HRH Princess Lamia Bint Majed Al Saud appointed as first ever UN-Habitat Regional Goodwill Ambassador for Arab States. Princess Lamia Bint Majed Al Saud, Secretary General of Alwaleed Philanthropies, chaired by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has…
Saudi Arabia’s minister of transport H.E. Dr. Nabeel Al-Amudi assured the readiness of all transportation services in the holy cities of Makkah and Al Madinah for the Hajj season this year (9-14 August), after an inspection tour with the presidents…
Efforts to encourage greater private sector participation have coincided with strong growth in Saudi Arabia’s mining sector, a key part of the country’s diversification strategy and a prominent driver of broader economic expansion. Mining grew by 6.3 percent year-on-year (y-o-y)…
Widespread reform in Saudi Arabia is opening up lucrative investment opportunities in the kingdom’s underdeveloped media and entertainment sector. Saudi Arabia’s debut at the Cannes Film Festival, coupled with moves to expand the number of cinemas and promote local filmmaking,…
The GCC is home to a vast number of nationalities and hence their preferences, tastes, the idea of an experience and values are so diverse. However, when it comes to outbound travel from the region, there appears to be focus…
The MIT Enterprise Forum (MIT EF) of the Pan Arab Region is proud to announce the results of semi-finalists of the 11th edition of its competition. The MITEF Arab startup competition, in partnership with Community Jameel, will be held in Oman on April 19. Community…
As part of its drive to reduce its overwhelming dependence on oil exports, Saudi Arabia is planning to build NEOM, a $500 billion, 26,500 square kilometer business zone and industrial site. How will it operate? It will be powered entirely by…
The Middle East saw an overall 22 percent increase in online transactions during 2016, according to a new report from online payment service PayFort. The fourth State of Payments in the Arab World report found growth was strongest in Saudi…
Saudi Arabia’s planned $500 billion NEOM mega-city could easily become one of the most important economic development projects in the MENA region. And Jordan would have an important part in making it a success. The wildly ambitious NEOM business and…
Efforts to get young people into work should come as part of a wider package of macroeconomic policies. By Mary Kawar and Zafiris Tzannatos The conclusion of yet another successful World Economic Forum in the context of this year’s timely…