top position for the company in the Middle East region. The PepsiCo MENA CEO also discusses how he works to position PepsiCo's products to be part of the fabric of Saudi society, the company's emphasis and insistence on sustainability as critical to success, and so much more. Before the conversation, The 966 hosts discuss Richard's one big thing, which is a big update on the investments and news in Saudi Arabia's professional football league, the Saudi Pro League, and why headline-grabbing player transfers are just part of the equation for Saudi Arabia. Lucien's one big thing is a surprising new Royal Order from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who just announced that King Saud University would see a major change and a brand new board of all-star public and private sector figures in the Kingdom - indicative that he intends for KSU to expand and grow further. The hosts conclude as always with Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to date heading into the weekend.

9:48 – Richard’s One Big Thing this week a big update on the investments and news in Saudi Arabia’s professional football league, the Saudi Pro League, and why headline-grabbing player transfers are just part of the equation for Saudi Arabia.

30:25 – Lucien’s One Big Thing this week is the surprising announcement via Royal Order from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to restructure King Saud University, located in the heart of Riyadh. Saudi investment into its universities are part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, and the Crown Prince ordered a new board of directors to oversee the University and its transition to a non-profit institution. 

45:35 – The 966 speaks with PepsiCo Middle East CEO Aamer Sheikh for a conversation about the company’s strategy to plug into Vision 2030’s opportunities and continue to stay on top as the number one food and beverage brand in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Mr. Sheikh, who is Pakistani-American and grew up in the United States, shares his story and how he rose to the top position for the company in the Middle East region. The PepsiCo MENA CEO also discusses how he works to position PepsiCo’s products to be part of the fabric of Saudi society, the company’s emphasis and insistence on sustainability as critical to success, and so much more. PepsiCo’s products/brands include the popular household names like Pepsi-Cola, Mirinda, 7-UP, Mountain Dew, and Aquafina, Lay’s, Cheetos, Doritos and Quaker Oats. Aamer Sheikh told The 966 that one point of emphasis for his team is the development of local talent, sharing skills with the next generation, and empowering Saudi women. This is part of the company’s “Proudly Saudi” campaign in 2021, he said. PepsiCo Middle East employs close to 9,000 people across 86 site operations; Saudization rates reach over 40% in some business units; and 1 in 5 are female.

1:21:01 – Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to speed heading into the weekend…

•Saudi state mining giant Ma’aden and US-based Ivanhoe Electric have closed a deal to investigate 48,500 sq km of under-explored lands in the Arabian Shield for “critical minerals” that are key to powering the global energy transition.

•According to Euromonitor International, the inflation rates for the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in 2022 were 5% and 2.5%, respectively.

•The population of Saudi Arabia has reached 32.2 million, 42% of whom are foreign nationals with 63% of Saudis under age 30, the country’s general authority for statistics said on Wednesday.

•Delivery Hero, the German online food delivery company, is taking full ownership of its Saudi subsidiary in a transaction valued at $297 million.

•The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) affirmed that Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries that hosts the largest number of refugees who enjoy the status of visitors.

•Saudi Arabia’s leadership in OPEC+ with voluntary cuts to production has proven to be costly, sending its receipts from oil sales abroad down by a third, to its lowest in over a year, according to a report in Bloomberg.

Episode 95! Following several weeks of amazing special guests on the program (with many more to come in the weeks and months ahead) the hosts fly solo this week and discuss some of the biggest storylines and topics on Saudi Arabia this week. First, the hosts discuss Richard's one big thing this week, the Islamic new year. Muslims around the world observe and celebrate the Islamic New Year, also called the Hijri New Year, which marks the beginning of a new lunar Hijri year. The Islamic year is several days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, so its first day changes every year. Then the hosts discuss Lucien's one big thing, a global heat wave that has areas of the Middle East breaking records. On July 16, 2023, Persian Gulf International Airport in Iran reported a heat index of 152°F (66.7°C). In Riyadh this week, high temps are hovering around 115 degrees or so, which is about 46 degrees celsius. The hosts conclude the program as always with six top storylines on Saudi Arabia to get you up to speed heading into the weekend. 

7:47 - Richard's one big thing this week is a discussion of the Islamic new year. Muslims around the world observe and celebrate the Islamic New Year, also called the Hijri New Year, which marks the beginning of a new lunar Hijri year. The Islamic year is several days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, so its first day changes every year.

15:45 - Lucien's one big thing, a global heat wave that has areas of the Middle East breaking records. On July 16, 2023, Persian Gulf International Airport in Iran reported a heat index of 152°F (66.7°C). In Riyadh this week, high temps are hovering around 115 degrees or so, which is about 46 degrees celsius.

27:06 - Yallah! Six top storylines on Saudi Arabia to get you up to date heading into the weekend. 

•Saudi Arabia was the most active country for contract awards in a recent MEED survey for 2022. 

•Saudi Arabia agreed on Tuesday to buy Turkish drones in the biggest defence contract in Turkey's history as President Tayyip Erdogan reaped the benefits of his diplomatic push to repair ties with Gulf powers and help Ankara's struggling economy. 

•Saudi Arabia was considered the 28th best country to live in as an expat and the United States ranked 30th, according to the Expat Insider 2023.

•The Japanese premier, Fumio Kishida, kicked off his Gulf tour over the weekend with a stop in Saudi Arabia.

•An official from Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed to Al-Monitor that work has begun on a land bridge project connecting the country to Saudi Arabia, and that it will operate even if diplomatic ties between the two countries are not officially normalized.

•Saudi Arabia was announced as the host of the 2027 Pan Arab Games at the conclusion of this year’s  multi-sport event in Algeria.

Physician, non-fiction author, and broadcast media commentator and writer Dr. Qanta Ahmed joins The 966 from New York to discuss the “colossal” changes in Saudi Arabia since Vision 2030 was launched and her view that Saudi Arabia has emerged as an increasingly important and influential global power. Dr. Qanta is an Academic Pulmonologist and Sleep Disorder Specialist at NYU Langone and has lived in and visited Saudi Arabia now over a period spanning 3 decades. She first visited Saudi Arabia as a single female doctor in 1999, and wrote a book, called ‘In the Land of Invisible Women,’(a title she reveals to The 966 she did not write) detailing her experiences in the Kingdom. Before that conversation, The 966 hosts discuss Riyadh's pitch to host Expo 2030, the progress for Saudi women since 2016 and the impressive gains for Saudi women in the workforce (as well as highlighting the strong line up of Saudi women guests The 966 has hosted since our launch over 94 episodes), and much more in the program's finishing segment.

3:35 - The 966 hosts discuss Riyadh's pitch to host Expo 2030

13:39 - The progress for Saudi women since 2016 and the impressive gains for Saudi women in the workforce.

27:14 - Dr. Qanta Ahmed joins The 966 from New York to discuss the “colossal” changes in Saudi Arabia since Vision 2030 was launched and her view that Saudi Arabia has emerged as an increasingly important and influential global power. Dr. Qanta is an Academic Pulmonologist and Sleep Disorder Specialist at NYU Langone and has lived in and visited Saudi Arabia now over a period spanning 3 decades.

1:19:25 - Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to speed headed into the weekend. 

Saudi businesswoman Dana Alajlani, Head of Public Affairs for the GCC at Sanofi, the French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, joins The 966 to share her professional journey and story.  Dana is also Co-Chairwoman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Saudi Arabia (AmChamKSA) and is involved there with the Women in Business committee. Before that conversation, Richard and Lucien discuss a recent survey which examines the conversations and sentiments surrounding Saudi Arabia in 2022, seeking to understand the impact of Vision 2030. Then the hosts discuss Lucien's One Big Thing, which is a recent report in the Financial Times that said the Saudi PIF is eying up the possibility of a sports investment body, owned by the PIF, to further pursue investment into sport globally. Then the hosts wrap up as always with the Yallah! segment. 

9:30 - Richard's One Big Thing is a recent survey which examines the conversations and sentiments surrounding Saudi Arabia in 2022, seeking to understand the impact of Vision 2030. The leading research firm Carma analyzed media coverage across 33 major markets from traditional, digital, and broadcast media. The hosts discuss the changing perceptions of Saudi Arabia both in the Kingdom and abroad. 

16:20 - Lucien's One Big Thing is a new report from the Financial Times says Saudi Arabia plans to launch a multibillion-dollar investment company to expand its sports interests. The new entity will feature a “war chest” to fund its expansion, a sign that KSA wants to make further acquisitions, according to the report. Lucien highlights some of the facts in the piece, then Richard and Lucien provide some thoughts on all the progress in this space for Saudi Arabia. 

34:54 - Saudi businesswoman Dana Alajlani, Head of Public Affairs for the GCC at Sanofi, the French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, joins The 966 to share her professional journey and story.  Dana is also Co-Chairwoman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Saudi Arabia (AmChamKSA) and is involved there with the Women in Business committee.

1:07:32 - Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to date heading into the weekend. 

•Non-oil business activity in Saudi Arabia surged in June, supported by strength in construction and tourism, a survey showed on Wednesday. 

