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Snapshot of the Week Past |
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Kingdom
Seeks WTO Deal With US Within Two Weeks
"A senior Saudi trade negotiator will head to
the United States [May 3] hoping to finalize a
bilateral accord which would pave the way for the
oil exporting giant to join the World Trade
Organization. Chief WTO accession negotiator Fawaz
Al-Alamy told Reuters [May 2] that he hoped to
reach a deal with Washington 'two weeks from
now'.. ..Alamy declined to say what issues
remained to be resolved after weeks of intensive
negotiations and a summit meeting between
President George W. Bush and Crown Prince Abdullah
last week.."
WTO
May Depress Saudi GDP
"Saudi Arabia's GDP will fall by 3% in the
five years after accession to the World Trade
Organisation, says a new official report. But a
slowdown in real estate, agriculture, finance and
electricity sectors will be balanced by higher
petrochemical sales, it argues.."
Saudis
Creating Agency To Fight Terrorism Financing
"Saudi Arabia is expected to set up a
long-awaited financial intelligence agency by the
end of this summer as part of efforts to fight
terrorism financing, an official familiar with
Saudi planning said on [May 2]. U.S. officials say
the creation of a financial intelligence unit --
which collects, analyzes and exchanges financial
information to help fight money laundering and
terrorism financing -- is a key step to show a
state is committed to curbing dirty money.."
Abdullah
Meets With Arab Leaders, Pushes for Peace
"Crown Prince Abdullah held talks [May 7]
with three influential Arab leaders - Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak, Syrian President Bashar
Assad and Jordan's King Abdallah - as part of his
efforts to bring about a just and lasting peace in
the Middle East. According to the Saudi Press
Agency, Prince Abdullah briefed the three leaders
on the outcome of his recent talks with French
President Jacques Chirac and US President George
W. Bush. The talks also dealt with situations in
Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon and other
international issues.."
Abdullah
Meets With Mubarak
"Crown Prince Abdullah yesterday held talks
with President Hosni Mubarak soon after his
arrival at the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.
Prince Abdullah briefed Mubarak on his recent
discussions with US President George W. Bush and
French President Jacques Chirac. The two leaders
also discussed Palestine, Iraq and other key
international and bilateral issues.."
Prince
Saud to Lead Kingdom's Delegation to Brazil Summit
"Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal will
lead a high-level Saudi delegation to Brazil to
participate in the first summit of Arab and South
American leaders. The visit was announced by
senior Saudi and Brazilian officials here [May 7].
The conference seeks to bring the two regions
closer in the domains of politics, culture and
commerce. On the sidelines of the summit, the
six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and the South
America's Mercosur region are likely to sign an
accord for the first time to boost trade between
the two economic blocs.."
US
Franchise Event Evokes Interest Among Businessmen
"Eleven US companies offering their
franchises to Saudi business partners were in
focus at a symposium and catalog event held at the
Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry [May
7].. ..Franchising is growing by leaps and bounds
in this part of the world and young Saudis
interested in self-employment or desirous of
running small and medium enterprises could take
advantage of such franchise offers.."
Saudi
Arabia Confirms Multi-Million Dollar Investment In
FALCON
"Saudi Arabia's Integrated Telecom Company
(ITC), [May 7] confirmed a multi-million dollar
investment in the Kingdom's communications
infrastructure with the official signing of
historic agreements that provides full landing
stations for FLAG Telecom's FALCON cable system in
Jeddah and Dammam and the purchase of capacity on
the new regional terabit/s cable system.."
Saudi
Investors Plan Company for Railway Project
"Saudi investors in cooperation with major
international firms will establish a joint stock
company shortly to bid for the SR15 billion
railway expansion project that links the Kingdom's
east and west coast regions.. ..'Many
international companies have expressed interest in
the giant project by responding to SRO's
invitation,' said Khaled Alyahya, the
organization's president. SRO will study their
offers in order to select the preferred
technology.."
Saudi
Stock Index Rises 7.12% in April
"Saudi stock market made a record 7.12
percent growth in April, 2005. The Tadawul
All-Share Index (TASI) for April closed at
11,246.55 points compared with 10,499.26 for March
2005, with an increase of 7.12 percent; it reached
its heights historical point as it hit 11,980.28
points April 9, setting a new benchmark. Year
to-date, the index increased by 35.12
percent.."
SR2.3
Trillion Projects Offered to US Firms
"Saudi Arabia is offering investment projects
worth SR2.3 trillion ($613 billion) to American
companies. A 50-member Saudi delegation begins a
visit to five US states [May 7] to introduce the
projects in petrochemicals, natural gas,
electricity generation, water desalination,
telecommunications and other vital sectors.."
