SUSRIS Daily News – Excerpts from International Media Reports
[Links to full articles were active on the date posted here]
Shoura Approves Changes to Nuclear Safety Convention [May 17]
“The Shoura Council approved Sunday amendments to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material with a majority of votes. Sunday’s session of the Shoura Council was held under the chairmanship of its Chairman Abdullah Al-Asheikh. Speaking to reporters, Mohamed Al-Ghamdi, secretary-general of the council, said the amendments moved at the session were to ensure total security and technical protection for nuclear installations that provide energy for peaceful purposes. The secretary-general said that the amendment was moved with a clear majority at the Sunday’s session. He pointed out that the amendments were considered in the light of the other international conventions against the proliferation of nuclear weapons.. ..The Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, signed in 1980, is the only internationally binding undertaking in the area of physical protection of nuclear material..” [Complete Report]
GE Wins $300M Deal To Supply Steam Turbines For Saudi SEC Plant [May 17]
“-General Electric Co. (GE) said Monday it won a contract worth nearly $300 million to supply five steam turbines for a major expansion of the Saudi Electricity Co.’s Qurayyah Open Cycle Power Plant in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. The five steam turbines will join 15 GE F-technology gas turbines already operating at the site, converting the plant to combined-cycle operation to help Saudi Arabia meet its goals for greater power generation capacity and efficiency, the company said in an emailed statement. When the power plant conversion is completed, scheduled for the second quarter of 2012, the site’s power output will increase from 1,907 to 3,148 megawatts–a boost of 1,241 megawatts, equivalent to 10% of the SEC installed capacity in the Eastern Province, the statement said..” [Complete Report]
Saudi Inflation Hits 10-Month High in April [May 17]
“Saudi inflation climbed to a 10-month peak of 4.9 percent in April, data showed on Sunday, as global harvest concerns kept food prices up in the import-reliant Kingdom. Price pressures are seen rising again this year as oil exporters recover but inflation is expected to stay in low single digits across the Gulf. Inflation in the Kingdom stood at 4.7 percent year-on-year in March, down from a record high of 11.1 percent in July 2008. Analysts polled by Reuters expected an average inflation of 4.4 percent this year. Month-on-month, the cost of living in the world’s largest oil exporter edged up 0.3 percent, after a 0.5 percent rise in March, state news agency SPA said, quoting the government data. ‘We were expecting a lower year-on-year inflation for April but there is a gradual build up,’ said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi..” [Complete Report]
Saudi’s SABIC Capital Plans Benchmark Bond in Q2 [May 17]
“SABIC Capital, affiliated to petrochemicals giant Saudi Basic Industries Corp (2010.SE) (SABIC), plans a benchmark dollar bond issue before the end of June, a senior executive told Reuters on Monday. Ratings agency Moody’s assigned the bond an A+ rating on Monday and said it understood it would be used to refinance or repay debt at SABIC Innovative Plastics Holding, the renamed GE Plastics. SABIC Innovative Plastics raised $1.5 billion from a bond issue in August 2007. ‘The benchmark bond is for general corporate purposes. The roadshow starts on May 20 in London and if we like the prices we will go ahead with it,’ SABIC’s chief financial officer Mutlaq al-Morished said. The bond will be registered in London..” [Complete Report]
Al-Gosaibi Gets Japan’s Top Honor [May 17]
“The Japanese government has conferred a prestigious national decoration on Khaled Al-Gosaibi, minister of economy and planning, in recognition of his contributions to the improvement of goodwill and mutual understanding between Japan and Saudi Arabia. Speaking on behalf of the Japanese government, Ambassador Shigeru Endo said, ‘Al-Gosaibi has significantly contributed to the growth of bilateral relations over the past 12 years since he became a minister.’ Ambassador Endo said that the ‘Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun’ (Kyokujitsu Daijusho) was Japan’s oldest decoration and one of the highest honors that could be conferred on a foreign national. The decoration was presented to Al-Gosaibi at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo by the Japanese emperor early this week, said Endo..” [Complete Report]
OPEC’s Comfort Zone Threatened by Oil’s Dip Below $70 [May 17]
“Oil prices fell below OPEC’s comfort zone as crude futures in New York dipped below $70 a barrel for the first time since February. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Secretary- General Abdalla El-Badri has repeatedly said prices between $70 and $90 are reasonable to encourage producers to expand exploration, and Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi, representing the group’s biggest exporter, said on March 30 he hoped prices would remain in a $70 to $80 a barrel range. Oil below $70 ‘does not give them an incentive to invest’ in deepwater production, Qatari Energy Minister Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah said today at a forum in Doha. Prices near $75 would be ‘reasonable,’ al-Attiyah said, adding that OPEC does not have any official price target..” [Complete Report]
Mirwaiz to Offer Saudi Mediator Role [May 17]
“With China visit already on cards, moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq will soon be leading a delegation to Saudi Arabia. His mission: to consolidate on the recent visit of the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the country early this year by urging the Saudi government to mediate in the resolution of Kashmir dispute. The visit, Mirwaiz said, will also be about creating awareness in the country of the Kashmiri dimension of the Indo-Pak dispute over the state. And to do this, Hurriyat is enlisting the services of OIC office in Jeddah, The Muslim World League and World Assembly of Muslim Youth. ‘Saudi Arabia has to come forward as a friend, especially because King Abdullah has shown his keenness to play a role in the resolution of disputes between India and Pakistan,’..” [Complete Report]
Hariri Meets Saudi Monarch For Talks on Bilateral Ties [May 17]
“Prime Minister Saad Hariri met with Saudi King Abdullah Sunday evening after arriving in Riyadh on an official visit to discuss bilateral ties. Hariri left Beirut to Saudi Arabia Sunday and arrived in Riyadh the same day. Hariri met with King Abdullah and the two figures discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and regional and international issues of common interest. As The Daily Star went to press on Sunday, no statement about the talks was issued. Hariri is scheduled to visit Damascus on Tuesday and he will continue his tour of Arab countries, which will lead him to Turkey..” [Complete Report]