•Saudi Arabia has begun issuing electronic visas for the new season of Umrah or lesser pilgrimage starting later this month, after the end of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

•The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) Civil Transactions Law (the Law) enacted on 19 June 2023, by Royal Decree M/191, has now been published in the official gazette "Umm Al-Qura."

•ATP Tour chair confirms “positive” investment discussions with Saudi’s PIF

•Saudi Arabia is considering a push to attract more outside investors to bolster its top football competition, part of a strategic revamp that’s started with an influx of star players from Europe.

•Startups in Mena raised $35.6 million in June 2023 across 45 deals, pushing the half year funding total to $1.6 billion.

Episode 92! Saudi Arabia’s sporting ambitions and investments have been dominating global coverage of the Kingdom in recent months. 

The 966 speaks with Simon Chadwick, Professor of Sport and Geopolitical Economy, SKEMMA Business School, Paris, about all of the interest and investments by Saudi Arabia and Gulf nations into global sports. Professor Chadwick has consulted for and advised some of the biggest names in sport, such as FC Barcelona, UEFA, Adidas, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Before that, the hosts discuss a recent article in Newsweek by a previous guest of The 966, David Rundell, about some facts around Saudi Arabia's real role in 9/11, and why context matters. Then the hosts discuss all the latest with NEOM, including a recent interview given by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Discovery in English. The hosts conclude as always with Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to speed heading into the weekend. 

5:22 - Richard's One Big Thing is drawing attention and giving credit to a recent op-ed in Newsweek by a previous guest of The 966, David Rundell. Rundell and Gfoeller argue that Saudis "never made up the majority of al-Qaeda's leadership or membership. Below Osama bin Ladin, al-Qaeda's leadership was primarily Egyptian. Al-Qaeda's foot soldiers came from across the Muslim world with North Africans, Indonesians and Pakistanis contributing far more than Saudis. Saudis were used to carry out the 9/11 attacks primarily because it was far easier for them to obtain visas to the United States than it was for their Egyptian or Pakistani colleagues....Nor did al-Qaeda's political agenda originate in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Islam has a long tradition of puritanical intolerance which has most often been directed against the religious practices of other Muslims. Within Saudi Arabia, the religious scholars have an equally long history of condemning terrorism, especially when it involves suicide."

24:01 - Lucien's One Big Thing is discussion of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's remarks to a Discovery Channel documentary on Neom and all the other developments that happened in Neom in just the past two weeks. Lucien shares the comments that the Crown Prince made, which demonstrate his enthusiasm for the project and the genesis of the design and need to provide a new, global city for Saudis. Also recently, NEOM has announced that it has finalized contracts with investors for the first phase of its residential communities’ expansion, a social infrastructure project that will house the region’s growing workforce, and signed a deal with a global yachting brand, a major Saudi media organization, and more. 

38:38 - The 966 speaks with Professor Simon Chadwick. Professor of Sport and Geopolitical Economy, SKEMMA Business School, Paris, about all of the interest and investments by Saudi Arabia and Gulf nations into global sports. Professor Chadwick has consulted for and advised some of the biggest names in sport, such as FC Barcelona, UEFA, Adidas, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).

1:33 - Yallah! 6 Top Storylines to get you up to speed heading into the weekend. 

•Nearly 1.5 million foreign pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia so far for annual Hajj pilgrimage 

•Kingdom at the Forefront of Air Taxi Tech with Test of Volocopter in Collaboration with Neom

•Aston Martin Ties with Lucid for EV Partnership

•Kante joins Benzema at Al-Ittihad on 3-year deal as Saudi Arabia entices another star player

•The framework of the merger agreement of the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf says a for-profit subsidiary of the U.S. golfing body will be created 

•The 2023 Club World Cup will take place in Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah

Eid Al-Adha Mubarak to all followers and friends! -The 966 Team

The 966 speaks with Dr. Mohanad AlSheikh, CEO of Johnson Controls Arabia, a leading player in Saudi Arabia and the MENA region’s growing HVAC and smart building market. 

The 966 hosts ask Dr. Mohanad about the growing business opportunities in the HVAC and smart buildings space in the Kingdom and the wider region, the company’s focus on sustainability, and the importance of being a leading local content provider for Saudi Arabia. They also discuss how Johnson Controls Arabia is proving to be a trailblazer in R&D and technology transfer and development, and why that is important for the ecosystem in Saudi Arabia.

Other areas of focus for Johnson Controls includes AI, machine learning, and building technologies that help the company lead efforts to decarbonize in the region. 

The hosts begin the discussion by asking Dr. Mohanad to share his journey to-date, starting with his education in the United States when the hosts first met Dr. Mohaned. 

Dr. Mohanad joined Johnson Controls Arabia, a JV between the U.S.-headquartered Johnson Controls and local provider Al Salem, over a decade ago before rising to become head of the company. 

Saudi entrepreneurs Sara Bin Laden and Renad Aljefri, recent WIN fellows, join The 966 from Jeddah to discuss their experiences and journeys to-date. Renad and Sara recently took part in the second cohort of the Atlantic Council’s Women Innovators Fellowship, known as the WIN fellowship - a program launched by the empowerME initiative of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, by venture capitalist Amjad Ahmad. Before the conversation with Sara and Renad, the hosts discuss Richard's One Big Thing, the PIF's investments in Saudi football and the Saudi Pro League, as well as a discussion of the new names that will be playing in the Kingdom, like Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kanté, and Messi's decision to go to Miami. Then the hosts discuss Lucien's one big thing, the mixed picture presented by recent VC numbers in the MENA region. The hosts conclude as always with the program's "Yallah!" segment, featuring 6 top storylines on Saudi Arabia to get you up to speed heading into the weekend.

4:35 - Richard's One Big Thing, the PIF's investments in Saudi football and the Saudi Pro League, as well as a discussion of the new names that will be playing in the Kingdom, like Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kanté, and Messi's decision to go to Miami.

26:38 - Lucien's One Big Thing is the mixed picture presented by recent VC numbers in the MENA region. May represented a bounce-back of sorts for the MENA VC and startup ecosystem, with venture funding into the region’s startups touched $445 million spread across 39 transactions, compared to $7 million raised across 11 deals reported in the preceding month, according to a monthly report in Wamda. The UAE accounted for 90 per cent of the total raised during the period, but Saudi Arabia saw the most total investments into deals with 15. Saudi Arabia topped the charts thanks primarily to the graduation of seven homegrown startups from the Flat6labs Riyadh accelerator prorgram, headed by Riyadh-based venture capitalist Eyad Albayouk.

38:34 - Saudi entrepreneurs Sara Bin Laden and Renad Aljefri, recent WIN fellows, join The 966 from Jeddah to discuss their experiences and journeys to-date. Renad and Sara recently took part in the second cohort of the Atlantic Council’s Women Innovators Fellowship, known as the WIN fellowship - a program launched by the empowerME initiative of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, by venture capitalist Amjad Ahmad. The WIN Fellowship program is a collaboration between the Atlantic Council and Georgetown University, offering a structured fully sponsored yearlong executive training program, mentoring and networking opportunities with leading U.S. and MENA business executives, government officials, and policy experts. The top participants, and Renad and Sara were both selected for this - attend a fully sponsored trip to the United States for leadership training at Georgetown and meetings with US business and government leaders.

1:08:45 - Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to speed heading into the weekend.

Saudi Arabia will make a deep cut to its output in July on top of a broader OPEC+ deal to limit supply into 2024 as the group seeks to boost flagging oil prices. Saudi's energy ministry said the country's output would drop to 9 million barrels per day (bpd) in July from around 10 million bpd in May, the biggest reduction in years. OPEC+ has in place cuts of 3.66 million bpd, amounting to 3.6% of global demand, including 2 million bpd agreed last year and voluntary cuts of 1.66 million bpd agreed in April.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had an "open, candid" conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about a wide range of bilateral issues, a U.S. official said. Blinken's visit came days after top crude exporter Saudi Arabia pledged to deepen oil output cuts on top of a broader OPEC+ deal to limit supply, as it seeks to boost flagging oil prices despite opposition from the U.S. administration. Blinken and the crown prince met for an hour and forty minutes, a U.S. official said, covering topics including Israel, the conflict in Yemen, unrest in Sudan as well as human rights.

The Iranian embassy in Saudi Arabia has been reopened at a ceremony attended by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Consular, Parliamentary and Expatriate Affairs Alireza Bigdeli. The previous day, on June 5, the Iranian foreign ministry had announced that the Riyadh embassy, consulate-general in Jeddah and the Iranian mission to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) would be officially reopened on June 6 and 7.

IATA — an association that represents around 300 airlines in 120 countries — forecasted that the global aviation industry's profits are expected to reach $9.8 billion in 2023, more than double the $4.7 billion forecast in December, driven by pent-up demand for air travel following the pandemic.  Revenue passenger-kilometers for Middle Eastern carriers stands at 88% of 2019’s figures, showing the airlines in the region have already been making strong progress. GCC carriers will be at the forefront of the surge in passenger numberswhich IATA expects to double in the region to 550 million by 2040.