Billions
in Oil Projects Coming, Says Official
"A senior government official has called upon
Saudi and foreign companies to forge economic
alliances in order to carry out new oil projects
worth SR487.5 billion ($130 billion). Abdul Rahman
Abdul Kareem, deputy minister of petroleum and
mineral affairs for company affairs, made the call
while addressing the oil and gas session of the
Saudi Mega Projects 2005.."
21st
Century World Still Needs Saudi Oil
"Saudi Arabia is likely to become even more
critical to the world's oil needs in the coming
decades and its reserves may be big enough to meet
global demands for the next century, says UPI,
quoting a US think tank. 'Saudi Arabia is a key
petroleum exporter and central to a steadily more
interdependent global economy .. This situation
will not change in the foreseeable future,' says a
new report from the Center for Strategic and
International Studies here.."
Saudi
Arabia to Remain India's Main Oil Supplier
"Saudi Arabia is likely to remain India's
main supplier of crude oil over the next two
decades, during which the energy-hungry country's
oil imports are expected to double, Oil Minister
Mani Shankar Aiyar said [May 3]. India imports 70
percent of its crude oil requirement, mostly sour
grades from the Middle East, and its dependence on
foreign supplies is set to rise in step with its
rapidly growing economy.."
Kingdom
Set to Launch Six Mini Satellites
"Saudi Arabia will launch either by the end
of this year or early next year six mini
satellites for a range of applications, including
the location of water and mineral sources,
environmental pollution control, urban planning,
agricultural production and weather observation.
They are part of a group of 24 mini satellites
manufactured and designed in the Kingdom by a team
of Saudi scientists and engineers as part of a
program to harness space technology for commercial
purposes.."
Kingdom,
Australia to Resume Livestock Trade
"A major agreement to resume the live sheep
trade between Saudi Arabia and Australia was
signed [May 4] by Agriculture Minister Dr. Fahd
Balghuneim and Australian Minister of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Forestry Warren Truss. The agreement
will ensure that there will be no repetition of a
dispute between the Kingdom and Australia similar
to the one in August 2003 that resulted in the
suspension of livestock trade after the cargo ship
Cormo Express, laden with 57,000 sheep, was turned
away by Saudi Arabia.."
Saudi
Arabia - 2005 Annual Report
"Saudi Arabia is one the world's 10 harshest
countries towards press freedom. Political reforms
are slow in coming, obstructed by religious
hardliners, the fight against Islamic terrorism
and the Saudi royal family's grip on power. The
lifting of a few taboos in the media since the
September 2001 attacks in the United States has
brought a sliver of freedom.."
AIDS
Cases Soaring, Warn Health Officials
"Health officials have revealed that the
number of AIDS patients in the Kingdom is much
higher than originally reported six months ago.
Yacoub Y. Al-Mazrou, deputy minister of health for
preventive medicine, announced on Sunday that the
number of AIDS patients has increased to 7,808
AIDS cases, of which 3,592 are Saudis. Al-Mazrou
attributes the new figures to greater public
awareness and to initiatives taken by the Ministry
of Health to increase AIDS awareness and
education.."
Education
Official Calls on US to Simplify Student Visa
Procedures
"An official of the Ministry of Higher
Education here has stressed the need for easing US
visa restrictions on Saudis as it would pave the
way for the exchange of students, academicians and
researchers between the two countries. "We do
understand and share US concerns for safety and we
support the US in its fight against terror. But
the current restrictions are compelling our
students to go elsewhere for higher studies, while
our academic system is patterned on the American
academic system," Saad A. Al-Hagan, public
relations manager at the Ministry of Higher
Education, told Arab News.."
Singapore
Targets Saudi Students
"Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Professor
Shanmugam Jayakumar told Saudi businessmen that
Singapore is targeting Saudi students and
businessmen - the former for higher education and
the latter for investing in viable ventures..
..Representatives from the National University of
Singapore (NUS) and Anglo-Chinese School
(International) briefed the businessmen on
educational facilities available for Saudi
students in Singapore.."
Foreigners
Rush For Saudi Papers
"Thousands of foreign residents in Saudi
Arabia have been queuing to apply for Saudi
citizenship. A recently passed law allows those
who have lived in the country for 10 years to be
naturalized. Large crowds built up outside
government offices in several Saudi cities as
people scrambled to get hold of forms to apply for
citizenship.. ..Under the new law, citizenship
will be awarded on a points system, with
educational and professional qualifications and
family links with Saudi nationals taken into
account"..
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Crawford
Summit Perspective: A Conversation with
Thomas Lippman
Easing
Visa Restrictions? Ambassador Oberwetter Provides
an Update on the Relationship
