Regional News

  Riyadh / TNS The new Balanced Nitaqat program will help reduce unemployment, improve market performance, raise the quality of employment and generate good jobs for Saudis, create a safe and attractive work environment, and eliminate the presence of non-product nationalization practices, confirmed Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Development Ahmed Al-Humaidan during a press conference on Sunday. “The labor …

  TNS Five cities will compete for the title of Jordan’s “distinctive destination” in a competition launched recently by the Tourism Ministry and USAID. “Through the Distinctive Destinations Programme we seek to encourage Jordanian towns to capitalise on their core strengths, unique characteristics and assets to improve their tourism offerings,” Tourism Minister Lina Annab said. Speaking at the launch of …

MAKKAH / TNS The Council of Ministers during their weekly meeting on Monday thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman for launching a number of new development projects worth over SR4 billion in Madinah, referring to health, education, water and sanitation projects; and for ordering an extra SR1,691 for all the country’s beneficiaries of social aid. The Cabinet …

  DOHA / Reuters Total has won a 30 percent stake in a new 25-year contract to operate Qatar’s largest offshore oilfield, officials said on Monday, in the second major upstream development deal for the French oil firm in the Gulf region in as many years. State-owned Qatar Petroleum (QP) will keep the remaining 70 percent in the new joint …

  TNS After King Salman ascended the throne, relations with France have taken center stage in the Kingdom’s foreign policy. The ties got the added fillip following Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s current visit to Paris, beginning Sunday. Jean Pierre Moline, an expert in defense policy for France and Europe, said security cooperation between the two countries is deep-rooted …

  Jeddah / Tribune News Service The Kingdom is set to become a world class, technologically advanced country under the new economic strategy led by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to businesspeople. Ihsan Bu-Hulaiga, chairman and founder of Joatha Consulting Center for Business Development, said there was no doubt the government was committed to the goals outlined in …

  Cairo / Reuters Egypt’s central bank said it could secure some $10 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by agreeing a structural reform programme but has yet to make any formal request to do so. Talks over a possible loan half that size have faltered in the past and analysts say an IMF deal might require reforms that …

  Tribune News Service The MISK Charitable Foundation and King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) concluded a cooperation deal with Babson College and Lockheed Martin to start the Prince Mohammad bin Salman College of Business and Entrepreneurship. The deal, reached under the supervision of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, was signed in Washington, D.C. by Badr Al-Asaker, secretary-general of the …

  Manama / TNS Bahrain’s future prosperity can be built around a three-point strategy of national economic development as Middle East governments take robust action to flourish in a new post-oil era, according to new analysis. A report, by PA Consulting Group, says the key for Bahrain and other GCC countries will be in developing human capital, developing economies and …

  Emirates Business Qatar’s economic diversification strategy continues to create foreign investment opportunities across its burgeoning retail market, despite the sustained low oil prices, according to Links Group, Qatar’s leading provider of commercial facilitation and advisory services. According to Alpen Capital, the Qatari retail market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.8 percent reaching …