The PGA TOUR, DP World Tour and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced a landmarkagreement to unify the game of golf, on a global basis. The parties have signed an agreement that combines PIF’s golf-related commercial businesses and rights (including LIV Golf) with the commercial businesses and rights of the PGA TOUR and DP World Tour into a new, collectively owned, for-profit entity to ensure that all stakeholders benefit from a model that delivers maximum excitement and competition among the game’s best players.

The UK Government will be eliminating the need for visit visas for individualsfrom the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, and Jordan. Instead, these individuals will have the option to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation that will be valid for two years, and the cost for this will be only £10 ($12). This change will align the entry requirements for Gulf travellers and Jordanians with those of US and Australian citizens.

It's a story The 966 has covered in almost every one of its 90 podcasts in one form or another: the PIF-backed LIV Golf tour's founding and rise. So the news breaking today that the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf are combining in a shocking, earth-shattering merger, ending a dispute between the two, is worthy of a special emergency edition of The 966. 

Lucien, fresh off the plane and joining from Riyadh, and Richard talk about this seismic event and react to the incredible news of the merger. They react to some tweets rolling out in real time and try to see into the near future at how the world of golf might look. 

The 966 talks about the state of business dispute resolution in Saudi Arabia with the CEO of the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration, Dr. Hamed Merah, who joins from Riyadh. The 966 talks with Dr. Merah about the SCCA’s rise as a leading dispute resolution body in the region and increasingly, globally. As Saudi Arabia targets attracting foreign investors and companies looking to do business in the Kingdom, having a reputable and professional commercial arbitration center is important for growth. Dr. Merah talks about his work at the SCCA and its growth as an organization since its launch in 2014 and the significant expansion of the non-profit in just a few years. Dr. Merah discusses how one of the most important priorities for the SCCA is to provide “a user-focused environment with clear, fast and flexible procedures.” The SCCA uses the latest case management technology in Arabic and English and is growing in international repute.

Before the interview, The 966 hosts talk about their visit to the recent LIV Golf Tournament in Washington, D.C., Lucid's current rocky road, the royal wedding between a Saudi architect and Jordan's Crown Prince, and much more in the final Yallah! segment.

5:15 - Richard (and Lucien's!) One Big Thing is LIV Golf DC. The 966 boys headed on a field trip to the event on Saturday and soaked it all in. Richard and Lucien converse about the vibe, atmosphere, professionalism, and more on the event held in Northern Virginia right on the Potomac River. A former guest of The 966 also joined to take in some golf. The hosts even donned their swag they purchased, with Richard declaring his fandom for the RangeGoats GC and Lucien declaring he will remain a free agent fan until an offer is made he can't refuse.

31:17 - Lucien's (small, but still big) One Big Thing is the recent announcement by the PIF that it will invest in another round in Lucid Motors Group.

43:25 - CEO of the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration, Dr. Hamed Merah, joins The 966 to talk about the SCCA’s rise as a leading dispute resolution body in the region and increasingly, globally. As Saudi Arabia targets attracting foreign investors and businesses looking to do business in the Kingdom, having a reputable and professional commercial arbitration center is important for growth. Dr. Merah talks about his work at the SCCA and its growth as an organization since its launch in 2014 and the significant expansion of the non-profit in just a few years.

One of the most important priorities for the SCCA is to provide “a user-focused environment with clear, fast and flexible procedures.”

The SCCA uses the latest case management technology in Arabic and English.

1:34:45 - Yallah! Six top storylines to get you up to date heading into the weekend.

Amazon has launched a new fulfillment center in Riyadhdoubling its total storage capacity in Saudi Arabia and increasing selling opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses. The facility, which spans 390,000 sq. feet across five floors, with 2.7 million cubic feet capacity can store more than 9 million products. “Whenever a new fulfillment center opens, it has a transformative impact on the economy of the host city by contributing to expanding product selection and availability, growth of e-commerce sales, talent development, and the acceleration of entrepreneurship,” said Prashant Saran, director of operations for Amazon in the Middle East and North Africa region

The royal wedding of Crown Prince Hussein of Jordanand Saudi Arabian architect Rajwa Al Saif is today, June 1 at 4:00 p.m. at Zahran Palace in Amman, Jordan.  Distinguished guests from around the world, including heads of state, esteemed political and diplomatic figures, and close friends and members of the royal family, will attend the ceremony. Jordanian flags and pictures of Crown Prince Hussein are festooned along the highway that connects Amman’s airport to the centre of the city. It will be one of the highest profile events in Jordan for more than two decades.

According to a census published Wednesday, Saudi Arabia's population has grown 34.2% since 2010, to 32.2 million, an increase of 8.2 million people. Of these, 4.8 million or 58.4% are Saudi nationals and most others are from South Asia or elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa region. The majority of the kingdom's nationals are under 30 years old.  The 2022 Saudi census marks the "most comprehensive and precise population survey conducted in the Kingdom's history," the General Authority of Statistics said.

Mortgage lending in Saudi Arabia, a key component of the kingdom's total bank credit to the privatesector, softened to a new low in April 2023 as higher interest rates drove away potential home buyers. Mortgage lending has surged in Saudi Arabia the past decade, often outpacing corporate lending, after the kingdom introduced regulations. It gained momentum in 2016 on the back of a government drive to boost home ownership to 70% under the Vision 2030 programme.  As a result of this push, homeownership has increased from 47% in 2017 to 67% in 2022, according to the real estate consultancy Knight Frank.

Saudi Arabia announced the extension of its Makkah Route Initiative to Türkiye, aiming to facilitate travel, immigration and other processes for pilgrims visiting the holy cities of Makkah and Medina Tuesday. The Makkah Route Initiative, which began in 2019 as part of the "Guests of God Service Program," is being carried out in Morocco, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Ivory Coast, as well as Türkiye, according to the Saudi Interior Ministry. It aims to assist pilgrims by simplifying procedures so that they can be completed in their home countries.

Boeing Co (BA.N) is working on a deal to sell at least 150 737 Max jetliners to Saudi Arabian startup Riyadh Air, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday. The new carrier, wholly owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), is looking for about 300 to 400 single-aisle jets in total, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Airbus SE (AIR.PA) could also claim a part of the order, the report added.

Episode 88! Venture capitalist Eyad Albayouk returns to The 966 to talk about the latest developments in the VC sector in Saudi Arabia as well as the closing of his new startup seed fund with Flat6Labs in Saudi Arabia. The hosts discuss with Eyad the rocky start for new funding rounds in the Kingdom after a red hot 2022. Before that conversation, the host discuss Richard's one big thing - a new report from the Saudi consultancy Mukatafa and Kearney on e-commerce in Saudi Arabia. Then the hosts talk about Lucien's one big thing - the recent space mission that saw two Saudis, including the first female Saudi, and two Americans head to the International Space Station. Lucien noted that the new US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Michael Ratney, released a well-produced and meaningful congratulatory video to coincide with the launch, a refreshing move by a veteran communicator. The hosts conclude as they always do with Yallah! 6 top storylines to keep you updated headed into the weekend. 

7:19 - A new report by Saudi Arabia-based consultancy Mukatafa and Kearney found that 74% of online shoppers in Saudi Arabia expect to increase their purchases from the kingdom’s ecommerce platforms compared to their purchases from China, GCC, Europe and US. However, further support will be needed to ensure a level playing field for all ecommerce players, thereby protecting consumer interests, and promoting local investments, the report said. 

20:51 - SpaceX delivered another quartet of astronauts to the International Space Station on Monday - two Americans and two Saudis as part of the Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) launch to the International Space Station at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. To coincide with the launch, U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Michael Ratney released a positive video congratulating the astronauts and the people of both the US and KSA.  

34:47 - Venture capitalist Eyad Albayouk returns to The 966 to talk about the latest developments in the VC sector in Saudi Arabia as well as the closing of his new startup seed fund with Flat6Labs in Saudi Arabia. Eyad joins The 966 from Riyadh. The hosts discuss with Eyad the rocky start for new funding rounds in the Kingdom after a red hot 2022.

1:12:51 - Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to date headed into the weekend. 

Saudi Arabia's Neom Green Hydrogen Company has signed deals worth $8.4 billion with financial institutions for the plant it is building at Oxagon in the kingdom's $500 billion futuristic city Neom.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has recently introduced a new work visa, known as the "Temporary Work Visa", which replaces the previous "Work Visit Visa".

A goalless draw against Leicester City on Monday secured Newcastle United’s spot in next season’s Champions League for the first time in 20 years, a sensational rise for a team on course to be relegated from the English Premier League 18 months ago. 

A major entertainment calendar is due to kick off this week in Saudi Arabia, covering 16 cities across the kingdom where the entertainment industry is experiencing an unprecedented boom.

IHG Hotels & Resorts, one of the world’s leading hotel companies with more than 6,000 hotels, across 18 distinct brands, has signed a Master Development Agreement (MDA) with Tashyid for Hotel Operations, which will see the development of 12 hotels and 2,500 keys under the Holiday Inn Express brand across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi science and engineering team arrived back in the Kingdom on Sunday after winning 27 awards, including 23 major and four special prizes, at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair. 

