Saudi Arabia Financial News

India-UAE leg of the strategic India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEE-EC) is set to begin, with a digital platform for information exchange between the two countries' ports expected to be operational within the first 100 days of the Modi government, according to The Times of India. Despite tensions in West Asia affecting the project, the G7 recently expressed strong support for the ambitious multi-country initiative. The India-UAE sea corridor is divided into five phases, with the second phase focusing on customs connectivity and the third on regulatory agencies. The IMEE-EC aims to facilitate the seamless movement of cargo from locations like Hajipur in Bihar to Haifa in Israel, requiring common port and customs documentation across countries, as well as standardized equipment and containers in all ports and dry docks.

While he survived the gruelling annual rites that unfolded in extreme heat again this year, he has not seen his wife since Sunday and fears she is among the more than 1,000 reported fatalities — the majority unregistered Egyptians like himself.

Hajj this year owing to the extreme heat conditions, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday. «A large number of pilgrims visit Hajj every year. This year, 175,000 Indian pilgrims have visited Hajj so far. We have 98 Indian pilgrims who have died this year,» said MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in a weekly briefing. In Mecca, temperatures hit 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 Fahrenheit), on Monday.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has conducted a survey of 19 countries in the Middle East and Central Asia, exploring the adoption and potentials of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

The project aims to explore a multi-central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform shared among participating central banks and commercial banks, built on distributed ledger technology (DLT) to enable instant cross-border payments and settlement. It is the result of extensive collaboration starting in 2021 between the BIS Innovation Hub, the Bank of Thailand, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, the Digital Currency Institute of the People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

Akasa Air, India’s youngest airline, is on an expansion spree. The airline has commenced operations to Riyadh, the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Now, Akasa will operate daily flight operations between Mumbai and Ridyadh, the airline said in a statement. As per the company, the inaugural flight on June 15, 2024 departed from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. 

Saudi Arabia, authorities from their countries said on Sunday, as temperatures soar in the kingdom. «Fourteen Jordanian pilgrims died and 17 others were missing» during the performance of hajj rituals, Jordan's foreign ministry said in a statement.

territorial integrity" of Ukraine to be the basis for any peace agreement to end Russia's two-year war, though some key developing nations at a Swiss conference did not join in. The joint communique capped a two-day conference at the Burgenstock resort in Switzerland marked by the absence of Russia, which was not invited, but that many attendees hoped could join in on a roadmap to peace. About 100 delegations, mostly Western countries but also some key developing nations, were on hand for the conference — and experts were on watch to see how and if at all they might line up behind the outcome document. Participants India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates — which were represented by foreign ministers or lower-level envoys — were among those that did not sign onto the final document, which focused on issues of nuclear safety, food security and the exchange of prisoners.

Saudi Arabia, India, South Africa, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates were among countries participating at a summit on peace for Ukraine that did not sign a final communique, the Swiss government said on Sunday. Switzerland, which hosted the summit, said over 90 countries took part in the talks, and the vast majority of them signed up to the communique, according to a list which the Swiss organizers posted at the close of proceedings. Brazil, which was listed as an «observer» on the list of attendees, also did not feature as a signatory.

Eid-ul-Adha, a significant Islamic festival, is observed on the tenth day of Dhu-al-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic lunar calendar. This festival, also known as the Feast of Sacrifice, is celebrated the day after the annual Hajj pilgrimage concludes. It commemorates Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son, Ismail, as an act of obedience to Allah. At the moment of sacrifice, Allah replaced Ismail with a ram, symbolizing divine intervention and reward for unwavering faith.

Saudi Arabia. The ritual marks the final days of Hajj pilgrimage and the start of the Eid al-Adha celebrations for Muslims around the world. The stoning is among the final rites of the Hajj, which is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. It came a day after more than 1.8 million pilgrims congregated on a sacred hill in Mount Ararat outside the holy city of Mecca, which Muslim pilgrims visit to perform the annual five-day rituals of Hajj. The pilgrims left Mount Arafat on Saturday evening to spend their night in a nearby site known as Muzdalifa, where they collected pebbles they have used in the symbolic stoning of pillars representing the devil.

India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) in the G7 Summit Communique issued at the end of the three-day G7 Summit, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Communique was issued on Friday evening after the customary «family photo» at the luxury resort of Borgo Egnazia, where the G7 also reiterated a commitment to a «free and open Indo-Pacific» based on the rule of law. Prime Minister Modi attended the G7 Summit at the invitation of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the host. «We will further promote concrete G7 PGII (Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment) initiatives, flagship projects, and complementary initiatives to develop transformative economic corridors for quality infrastructure and investment, such as the deepening of our coordination and financing for the Lobito Corridor, the Luzon Corridor, the Middle Corridor, and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, also building on the EU Global Gateway, the Great Green Wall Initiative, and the Mattei Plan for Africa launched by Italy,» reads the communique.

Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund and a French private equity group will acquire a 38-percent stake in Heathrow, the London airport's biggest shareholder said Friday. Heathrow, one of the world's busiest airports, is owned by the consortium FGP Topco Limited with Spanish infrastructure giant Ferrovial holding the lead role with a 25-percent stake.

India on Monday wholeheartedly welcomed Egypt, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia joining the BRICS as their representatives attended for the first time a key meeting of the grouping hosted by Russia. Senior diplomat Dammu Ravi led the Indian delegation at the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Nizhny Novgorod, in western Russia.

The PGA Tour is reporting progress without any details in its ongoing negotiations with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia

“Bad Boys: Ride or Die” opened with an estimated $56 million in theater sales over the weekend

Air India chief executive officer and managing director Campbell Wilsonsaid at the CAPA India aviation summit. Sensing an opportunity, several foreign airlines have firmed up plans to approach the government with their requests. “Today we have not exhausted the bilaterals, in terms of number of seats per week but we have hit the limit in terms of number of stations," Sanjiv Kapoor, executive vice-president, strategies of the Saudia Group told Mint.

The recent termination of the US-Saudi petrodollar agreement marks a turning point that could significantly influence Bitcoin’s financial trajectory. This development disrupts a decades-long economic standard and introduces the potential for increased currency diversification globally.

Saudi Arabia has joined the mBridge project to enhance cross-border payments using central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

shab-e-hijr—in their ghazals. Brooklyn-via-Lahore singer and composer Arooj Aftab channels this rich semiotic tradition (among others) on her fourth solo album Night Reign, a loose concept album about the night and all it symbolises—love, longing, solitude, intimacy, and a little Bacchanalian excess. Gently finger-plucked guitar, shimmering harp, percussive bass and nimble electric piano runs come together in a spectral folk-jazz filigree, with Aftab’s sumptuous contralto soaring to fill the spaces in between, shading the night in broad brushstrokes of heartbreak and ecstasy.

advertising for the upcoming cricket match between India and Pakistan held in the US, tapping into the spending power of the South Asian diaspora.