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Snapshot of the Week Past |
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Oil Dominates G20 Talks
"..We are concerned that long-lasting high and volatile oil
prices could increase inflationary pressures, slow down growth and cause
instability in the global economy, the G20 said in a statement after two
days of talks at a sprawling resort near Beijing. The world's largest
oil consumer, the United States, and its biggest oil producer, Saudi
Arabia, were among the signatories to the statement, which vowed to
promote energy saving and alternative sources of energy as well as to
reduce oil subsidies. Saudi officials said they hoped a meeting of
energy ministers in Riyadh in November would bring about the greater
transparency in world oil markets that Western policy makers say is
lacking.." [more]
lWTO Head Says Saudi Arabia Likely to Join
"Saudi Arabia will likely join the World Trade Organization
before the group's December summit in Hong Kong, the WTO chief said [Oct
16].. ..The Middle Eastern nation will likely wrap up its negotiations
to join in time for the Dec. 13-18 ministerial meeting, WTO chief Pascal
Lamy said at a talk at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Hong
Kong.." [more]
Yemen asks Saudi Arabia to hand over dissident
"Yemen said on [Oct 15] it has asked neighboring Saudi Arabia
to extradite Abdullah al-Asnaj, a prominent exiled opposition figure,
accusing him of subversive activities.. ..Asnaj, a former foreign
minister, left Yemen for Saudi Arabia in the early 1990s after being
granted a pardon following his sentencing to death on treason charges.
He was also foreign minister in a short-lived breakaway government in
southern Yemen in 1994.." [more]
Saudi Arabia to offer $133m aid to Pakistan
"Saudi Arabia on Saturday announced a 133-million-dollar
financial aid to Pakistan to help rebuild the devastated infrastructures
in areas hit by last week's earthquake. The decision was made under the
directives issued by Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, in order to fund
the rebuilding of infrastructures destroyed in the quake-stricken areas,
especially schools, hospitals and roads. The money will be provided by
Saudi Fund for Development(SFD), after the fund coordinates with the
Pakistani government.." [more]
Saudi Arabia Moves Close To Entering WTO This Year
”Saudi Arabia on [Oct 11] moved close to winning admission to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) this year after over a decade of tough
negotiations and domestic debate on opening up its markets. WTO sources
said the world largest oil producer had completed the package of
documents setting out the terms of its membership in the currently
148-nation body. These would be submitted to a key meeting on October
28, the sources added..” [more]
Saudi Arabia To Build ‘Relief Bridge’
”Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has ordered that an air bridge be
established with Pakistan to ensure uninterrupted supply of relief
goods, including ambulances, tents, medicines, and clothes, in view of
the massive damage caused by the earthquake. This has been announced by
the Saudi embassy here on Sunday. It said that a team of Saudi experts
was arriving in Islamabad to coordinate with their Pakistani
counterparts to ensure expeditious dispatch of relief supplies to the
quake victims..” [more]
Saudi Arabia Blocks Access To
Blogger, Flickr, Livejournal
”The government of Saudi Arabia has blocked access to Google's Web
blogging service Blogger, Yahoo!'s photo sharing website Flickr, and the
diary service LiveJournal as well as some other websites through their
nationally run Internet Services Unit (ISU) last Tuesday. As a result,
English-speaking Saudis were prevented from publishing blogs, reading
journals, or viewing pictures on Flickr. The Saudi Arabian government
uses a filtering service provided by the United States-owned company
Secure Computing..” [more]
Kingdom to Set Up Market for Govt Bonds
”The Council of Ministers yesterday instructed authorities to
establish a secondary market for government bonds and demanded greater
financial transparency from public departments.. .. Saudi bankers
welcomed the move to establish a market for government bonds but said
the Kingdom has issued no new bonds in the last four months. ‘The fact
they are endorsing a secondary market is great, but without supply it
will be difficult,’ the Reuters quoted one banker as saying..”
[more]
Kingdom Strives to Become Top FDI Location
”The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) plans to make
the Kingdom “one of the top ten foreign investment locations in the
world by 2010.” So declared Amjad Shacker, director of corporate
communications at SAGIA yesterday to CNBC Arabia.. ..To help achieve its
aim of becoming a top ten global FDI location within the next five
years, SAGIA is cooperating with the World Bank in conducting an
evaluation of the investment environment in the Kingdom..” [more]
Saudi Arabia: US-Saudi Oil Relation Still Expected To Improve
”An Oil Ministry source says ExxonMobil and Chevron have a great
prospect of winning new contracts with the Ministry for gas, refining
and petrochemical projects as well as for consulting, research and
development services. According to this source, King Abdullah is still
expecting the relation with the US oil companies to improve gradually in
the coming months..” [more]
Project Kingdom’s Image Abroad: Khaled
”Students of King Faisal schools will be sent abroad as part of field
trips not only to broaden their intellectual horizon but also to project
the true image of the Kingdom, Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, director-general
of the King Faisal Foundation and governor of Asir, told newsmen..
..Prince Khaled said he learned during his visit to Portugal and France
that the outside world knew very little about the Kingdom. They only
have negative perceptions, he said stressing that the media and citizens
ought to play their role to correct the image of the country..”
[more]
Kingdom Takes Stringent Steps Against Bird Flu
”With the confirmation of potentially deadly bird flu cases in Turkey
and Romania, Saudi officials are taking necessary measures to prevent
the virus from entering the country.. .. Deputy Minister of Agriculture
Mohammed Al-Sheeha said the Kingdom had banned imports of poultry from
Romania. Saudi Arabia has already banned importing frozen and live
poultry from East Asian countries..” [more]
Saudi 'Working To Cut Oil Price'
”Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has said he is working towards cutting
oil prices following recent rises, in his first interview since coming
to power.The king told US TV that high oil prices had caused damage to
other countries, but acknowledged his kingdom had benefited financially
from them. He also vowed to crush al-Qaeda and continue friendly ties
with the US..” [more]
Abdullah Wins Applause for Assurance on Women Driving
”Saudi women [Oct 14] applauded the statement by Custodian of the Two
Holy Mosques King Abdullah that they would be permitted to drive
someday. Women then called for a dialogue to convince opponents of women
driving to change their misconceptions.. ..Princess Adelah, daughter of
the king, recently made a similar comment about women driving and that
the issue has also been brought up in the Shoura Council..” [more]
10 Saudi Guantanamo Detainees to Sue Bush
”Ten Saudis being held by US authorities at the Guantanamo Bay
detention center in Cuba will file cases in US federal courts in the
next couple of weeks against US President George W. Bush demanding to
know the cause of their detention and requesting a preliminary
injunction to release them.. ..They will be joining twenty-eight others
of their compatriots who had filed similar cases in the past, as an
estimated 121 Saudis remain detained there..” [more]
Sri Lanka Seeking More Saudi Tourists
”Sri Lanka has drawn up a plan to attract more Saudi and other Arab
tourists, especially families.. ..Some Saudi investors have also been
showing interest in the island’s tourism infrastructure development.
Five-star luxurious Colombo Hilton Hotel is one of the major projects in
which a prominent Saudi investor is involved. Sri Lanka has also been
stamping visas for Saudis at the island’s entry points. “We offer a
30-day visa to Saudis on arrival,”..” [more]
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WTO
Accession: One Step Closer
King
Abdullah Interview