Episode 87! The hosts explore overlapping topics in Salmani architecture and an evolving Riyadh city under King Salman for decades. Kicking things off, Richard's One Big Thing is the rise of Salmani Architecture - a term the hosts have come across in recent months that is important in understanding the current and new face of a changing Saudi capital. Salmani architecture combines traditional Saudi design elements with the new, while remaining distinctive, functional, and aesthetically pleasing. Lucien's One Big Thing is the launch and opening of VIA Riyadh, a new retail, entertainment, and hospitality destination in Riyadh that is now open to the public. Then the hosts wrap up as always with Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to date before heading into the weekend.

***

5:18 - Richard's One Big Thing is the rise of Salmani Architecture. Salmani architecture, becoming the norm in Riyadh for new buildings and construction, was characterized by an aesthetic appeal with six core values that were carefully planned and overseen by King Salman himself. The design process absorbs the guidance of all six values: Authenticity, Continuity, Human-Centricity, Livability, Innovation, and Sustainability.

28:36 - Lucien's One Big Thing this week is the launch of VIA RIYADH, a bougie new shopping and dining development in the heart of the Saudi capital. VIA Riyadh is done in the Salmani architecture style, and as the newest example of it, is a great look at some of the key elements and features of that style. VIA Riyadh was designed to work in perfect harmony with the local identity of the capital, preserving the unique identity of the city. The ancient stones that formed the famous Tuwaiq mountain in Dhurma ages ago, were professionally extracted to bring them to the present. The area has a significant place in Saudi history since it was the birthplace of the Second Saudi State in the 1820s.
VIA RIYADH launched on May 11th and is welcoming visitors and patrons now, and includes a shopping mall, a hotel, a cinema, and a variety of super trendy restaurants and chic cafes.

36:36 - Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to speed headed into the weekend...

Saudi Crown Prince merges Riyadh districts and names them after King Salman

Via Mariam Nihal in thenationalnews.com: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has merged two Riyadh districts and renamed them after his father in a tribute to his leadership of more than five decades. Al Waha and Salah Al Din districts, which are located in the heart of the capital, close to King Salman Park, will now be known as King Salman Neighbourhood, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The areas will be redeveloped and equipped with proper infrastructure and recreational amenities in a manner designed to allow them to keep pace with the growth of the city. Spanning an area of 6.6 square kilometres, the combined district will feature Salmani architecture.

https://www.thenationalnews.com/gulf-news/2023/05/15/saudi-crown-prince-merges-riyadh-districts-and-names-them-after-king-salman/

Contract Signed for $1.5 Billion for NEOM High-Speed Railway to Connect Port Development of Oxagon and The Line

Milan, Italy-based Webuild and its joint-venture partner Shibh Al Jazira Contracting Company (SAJCO) have signed a contract worth circa $1.5 billion to design and build 57 kilometers (35.4 miles) of a high-speed railway in NEOM, along the north Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia which will connect Oxagon and The Line, according to reports.

https://www.sustg.com/contract-signed-for-1-5-billion-for-neom-high-speed-railway-to-connect-port-development-of-oxagon-and-the-line/

Saudi Arabia hits record 31.81 mm average rainfall in April, the highest in 40 years

The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) announced that the average rainfall in various regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hit an exceptional record of 31.81 mm in April 2023.

According to MEWA, this is the highest average recorded in 40 years; it is higher than the average of 9.23 mm which it recorded in April 2022.

https://www.zawya.com/en/life/saudi-arabia-hits-record-3181-mm-average-rainfall-in-april-the-highest-in-40-years-nrqxo6vo

Saudi Wealth Fund Staffs NY Unit With Goldman, Point72 Hires

The US subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s $730 billion sovereign wealth fund is hiring from Wall Street firms and top hedge funds to manage its growing portfolio of investments in the country. In January, former Point72 Asset Management executive Jason Chung joined as head of the New York office of USSA International, the fund’s US arm, after spending almost 13 years at billionaire Steve Cohen’s hedge fund, according to LinkedIn. That month, Meredith Wood Doherty joined from investment firm Baillie Gifford as USSA International’s head of compliance and governance, her LinkedIn profile shows.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-16/saudi-wealth-fund-staffs-ny-unit-with-goldman-point72-hires?sref=5jMtLoGc

Ma’aden and Ivanhoe to explore untapped resources in Saudi Arabia

Ma’aden, a Saudi Arabian mining company, has finalised its agreement with Ivanhoe Electric Inc. (IE) to purchase 9.9% shares in the company and form a 50/50 joint venture (JV) to undertake one of the largest exploration programmes ever conducted.

The deal will provide Ma’aden, through the JV, with access to IE’s breakthrough Typhoon™ geophysical survey technology, which will accelerate the exploration of Saudi Arabia’s lands, estimated to hold US$1.3 trillion of untapped minerals.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is pumping more money in the gaming industry, and has increased its stake in American gaming company Electronic Arts (EA) by 55%. 

The PIF held 16.1 million shares in the FIFA and Madden NFL game publisher before Q4 2022, but after Q1 2023, it held 24.81 million shares, according to financial research publisher Seeking Alpha. Saudi Arabia already has investments in Activision Blizzard and Take-Two Interactive from the United States.

Episode 86! The hosts fly solo today with lots to discuss from a busy week in Saudi Arabia. Richard's One Big Thing is the recent developments on Saudi-Syria relations. Syria has come in from the cold in recent days as the Arab League and Saudi Arabia in particular prioritize engagement with Assad regime to solve growing regional challenges - a departure from a decade of isolating the country which has descended into becoming a narco state under Assad. Lucien's One Big Thing is NEOM, which in just the last week had a slew of announcements and dropped an opening date for its first destination, Sindalah Island, located off the coast of the futuristic city. Then the hosts jump right into Yallah! to discuss 6 top storylines on Saudi Arabia headed into the weekend.

3:55 - Richard's One Big Thing is the recent developments on Saudi-Syria relations. Syria has come in from the cold in recent days as the Arab League and Saudi Arabia in particular prioritize engagement with Assad regime to solve growing regional challenges - a departure from a decade of isolating the country which has descended into becoming a narco state under Assad.

23:57 - Lucien's One Big Thing is NEOM, which in just the last week had a slew of announcements and dropped an opening date for its first destination, Sindalah Island, located off the coast of the futuristic city.

37:17 - Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to speed headed into the weekend.

Saudi Ambassador to Washington, Princess Reema bint Bandar, visited a Boeing facility in Charleston, South Carolina, to celebrate Saudi Arabia’s $37 billion deal struck in March to purchase up to 121 Boeing aircraft.
“This historic investment will create around 100,000 direct & indirect jobs in the US across several states, including hundreds of suppliers and many small businesses.” According to Princess Reema.  This is the fifth-largest commercial aircraft deal by value in Boeing’s history.

The Saudi Tourism Authority Says LGBT+ Visitors Are Welcome In Saudi Arabia
In the FAQ section of STA’S website, somebody inquired whether or not LGBT+ visitors were welcome in Saudi Arabia. The response was: “everyone is welcome to visit Saudi Arabia, and visitors are not asked to disclose such personal details.”

Lucid losses put Saudi Arabia's EV strategy in the headlamps
Lucid, a U.S. company in which PIF owns a 60.46% stake, fell well short of analyst forecasts on Tuesday with a sharp first quarter revenue fall and a cut to its 2023 production outlook, according to Reuters.
That performance could put another potential dent in Saudi plans to build its own EV industry, which includes Lucid's first manufacturing plant outside the U.S., as part of its far-reaching diversification plan led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Saudi Arabia is planning to transform Islam's second holiest city of Madinah into a "modern Islamic and cultural destination" according to a report yesterday by Arab News.
The project, which is part of the Kingdom's Vision2030 strategy, will be overseen by Rua Al Madinah Holding Co., a real estate firm owned by the Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF)

World’s first Transformers indoor theme parks to open in Saudi Arabia
Toy giant Hasbro and Saudi Entertainment Ventures are teaming up to launch the world’s first Transformers-themed indoor entertainment centers.

Saudi Arabia and Netherlands agree to collaborate on green energy

Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on the development of green energy and hydrogen. The Netherlands could be the main destination for the transport of hydrogen derived from renewable energy sources from Saudi Arabia to Europe, Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said at the World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam.

The 966 Episode 85! The 966 hosts speak with Norah Ortiz, founder of the first authentic Mexican restaurant in Riyadh, Don Reuben's, which is located in the Diplomatic Quarter. Ortiz tells us her story as an American born in San Diego to Mexican parents and her journey to owning and operating the first authentic Mexican restaurant in a city increasingly becoming a hot spot for foodies. Before that discussion, the hosts talk about Richard's One Big Thing: a growing Captagon crisis in the Middle East and Syria's fall into becoming a narco state. Lucien's One Big Thing is Lionel Messi's long relationship with Saudi Arabia as rumors and reports swirl that he might be heading to Saudi Arabia to play for Al Hilal. The hosts then conclude as always with Yallah! 6 top storylines to keep you up to date heading into the weekend.

