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Saudi Arabia

July 1, 2026

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Saudi Arabia's FM heads to China amid differences with US on Iran war

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan’s visit to Beijing comes as commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains unstable.

A student attends a training seminar at the Tourism Ministry Training center in the city of Riyadh on August 30, 2022.

Interview

Saudi labor localization will take ‘generation or two': Armada CEO

Around 70% of Saudi Arabia's population is 35 years old or younger, according to the kingdom’s General Authority for Statistics, providing ample opportunity for an educated and technology-savvy national workforce in the coming decades.

Olivier Badard

CEO of Armada Holding

FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Gulf states push incentives for investors, expats after war dents image

Several Gulf states are working to recover their images as global havens of stability in the wake of the Iran war.

United Arab Emirates

Latest News

Interview

Franco-Gulf investment holds firm despite Iran war, French official says

French Trade & Invest Commissioner for United Arab Emirates and Middle East and Business France's regional director for the Middle East Axel Baroux. — Business France

Axel Baroux

France’s trade and investment commissioner for the UAE and Middle East

Saudi Aramco's VC arm sees boom in emerging technologies, retail

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and U.S. President Barack Obama are greeted upon their arrival on Marine One for a meeting with Saudi King Abdullah at Rawdat al-Khraim (Desert Camp) near Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, March 28, 2014.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3J176

US can help heal GCC rifts

The United States is leading efforts to resolve the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, but uncertainty over the future of the Gulf Cooperation Council remains.

U.S. President Barack Obama (2nd L) is escorted from Marine One to Air Force One as he departs Saudi Arabia to return to Washington March 29, 2014. Obama sought to reassure Saudi King Abdullah on Friday that he would support moderate Syrian rebels and reject a bad nuclear deal with Iran, during a visit designed to allay the kingdom's concerns that its decades-old U.S. alliance had frayed. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3J2HK

US, Saudi drifting apart despite Obama visit

The core pillars that sustained the US-Saudi alliance for decades are crumbling, as changing geopolitical, energy and regional dynamics strain relations.

The Saudi succession question

Although Saudis welcomed the elevation of Prince Muqrin, 68, as deputy crown prince, many wonder whether a younger, more energetic leadership might be better equipped to handle future economic and development challenges.

Saudi students gather at an outdoor cafe at King Saud University in
Riyadh October 30, 2002. The university is one of several major
educational institutions turning out thousands of graduates every year
in search of jobs. The government is stepping up efforts at
"Saudization" in a country where a third of the workforce is foreign
and unemployment among Saudis is running anywhere between eight to 12
percent. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji

AJ/WS - RTRD1E3

Marginalized Saudi youth launch virtual protests

Some Saudi youth have taken to social media to express their grievances with Saudi government policies.

Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said (R) walks with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani upon Rouhani's arrival in Muscat March 12, 2014. REUTERS/Sultan Al Hasani (OMAN - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTR3GQAH

Gulf states should form regional bloc with Iran

Arab Gulf states can no longer ignore Iran’s vital role in bringing stability to the Gulf region, and should work on establishing a security and economic arrangement with Tehran.

Supporters of deposed President Mohamed Mursi demonstrate as they slow drive through central London August 17, 2013. Supporters of Mursi fought a gunbattle with security forces in a Cairo mosque on Saturday, while Egypt's army-backed government, facing deepening chaos, considered banning his Muslim Brotherhood group. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor (BRITAIN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS RELIGION) - RTX12OXK

Will UK list Muslim Brotherhood as terror group?

Britain’s announced inquiry into the Muslim Brotherhood’s activities might be an attempt to appease its Gulf allies without offering any tangible changes.

Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri shakes hands with Lebanon's Prime Minister Tammam Salam after his new government wins a vote of confidence in Beirut March 20, 2014. Lebanon's parliament gave a newly-formed cabinet a vote of confidence on Thursday, ending almost a year of political deadlock during which the country has been pulled further into the civil war in neighbouring Syria. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3HXY5

Next Lebanese president depends on Tehran, Riyadh

Influential regional players, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, are so far unable to agree on a presidential candidate in Lebanon.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal (L) and Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) attend the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of Turkey-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Istanbul January 28, 2012. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2WZJV

The Saudi-Turkey cold war for Sunni hegemony

Saudi Arabia views Turkey's mix of democracy and Islam as a threat to its own regional role.

People walk past the site of Tuesday's car bomb attack on al-Muthna bridge at Taji, north of Baghdad March 26, 2014. At least nine people were killed and 25 others wounded when a suicide bomber drove a truck packed with explosives to an army checkpoint late Tuesday, police said. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR3IMQG

Iraq-Saudi ties need strategic context

While Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has accused Saudi Arabia of supporting terrorist groups, Baghdad should instead work on establishing effective channels of communication to cooperate in anti-terror efforts.

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) meets with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington June 29, 2010. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2FX4D

Will Lebanon be on Obama's agenda in Saudi Arabia?

Given the long history of external influence in Lebanon, some in Lebanon are speculating that US President Barack Obama’s upcoming talks in Riyadh could include a discussion on the next Lebanese president.

An illustration picture shows the log-on icon for the Website Twitter on an Ipad in Bordeaux, Southwestern France, January 30, 2013. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau (FRANCE - Tags: SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS) - RTR3D6NN

Saudi Arabia cracks down on Twitter

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has turned its attention to political dissent on Twitter.

Palestinians Hamas supporters take part in a protest in front of the Egyptian embassy in Gaza March 7, 2014, against a recent rule by Egyptian court which banned all the activities of Hamas movement in Egypt. An Egyptian court on March 4, 2014 banned all activities of Hamas in Egypt in a further sign that Cairo's military-backed government aims to squeeze the Palestinian Islamist group that rules neighbouring Gaza, regarding it as a security threat. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST

Hamas seeks to retain Saudi ties despite Brotherhood ban

Hamas is hoping to escape the anti-Brotherhood wave sweeping the Gulf and is trying to stay on good terms with Saudi Arabia.