The defense secretary departed last night for Saudi Arabia, where he is leading a presidential delegation to offer condolences for the death of Crown Prince Nayif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who was next in line for the Saudi throne.“We will convey our condolences to King Abdullah, the royal family, …
Cement demand is to continue strongly, led by government expenditure. The recent government intervention of reducing the price cap and providing fuel to new expansions has aided supply and reduced prices. However, over the long run, it is believed that supply constraints remain the key concern. …
Saudi Arabia will collect $295 billion a year in government revenue from 2012 to 2016 as the Arab world’s biggest economy benefits from high oil prices, Samba Financial Group (SAMBA) said. Hydrocarbon earnings are expected to be $265 billion a year in the same period, Riyadh-based Samba said …
In a clear break from past trends, Saudi Arabia’s private sector is growing. This trend can be in part explained by the increase in bank lending to private sector. In year-on-year terms, lending growth was at its highest since March 2009. More specifically, bank lending to private sector rose …
It is difficult for any political institution in the world to deal with consecutive major shocks, such as the death of the former Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz nearly 7 months ago, and now everyone’s shock at the passing of Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, one of the pillars of the …
Prince Naif, 78, died in Geneva on Saturday. His body arrived at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah from Switzerland earlier in the day on a special flight. Defense Minister Prince Salman and other senior royal family members including Riyadh Gov. Prince Sattam, Deputy Interior …
World powers and Iran failed to secure a breakthrough at talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme on Tuesday and set no date for more political negotiations, despite the threat of a new Middle East conflict if diplomacy collapses. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said after …
Pakistan’s combative top judge made his most audacious foray into judicial activism yet on Tuesday, firing Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, emptying the cabinet and forcing President Asif Ali Zardari to reset his fragile governing coalition….
For years OPEC meetings got bogged down in bouts of jealous haggling over member country crude output quotas, a national badge of oil power. But in 2008 the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided not to disclose quotas. Then, in December 2011, it lost patience with the …
In the Saban Center’s newest Middle East Memo, Security in the Persian Gulf: New Frameworks for the Twenty-First Century, Saban Center Senior Fellow Kenneth Pollack examines the possibility of developing a new security architecture in the Gulf. Pollack analyzes security arrangements in other …
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia H.E. Dr. Nizar Madani visited NATO yesterday and met with the Secretary General, H.E. Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Discussions centred on the political dialogue and practical cooperation activities, which exist in the context …
Basic needs such as food and shelter are not consistently being met in Arab uprising countries, according to recent Gallup surveys. Scores on Gallup’s Food and Shelter Index — which measures residents’ ability to afford both in the past year — are worse in early 2012 than in 2010, before the …
Egyptian officials maintained a conspicuous silence about former President Hosni Mubarak’s health on Wednesday, a day after the state news agency reported that his condition was so grave that he had to be transferred from the prison where he is serving a life sentence to a military …
Mohammed Saleh, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, estimates that trade between Syria and Iraq has fallen to a mere 17.5% of its former levels, from $4 billion to $700 million per year, due to the instability and security crisis in Syria. In past years, Iraqi markets have been …
A Russian cargo ship carrying refurbished Russian-made attack helicopters to Syria has turned back from a position just west of Scotland, Britain’s foreign secretary, William Hague, told Parliament on Tuesday afternoon….
Saudi Arabia is reported to be seeking 600-800 Leopard 2A7+ main battle tanks made by Germany’s Krauss-Maffei Wegmann worth around $12.6 billion, rather than the 270 originally envisaged in 2011. The order, if confirmed, will be the biggest defense contract for Germany and reinforces a …
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