9:11 - Richard's one big thing is a growing Captagon crisis in the Middle East and Syria's fall into becoming a narco state. Captagon is a synthetic amphetamine-type stimulant, fenethylline and has become the center of an increasing number of drug busts across the Middle East. The vast majority of global captagon production occurs in Syria, with the Gulf region being its primary destination.

24:24 - MESSI TO SAUDI? Lucien's one big thing is what is dominating the headlines this week for the Kingdom. There are reports now, not just rumors, that it’s going to happen… Messi to Saudi Arabia and probably to Al Hilal. Messi was officially unveiled as a brand ambassador for the Saudi Tourism Authority last year, and rumors swirled about him playing in Saudi Arabia eventually. Lucien provides a timeline of Messi's experiences and relationship with Saudi Arabia and some thoughts on what this might mean for the Saudi Professional League.

40:10 - Riyadh-based restaurateur Norah Ortiz, who is founder of the popular authentic Mexican restaurant Don Reuben’s, located in the diplomatic quarter. Don Reuben’s is the first authentic taco shop in the Kingdom and recently won the “highly commended” Riyadh Time out awards for best Latin American restaurant in the capital city. Ortiz tells us her story as an American born in San Diego to Mexican parents and her journey to owning and operating the first authentic Mexican restaurant in a city increasingly becoming a hot spot for foodies.

1:08:44 - Yallah!

MENA startups Raised $7 Million in April 2023, a 93 Percent Decline Year-on-Year – WAMDA Report
In April 2023, startups based in the Middle East and North Africa raised roughly $7 million, a drop of 97 per cent compared to March 2023 and a 99 per cent drop compared to April 2022, according to a report in Wamda, which we shared on SUSTG.com today.

Banker Pay Surges For Those Willing to Work in Saudi Arabia
According to Bloomberg, banking jobs remain plentiful and salaries are surging in one unexpected corner of the world: Saudi Arabia.

Aramco In Talks With Sinopec and Total on $10 Billion Saudi Gas Deal
According to Bloomberg, Sinopec and TotalEnergies SE are among companies holding talks to invest in the Jafurah development in Saudi Arabia, according to people familiar with the matter, as the kingdom seeks to exploit one of the world’s largest untapped gas fields.

Saudi economy edging closer to reducing dependence on oil, IMF official says
According to Reuters, Government-led reforms and the growth of private investment in new sectors will help support non-oil economic growth in Saudi Arabia amid an expected sharp slowdown in overall growth this year, a senior IMF official said.

Asset Management Firm Tiger Global, Visa Invest in UAE Fintech Company Tarabut Gateway for Saudi Expansion – Report
Payments giant Visa Inc. has made its first open banking investment in the Middle East, joining Tiger Global Management in backing UAE-based fintech firm Tarabut Gateway’s latest fundraising which outlines an expansion to Saudi Arabia, according to Bloomberg.

Middle East Set to Outpace Other Regions in Growth of Travel Demand: Rategain
The Middle East region is expected to outpace all other travel markets in its rate of recovery for travel demand in the April-June quarter, according to India-headquartered travel technology firm Rategain.

In Episode 84, The 966 speaks with Faisal Durrani, partner and head of Middle East research for the global real estate company Knight Frank. Mr. Durrani shares some of the highlights and key information from Knight Frank’s recently-released 2023 report on real estate in Saudi Arabia, The Saudi Report 2023, a publication which touches on many subjects beyond real estate, including hotels and tourism, travel preferences for Saudis domestically, and so much more. Before the conversation, the hosts discuss the situation in Sudan and Saudi Arabia's role in assisting other nations in getting its civilians out of harms way in the country, how a Saudi company became ensnared in the politics of the Western US water crisis, and much more.

4:01 - Richard's one big thing is Saudi Arabia's assistance in getting civilians out of harms way in the war-torn country. Sudan is just across the Red Sea from Saudi Arabia, and both nations share a long border with that pivotal trade route, raising the stakes for the Kingdom as yet another nation in its neighborhood is threatened with instability. Sudan has a 530-mile (853 km) coastline bordering the Red Sea, and that waterway's maximum width is 190 miles. There are fears that the fighting could further fragment the country, worsen political turbulence and draw in neighboring states. Saudi Arabia received praise from U.S. President Joe Biden for its work and hospitality in rescuing civilians from harm's way. 

12:04 - Lucien's one big thing is the water crisis in the American west, and how it has ensnared a Saudi company, Fondomonte, a subsidiary of Almarai, the Kingdom's largest big agricultural company. Saudi Arabia's own water conservation has lead Saudi Arabia to explore farming and agriculture opportunities abroad, both in wheat and other imports from places like Ukraine and in Africa, and in agricultural enterprises abroad, including in the United States. Fondomonte in Arizona farms alfalfa to feed cows for dairy products in the Kingdom. Fondomonte had permitting applications into the state for drilling the wells but those were denied ceremoniously by the state’s attorney general, Kris Mayes, who used the opportunity to make an example of Saudi Arabia’s farms in Arizona and the need for water to be used by locals. The permits were denied after Hays raised objections in early April to state agencies about discrepancies in application paperwork, including listing different landowners and conflicting information about whether the wells were new or replacements,” azcentral.com reports. 
Valued at $14.3 billion, the Almarai Company – which owns about 10,000 acres of farmland in Arizona under its subsidiary, Fondomonte – is one of the biggest players in the Middle East’s dairy supply. The company also owns about 3,500 acres in agriculture-heavy Southern California, according to public land records, where they use Colorado River water to irrigate crops.

26:28 - The 966 speaks with Faisal Durrani, partner and head of Middle East research for the global real estate company Knight Frank. Mr. Durrani shares some of the highlights and key information from Knight Frank’s recently-released 2023 report on real estate in Saudi Arabia, The Saudi Report 2023, a publication which touches on many subjects beyond real estate, including hotels and tourism, travel preferences for Saudis domestically, and so much more.

1:12:07 - Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to speed on all things Saudi headed into the weekend.

World Military Spending Rises to Record as Insecurity Swells

Defense expenditure increased by 3.7% in real terms to reach a record high of $2.24 trillion in 2022, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI, said on Monday. About half the annual increase was due to Ukraine’s ballooning military budget, according to data for the eastern European country that excludes foreign aid. Arms budgets are expanding across Europe in response to Russia’s aggression at the same time as tensions in East Asia are prompting larger outlays in that part of the world. In another sign of how the world is sliding back into a situation last seen during the Cold War, military expenditure in central and western European countries exceeded the 1989 level for the first time.

Saudi Arabia Advances 17 Ranks in World Bank's Logistics Performance Index

Saudi Arabia, which came in at 38, was ranked 55 in the 2018 report, and has seen its stock as a global logistics hub rise as it formulates plans for as many as 60 logistics hubs around the Kingdom, and contemplates wholesale upgrades of existing ports, as well as a number of greenfield facilities. Identical rankings to Saudi Arabia were achieved by India, Lithuania, Portugal and Turkey, also all ranked 38-equal, with identical overall LPI scores of 3.4. The rankings were topped by Singapore, with a score of 4.2, with Finland coming second, also on 4.2 and Denmark third, with 4.1

Saudis constitute 82.2% of workforce in financial and insurance activities

Reflecting the success of localization efforts, Saudis constituted 82.2 percent of the number of workers in the financial and insurance sectors in 2022.  Saudi citizens who are working in financial and insurance activities reached 75,001, while foreigners totaled only 16,290 or 17.8 percent, bringing the total number of workers to 91,291 last year.  Male workers made up 93 percent of the workforce in financial and insurance activities – reaching 71,648 workers in 2022, while the number of females working in these activities hit 19,643, according to Al-Eqtisadiyah. 

Saudi Public Investment Fund ranks 5th with worth $620bn

The ranking of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has improved from sixth to fifth place among the largest sovereign funds in the world for the first time, with assets valued at SR2.3 trillion ($620 billion). The fund’s share of the world’s sovereign wealth has increased to 6.2%, up from 5.9%, according to Arab News.

Unemployment in Saudi Arabia Reaches Record Low with Women Driving the Change — Jadwa Investment

The unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia dropped to 8 percent at the end of 2022, down from 11 percent in 2021, with women driving that positive change, according to a recently-released report from Jadwa Investment, citing the General Authority for Statistics’ (GaStat) latest labor market release.

Female unemployment was down to 15.4 percent in 2022 versus 22.5 percent in the previous year.

Saudi Arabia is building more hotels than UAE for the first time

According to a report in Hotelier Middle East, the UAE is no longer the regional leader when it comes to building hotels. "According to STR, Saudi Arabia has almost double the number of hotel rooms being built than the UAE. Saudi sits behind only China and the US globally in terms of the number of hotel rooms currently being built."

Eid Fitr Mubarak! In Episode 83, Mohammed Soliman, the director of the Middle East Institute's Strategic Technologies and Cyber Security Program and a Manager at McLarty Associates’ Middle East and North Africa Practice, joins The 966. Mohammed's work focuses on the intersection of technology, geopolitics, and business in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Mohammed frequently appears on Arabic- and English-language television to provide commentary on unfolding events in the Middle East. The 966 talks with Mohammed about his recent writing and work on the subjects of a U.S.-Saudi tech dialogue and much more. But first, the hosts discuss Richard's one big thing, which is a look at the Saudi professional soccer league, and the growth of soccer in recent years in the Kingdom. Lucien's one big thing is King Salman Park, which will be 5x the size of Central Park and checking in on the development of the massive project, which will change the face of Riyadh. The hosts conclude as always with Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to speed on Saudi Arabia headed into the weekend.

5:14 - Richard's one big thing this week is is a look at the Saudi professional soccer league, and the growth of soccer in recent years in the Kingdom.

16:41 - Lucien's one big thing this week is King Salman Park, which is massive in size and ambition. Covering 6.4 square miles on the grounds of the former King Salman Air Base, it is going to be seven times the size of London’s Hyde Park and five times the size of New York’s Central Park. The completed project will have 5 metro stops when the Riyadh metro is complete and become a large urban oasis that will drastically improve the quality of life for citizens and visitors of Riyadh. 

28:52 - Mohammed Soliman, the director of the Middle East Institute's Strategic Technologies and Cyber Security Program and a Manager at McLarty Associates’ Middle East and North Africa Practice, joins The 966. Mohammed's work focuses on the intersection of technology, geopolitics, and business in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Mohammed frequently appears on Arabic- and English-language television to provide commentary on unfolding events in the Middle East. The 966 talks with Mohammed about his recent writing and work on the subjects of a U.S.-Saudi tech dialogue and much more.

58:05 - Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to speed heading into the weekend.

WSJ: Saudi Arabia, U.A.E. Scoop Up Russian Oil Products at Steep Discounts

As Russia scours the globe for buyers of its energy products, it is finding eager trade partners in an unlikely place: The oil-rich petrostates of the Persian Gulf. Since Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine cut off Russia from many of its established trading partners, state companies from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have stepped in to take advantage of discounted prices for Russian products, according to oil executives and industry analysts. 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-arabia-u-a-e-scoop-up-russian-oil-products-at-steep-discounts-d327a2ee

IMF Says Saudi Budget to Win From OPEC Cuts With Oil Price Boost

Saudi Arabia’s budget will more than make up for a production cut announced by the kingdom with OPEC and its allies, according to the International Monetary Fund, as it reels in more revenue thanks to higher crude prices and keeps spending in check.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-18/imf-says-saudi-budget-to-win-from-opec-cuts-with-oil-price-boost?sref=5jMtLoGc

Saudi Arabia launches 4 special economic zones for boosting investments

Saudi Arabia launched four special economic zones on Thursday in Riyadh, Jizan, Ras Al-Khair, and King Abdullah Economic City, north of Jeddah, according to Forbes Middle East.

 Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman highlighted "huge opportunities for the development of the local economy" that the zones will provide in terms of job creation, technology transfer, industry localization, and development of the Saudi business community.

https://www.jordannews.jo/Section-113/All/Saudi-Arabia-launches-4-special-economic-zones-for-boosting-investments-28119

Israeli PM: Peace with Saudi Arabia would be 'giant leap' towards ending Arab-Israeli conflict

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia would be a "giant leap" towards ending the Arab-Israeli conflict.

"We want normalization and peace with Saudi Arabia. We view that as perhaps a giant leap towards ending the Arab-Israeli conflict," Netanyahu said, speaking during a meeting in Jerusalem with U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-pm-peace-with-saudi-arabia-would-be-giant-leap-towards-ending-arab-2023-04-17/

Emirates, Aramco top companies in UAE, Saudi: LinkedIn

UAE’s Emirates Airlines and Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Aramco are the top companies in UAE and KSA respectively as per LinkedIn’s annual list of Top Companies for the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

While in the UAE, Procter & Gamble, Kearney, Majid Al Futtaim and Visa take the next four spots, in Saudi Arabia Red Sea Global Hospitality, stc Telecommunications Procter & Gamble and Saudia are the next in the pecking order.

https://www.zawya.com/en/economy/gcc/emirates-aramco-top-companies-in-uae-saudi-linkedin-dhfz0vrp

Christiano Ronaldo once again dominates headlines, team loses

Christiano Ronaldo once again dominated the headlines both during and after his side's 2-0 loss to Al-Hilal on Tuesday. After being booked for a WWE-style tackle, Ronaldo reacted to chants from home supporters of Lionel Messi allegedly with an obscene gesture in their direction. The incident caused debate and drama throughout the Kingdom. Odion Ighalo got the better of Cristiano Ronaldo as he scored the two goals which earned Al Hilal a 2-0 home win against Al Nassr in the Saudi Arabia League on Tuesday.

https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/al-nassr-respond-cristiano-ronaldo-expelled-saudi-arabia-controversial-gesture/bltf437a028d15bb8fd

In Episode 82, the 966 hosts fly solo and discuss some of the top developments of late on Saudi Arabia - and there are a lot of them. First, the hosts discuss Richard’s One Big Thing, which is the readout of the recent call between the U.S. National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. There were a lot of “Easter eggs” in that call’s readout from the U.S. side, especially the focus on new priorities and less on the traditional dynamics of U.S.-Saudi relations. Next, the hosts discuss Lucien’s One Big Thing this week, which is the Saudi-Iran thaw. When announced, the detente was surprising, and a timeframe of two months was declared. Lucien provides a timeline of what has happened since , and lays the foundation for a discussion on how Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy has shifted in just a few weeks - not just on Iran, but on Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, and others. Then the hosts finish up as always with Yallah! A discussion of six top storylines on Saudi Arabia from the previous week to get you up to speed headed into the weekend. 

3:47 - Richard’s One Big Thing is based on the readout of the recent call between the U.S. National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. There were a lot of “Easter eggs” in that call’s readout from the U.S. side, especially the focus on new priorities and less on the traditional dynamics of U.S.-Saudi relations.

Here’s what the Readout said from the U.S. side:

“National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud of Saudi Arabia today.  They discussed a number of global and regional matters, to include ongoing diplomacy related to ending the war in Yemen.  Mr. Sullivan highlighted the remarkable progress in Yemen over the past year, during which fighting has nearly ceased under a UN-mediated truce.  He welcomed Saudi Arabia’s extraordinary efforts to pursue a more comprehensive roadmap for ending the war and offered full U.S. support for those efforts, noting that Special Envoy Tim Lenderking will be in the region over the coming days.  Mr. Sullivan and Crown Prince Salman also discussed broader trends toward de-escalation in the region, while underscoring the need to maintain deterrence against threats from Iran and elsewhere.  Mr. Sullivan reaffirmed President Biden’s unwavering commitment to ensure Iran can never acquire a nuclear weapon.  Mr. Sullivan and Crown Prince Salman committed to stay in regular contact and to accelerate contact between the Saudi and U.S. national security teams on issues including the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), clean energy cooperation, and development and investment in cutting-edge Open Radio Access Network (O-Ran) 5G and 6G technologies.”

15:42 - Lucien’s One Big Thing this week, which is the Saudi-Iran thaw. When announced, the detente was surprising and a timeframe of two months was declared. A timeline of what has happened since lays the foundation for a discussion on how Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy has shifted in just a few weeks; not just on Iran, but on Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, and others.

30:32 - Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to speed heading into the weekend. 

Citigroup Sees Oil Falling Despite OPEC Efforts to Prop Near $80

Oil prices are likely to fall below $80 a barrel even with OPEC’s recent apparent efforts to support that level with unexpected cuts, according to Ed Morse, global head of commodities research at CitiGroup. 

Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Privatisation (NCP) has announced the launch of 200 development projects across 17 sectors.

The initiative will provide local and international investors with an opportunity for advanced preparation to ensure their readiness to participate in the projects tendered to the market. Schemes include four airports, seven desalination plants, six wastewater treatment plants and 10 strategic water reservoirs.  According to HE Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Minister of Finance, these projects will increase the attractiveness of the economy, create opportunities for local and international investor and increase private sector contribution to GDP.

Masters 2023: Jon Rahm won big, but so did LIV Golf

Jon Rahm was the day’s biggest winner. But LIV Golf, the breakaway tour that’s caused a civil war within golf’s ranks, scored a major victory of its own this weekend. Derided as a tour for washed-up former stars and unknowns, a money grab for has-beens and never-was’es, LIV this weekend put three players in the top 6 — Mickelson, Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed — and 12/17 players made the cut. Whatever else LIV may be, on this weekend the breakaway tour came up big. “We're still the same people,” said Koepka, who held the clubhouse lead for three rounds and three holes. “I think that’s just manufactured by the media that we can’t compete anymore, that we are washed up.”

Hajj Minister: Makkah and Madinah now host 1.3 million foreign pilgrims and visitors

Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah said that Makkah and Madinah are witnessing a record number of foreign pilgrims and visitors and there are currently 1.3 million in the two holy cities. “All the procedures have been improved remarkably and there is a major qualitative shift in the movement of worshipers as well as in the facilities and services being provided to them inside the Two Holy Mosques.” he said while addressing a dialogue session as part of the first edition of the Manafea Forum, which kicked off here on Monday.

Middle East debt issuances nearly triple in Q1 2023 as Saudis take lead

Middle East and North Africa (MENA) debt issuances nearly tripled year-on-year from January to March 2023 to $26.9 billion compared to the previous quarter, marking the highest start to a year by proceeds since 2011. This is a major shift since last year’s total of $37.3 billion, the lowest full-year amount since 2011, according to American-British financial data company Refinitv. In Q1 of 2023, Saudi Arabia was the leading debt issuer in the MENA region.

Saudi Heritage Commission Includes 190 New Antiquities Sites in National Register

The Saudi Heritage Commission approved the registration and documentation of 190 new archaeological sites in the national register of Antiquities. There are now 8,788 such locations in the national register across the country, representing a national legacy that reflects the historical richness of the Kingdom. Asir region has the largest number with 35, followed by Al-Jouf with 32, Tabuk with 31, Hail with 23, Al-Qassim with 22, and the Eastern Province with 20. Of the new registrations, 11 are in Jazan, 10 are in the Makkah region, five are in Al-Baha, and one is in Madinah.

The 966 welcomes back onto the program Bilal Saab, political-military analyst on the Middle East and U.S. policy toward the region and Senior Fellow and Director of the Defense and Security Program at the Middle East Institute. The hosts ask Bilal about his recent piece, entitled "After Oil-for-Security: A Blueprint for Resetting U.S.-Saudi Security Relations." Before that discussion, the hosts discuss fibre-optic cables and data centers in Saudi Arabia, how the Kingdom is doing on its efforts to achieve sustainability, and much more.

4:32 - Richard's One Big Thing is how Saudi Arabia is ‘redrawing the map of the future with fibre-optic cables’, citing a recent piece in the Middle East Eye. Saudi Arabia sees an opportunity with Egypt acting often as a bottleneck.

18:02 - Lucien's One Big Thing is a discussion on how Saudi Arabia's Green Initiative (SGI) is performing against international evaluations on sustainability progress. One new report, published annually by MIT called The Green Future Index, says that Saudi Arabia made a leap forward against its performance last year by jumping 10 places. But, it wasn't all good news for Saudi Arabia - the Kingdom is in the second-to-last category for these rankings. Still, the progress is laudable and can already be seen on the ground in Saudi Arabia. So far, Saudi Arabia has planted 18 million trees within the Kingdom and of those 13 million are mangroves.

32:35 - The 966 welcomes back onto the program Bilal Saab,  political-military analyst on the Middle East and U.S. policy toward the region and Senior Fellow and Director of the Defense and Security Program at the Middle East Institute. The hosts ask Bilal about his recent piece, entitled "After Oil-for-Security: A Blueprint for Resetting U.S.-Saudi Security Relations."

1:13:08 - Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to speed heading into the weekend.

In Surprise, OPEC Plus Announces Cut in Oil Production

Saudi Arabia, Russia and their oil-producing allies announced that they would cut production by more than 1.2 million barrels of crude a day, or more than 1 percent of world supplies, in an apparent effort to increase prices. The production cut was unexpected because leaders of the group, known collectively as OPEC Plus, said in recent days that they did not intend to make changes in their policies. The cuts, which are voluntary and start in May, could be temporary depending on economic conditions.

Fitch upgrades Saudi Arabia to 'A+' on strong balance sheet, buffers

Ratings agency Fitch on Wednesday upgraded Saudi Arabia's credit rating to 'A+' from 'A', citing the Gulf state's robust fiscal and external balance sheets, including a favourable debt-to-GDP ratio and strong sovereign net foreign assets. Oil revenue will account for about 60% of total budget revenue in 2023-2024, according to Fitch, despite a major government push towards developing the non-oil sectors of the economy. "The upgrade also assumes ongoing commitment to gradual progress with fiscal, economic and governance reforms," Fitch said.

Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund reveals its VC portfolio

The venture arm of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, Sanabil Investments, has revealed dozens of US and European venture capital and private equity firms in its portfolio, shedding new light on the kingdom’s expanding global economic footprint. The fund’s portfolio contains 18 startups along with big-name VC and growth funds like California-based Andreessen Horowitz, 500 Global and New York-based, General Atlantic.

Top Saudi, Iranian diplomats to meet in China, say media, officials

The top envoys for Saudi Arabia and Iran will meet in Beijing on Thursday, an Iranian official and a Saudi-owned newspaper said, as the two regional rivals work to hash out next steps of their diplomatic rapprochement amid a China-brokered deal. The meeting between Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, will be the first formal meeting between Saudi Arabia and Iran's most senior diplomats in more than seven years.

CIA director visits Saudi Arabia to reinforce US commitment to intel cooperation

The head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Bill Burns was in Saudi Arabia this week to meet with officials and reinforce Washington’s commitment to intelligence cooperation, a US official told Al Arabiya English on Wednesday. The CIA director’s quiet trip comes on the heels of a surprising agreement signed between Riyadh and Tehran, brokered by China, to restore diplomatic ties, reopen embassies and exchange ambassadors in the next month.

The UN is going forward with an operation to prevent a disastrous oil spill from a rusting tanker in the Red Sea.

The United Nations Development Programme has purchased a ship to take 1.1 million barrels of crude oil that has been sitting in a decrepit supertanker, SFO Safer, off the port of Ras Isa in Yemen’s west coast. It has contracted SMIT Salvage BV, a Dutch firm specializing in marine salvage, to extract the oil and remove the Safer to safety. The replacement vessel is currently in drydock in China, being fitted for its new purpose as a floating oil storage vessel. It is expected to arrive in the Red Sea next month.

Mr. James Golsen, Senior Commercial Officer for Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, discusses his work building U.S.-Saudi trade and business relations and his journey to the important post. The 966 hosts talk with James about his role building U.S.-Saudi trade relations and enhancing investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia. They also discuss the recent Boeing deal with the newly-launched Riyadh Airlines, Richard's Al-Ula adventure, and much more. 

1:32 - Richard discusses his recent adventure to Al Ula, Saudi Arabia. 

28:08 - Lucien's one big thing is Saudi Arabia's announcement that it will purchase up to 121 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft equipped with General Electric’s most advanced GEnex engines to anchor the newly-formed Riyadh Air and expand the Saudia Airlines fleet.

41:53 - James Golsen, Senior Commercial Officer for Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, joins The 966 to discuss his work building U.S.-Saudi trade and business relations and his journey to this current post. 
Mr. Golsen’s career has taken him around the globe. Previously he served as the Senior Commercial Officer in Moscow from 2019 - 2021, and before that, he was with the US Department of Commerce as Executive Director-Asia. He’s held top-level commercial roles at embassies across Asia, including in Chennai, Thailand, Shanghai, Myanmar.
The 966 hosts talk with James about his role building U.S.-Saudi trade relations and enhancing investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia. They also discuss the recent Boeing deal with the newly-launched Riyadh Airlines and much more.

1:11:52 - Yallah! 6 Top storylines to get you up to speed heading into the weekend.

Saudi Arabia and Iran recently agreed to normalize ties between the two regional powers after seven years. The 966 speaks with three top voices to understand the deal and the potential road ahead for Saudi Arabia, Iran, China, the United States, and other regional and global players.

First, the hosts speak with the top spokesperson for the Saudi embassy in Washington, Fahad Nazer, to discuss the recent announcement that the Kingdom and Iran would normalize relations after 7 years. The deal was agreed to and announced in China, raising eyebrows in Washington and heightening concerns that China's influence in the Middle East region is rising. But Nazer noted that the Kingdom's foreign policy is not a "zero-sum" game, and that relations with other regional and global actors are not reflective of its relationship with the United States, with which Saudi Arabia has a long and historic partnership.

Next, the hosts welcome on Dr. Jon Alterman, senior vice president and director of the Middle East Program at CSIS in Washington about the surprise development. Dr. Alterman noted that the Saudi move with Iran is “part of a broader Saudi strategy to re-orient the relationship with the United States" and that the decision is a change for an emerging Saudi Arabia in the region. But Alterman also noted that Saudi Arabia will likely still be relying on American security guarantees.

Then, the hosts welcome on Dr. Abdulaziz Alghashian, a scholar and researcher with a focus on Saudi-Israeli relations, who discusses the regional view on the recently-announced, China-brokered Saudi-Iran deal to normalize relations. What's the view from Riyadh and what are the implications for Israel and other regional actors? The 966 welcomes Dr. Abdulaziz back onto the program to answer these questions and chat about the implications for the region going forward. 

Episode 78! The 966 hosts fly solo this week ahead of a busy week of travel to Saudi Arabia and the region and an impressive slate of forthcoming guests in the coming weeks. Richard’s One Big Thing this week is a recent collection of articles and items in the media that paint a picture of a U.S.-Saudi relationship that is evolving as Saudi Arabia increasingly becomes an emerging power and global economic and diplomatic player. Lucien’s One Big Thing is highlighting the rapid progress at The Red Sea giga-project, which seemingly makes a new announcement every day and seems to be way ahead of schedule. Then the hosts jump right into the final Yallah! Segment discussing six top storylines of the week to get you up to speed headed into the weekend.

3:11 - Richard’s One Big Thing this week is a recent collection of articles and items in the media that paint a picture of a U.S.-Saudi relationship that is evolving as Saudi Arabia increasingly becomes an emerging power and global economic and diplomatic player. Richard highlights recent pieces specifically by Bilal Saab and Hussein Ibish.

17:35 - Lucien’s One Big Thing is highlighting the rapid progress at The Red Sea giga-project. By all accounts and from everything one can see on social media, the development is proceeding ahead of schedule. Red Sea Global’s dynamic and news-making CEO, John Pagano, announced the “first luxury resort brand revealed at AMAALA,” Clinique La Prairie, which is a leading Swiss clinic, and bills itself as master of longevity resort which has both medical and wellness programs. Red Sea Global also announced a new Four Seasons resort for the area, and renderings show a nearly-magical design that is set to rival the Maldives. 

26:31 - Yallah! 6 Top Storylines to get you up to speed headed into the weekend…

Saudi Arabia announces $400m humanitarian aid to Ukraine

According to Andrii Yermak, head of the President’s Office of Ukraine, after meeting Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Saudi Arabia will supply Ukraine with an aid package worth $400m. Two documents were signed formalizing $100m worth of humanitarian aid and $300m worth of oil products.

Vision 2030 projects trigger a real estate boom in Saudi Arabia

With multibillion-dollar projects related to the Vision 2030 strategy, Saudi Arabia’s real estate sector is expected to witness a record boom, real estate experts told Arab News. Faisal Durrani, partner – head of Middle East Research, Knight Frank, said that, “in Riyadh, average apartment values are up 30 percent in the last 12 months, and this is even higher at around 40 percent for some of the most desirable suburbs in north Riyadh. Villa prices in the capital have also risen by 20 percent.”  According to Knight Frank, over 555,000 residential units, more than 275,000 hotel keys, over 4.3 million sq. m of retail space, and over 6.1 million sq. m of new office space are expected by 2030.

First Israeli commercial flight uses Saudi-Omani corridor

Oman has become the latest Middle Eastern state to allow overflights of Israeli registered aircraft. It joins Saudi Arabia, and creates room for a significant air corridor to and from Asia since Israeli carriers still cannot overfly Iranian airspace – previously requiring them to route much further south. On Feb 26, El Al flight 871 from Tel Aviv to Bangkok became the first Israeli aircraft to transit Oman’s airspace! The journey, which previously took over 10 hours, lasted just under 8 hours.

Hajj Ministry: Pilgrims can perform any number of Umrah

The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah confirmed that pilgrims are not limited to a specific number of times to perform Umrah. The ministry stated that those who arrived in the Kingdom on a visit, tourist, or work visa can perform Umrah. The pilgrim can also change the means of transportation that he had used for his arrival during his departure from the Kingdom. The ministry pointed out that the holder of the Umrah visa can travel between Makkah and Madinah as well as among all the cities of the Kingdom during the permitted period of his stay. The Umrah pilgrims can enter and leave Saudi Arabia from any international or regional airport in the Kingdom.

Andy Warhol Exhibition Opens in the Saudi Desert

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia’s first exhibition on Andy Warhol opened at the Maraya, a mirrored building in the desert. Titled “FAME: Andy Warhol in AlUla,” the show is part of the second annual AlUla Arts Festival, a government-funded initiative to help bolster the country’s reputation as an arts destination. The show zeros in on Warhol’s fascination with celebrity through some 70 carefully selected pieces of the late Pop Art icon’s work. One section includes portraits of celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando, Muhammad Ali, Bob Dylan and Salvador Dalí. Another houses Warhol’s Silver Clouds, a room of large metallic balloons.

LIV GOLF fails to match PGA ratings. And that’s ok…

An average of 286,000 and 291,000 viewers tuned in Saturday and Sunday, respectively, to watch LIV GOLF's first event of the season. Phil Mickelson and former number one Dustin Johnson lead an all-star cast at LIV's season opener in Mayakoba, Mexico, but ratings were far below that of the PGA Tour. The PGA Tour's Honda Classic brought in 1.61 million viewers Saturday and 2.38 million on Sunday, by comparison, on NBC.

Steve Lutes, Vice President, Middle East Affairs at U.S. Chamber of Commerce, has been active in his role expanding the program in service to the Chamber's membership and the broader U.S.-Saudi relationship. The 966 hosts discuss the U.S.-Saudi Arabia Business Program that Steve has grown over the years, his extensive travels to the region and Saudi Arabia, and much more. 

Episode 76! The 966 welcomes Antonia Carver director of Art Jameel, who discusses her work supporting artists and creative communities in the Middle East region and beyond. Art Jameel was founded by the Jameel family philanthropies and is headquartered in Saudi Arabia and the UAE and works globally. Before the discussion, the hosts talk about Founding Day 2023, the new Riyadh downtown project, and much more. 

The 966 Episode 75! The hosts discuss the recently-concluded LEAP conference and exhibition in Riyadh and how Saudi Arabia is increasingly becoming a leader in the space in the region. They also discuss how Riyadh is, in general, becoming a more attractive destination for global events, a concept once difficult to imagine before the Kingdom opened up its borders to tourists. The hosts conclude as always with Yallah! A rundown of 6 top storylines this week in Saudi Arabia to get you up to date heading into the weekend.

4:05 - Richard's one big thing is all the international events ongoing in Saudi Arabia and its capital, Riyadh, these days, making it a global destination for events.

10:30 - Lucien's one big thing is LEAP, the four-day long event in the Kingdom that welcomed thousands of visitors and over 700 speakers to talk tech, VC, and next-generation industries. The event also saw 900 exhibitors. The event kicked off with some headline-grabbing major announcements of large investment figures by Minister of Communications and Information Technology in Saudi Arabia Abdullah Alswaha, in a keynote. The minister announced investments worth $9 billion to support future technologies, digital entrepreneurship, and tech startups, all with the overall goal of advancing the Kingdom’s position as the largest digital economy in the Middle East and North Africa region.

19:14 - Yallah! 6 top storylines to get you up to date on Saudi Arabia heading into the weekend.

Hajj 2023: Saudi Arabia extends Nusuk programme to more countries

Saudi Arabia has expanded its Nusuk programme for Hajj pilgrims to more countries around the world. Nusuk is a unified government portal that helps pilgrims to apply and pay online for electronic visas, book flights and pay for accommodation and transport. The move will benefit pilgrims from Europe, the US, Australia and more than 58 countries and will, “raise the quality of the services provided to enrich the religious and cultural experience, while also achieving the objectives of the kingdom’s Vision 2030 programmes.” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah as saying.

The Big 5 Saudi 2023 doubles in size in its new venue

The 11th edition of The Big 5 Saudi, organized by dmg events, will take place at the Riyadh Front Exhibition and Conference Center from 18-21 February 2023. This largest construction event in Saudi Arabia will bring together 28,000+ attendees and over 750 local and international exhibitors from 40 countries, showcasing the latest in construction innovations and technologies.  Twelve country pavilions will shine the spotlight on construction solutions from Italy, Germany, Greece, Poland, Spain, Egypt, China, Kuwait, Turkiye, Qatar, Austria and India.

Saudi MBS offers to build stadiums in Greece, Egypt if they join World Cup bid

Saudi Arabia has offered to pay for new football stadiums in Greece and Egypt in return for their alliance in jointly bidding to host the 2030 World Cup. The joint bid between the three friendly countries is in competition with a joint European bid by Spain, Portugal and Ukraine, and a joint South American bid by Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile. The window for bids opened in June last year, and the decision on the tournament will be voted on by the 200-member FIFA congress in 2024.

Saudi Arabia FDI inflows up 10.7% in third quarter 2022 -investment ministry

Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into Saudi Arabia rose 10.7% in the third quarter of 2022 over the same period a year earlier, figures from the investment ministry showed. FDI inflows totalled 7.2 billion riyals ($1.9 billion) in the third quarter of 2022, according to the investment ministry's latest monthly bulletin published on Monday, versus 6.5 billion riyals in the third quarter of 2021.

Al Hilal beat Flamengo to become first Saudi club to reach Club World Cup final

Salem Al Dawsari scored two penalties as Al Hilal beat Flamengo 3-2 to become the first Saudi Arabian club to reach the Fifa Club World Cup final. Al-Hilal football club will go head-to-head against 5-time Fifa Club World Cup winner Real Madrid in the final this Saturday after the Spanish team’s 4-1 win over Egypt’s al-Ahly.

Saudi Arabia's gaming sector gets $488m funding to boost talent and development

Saudi Arabia's gaming industry received a boost with new funding worth $488 million, as the kingdom pushes forward in positioning itself as a global leader in the industry. The financing is being provided by the Saudi Esports Federation, National Development Fund and the Social Development Bank. It targets both the gaming and e-sports sectors. The gaming industry in Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's biggest economy, is poised to grow 250 per cent by 2030, with e-sports leading the growth, a recent study from YouGov found.