Eric Trump Touts Crypto Stablecoin in Dubai's Power Lounges
The scene looked like a gathering of the first family of crypto.
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Forbes
27 minutes ago
- Forbes
Saudi Arabia, Turkey & Syrian Reconstruction
Profoundly relieved that Syria, after the Dec 2024 collapse of the Assad regime, broke free of Iran's orbit, Saudi Arabia is now trying to contain Turkey's influence in the Levantine nation. Turkey enjoys the advantages of geography and significant military strength but is hampered by serious economic challenges. Leveraging its position as the world's largest oil exporter, Riyadh seeks to exploit Ankara's financial constraints to establish itself as a major stakeholder in Syria—and, by extension, in the broader Middle East. Achieving a Saudi–Turkish modus vivendi will be critical to the Trump administration's objective of managing the Middle East while reducing U.S. exposure to regional instability." In an unprecedented move late last month, Saudi Arabia pledged $6.4 billion in public and private sector investments for Syria's reconstruction. Leading a delegation of roughly 120 government officials and business leaders, Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih traveled to Damascus to attend the inaugural Syrian–Saudi Investment Forum. The two-day event held July 23–24, yielded 47 agreements spanning energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, real estate, agriculture, and banking. Riyadh's decision to invest—at such scale and in what remains an active battlespace—came just three weeks after the United States lifted sanctions on Syria, a policy shift President Donald Trump announced during his mid-May visit to Saudi Arabia, his first major international trip of his second term. Saudi Arabia and Turkey form the two pillars of the Trump administration's strategy for managing the Middle East—an approach rooted in the president's broader geostrategic approach that allies and partners should take the lead in ensuring the security and prosperity of their respective regions. As the region's center of gravity, Syria is a country Washington seeks to steer toward stability. This priority was underscored by Trump's decision to meet with Syria's new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa—a man who, until 2017, led al-Qaeda in his country. The meeting, hosted by Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) and attended virtually by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, reflected the high stakes and regional coordination driving U.S. policy. Under Erdogan, Turkey has long supported different Islamist factions to further its strategic interests, especially the goal of countering Kurdish separatism on its southeastern periphery. Ankara has actually had close ties with Sharaa's ruling Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) since its inception in 2017. For Saudi Arabia, however, this marks the first time it has supported a government dominated by an Islamist movement. The magnitude of this policy shift is highlighted by the fact that Riyadh had fully restored diplomatic relations with the now-ousted Assad regime just three months before its overthrow by HTS. Several factors explain this dramatic shift. First, Riyadh had not anticipated the Assad regime's collapse as a byproduct of Iran's weakening in its conflict with Israel. In fact, even as Iran and its premier proxy, Hezbollah, were being eroded through much of 2024, the Saudis appointed their first ambassador to Damascus in 12 years—capping a year-long diplomatic process that included former President Bashar al-Assad's visit to Riyadh in May 2023. In a sense, by normalizing ties with Syria, the kingdom was fortuitously positioned to engage with the new HTS-led government. Second, and more strategically, the Saudis were keen not to miss the historic opportunity presented by regime change in Damascus, which effectively ended Iran's domination of Syria. Riyadh sought to capitalize on the moment and secure its northern flank, long overshadowed by Tehran's contiguous sphere of influence. Third, Turkey was far better positioned to benefit from Syria's detachment from Iran. Its extensive southern border provided Ankara with a significant advantage, allowing it to fill the vacuum left by Tehran's receding presence. With 20,000 troops and tens of thousands of allied militiamen, Turkey has controlled significant swathes of territory across five northern Syrian provinces since 2016. This forward deployment allowed Ankara to provide critical military and intelligence support that enabled HTS to overthrow the Assad regime. Today, Turkey is taking the lead in shaping the post-Assad Syrian state, particularly by directing the development of its armed forces. Nonetheless, Ankara's economic fragilities—soaring inflation, a volatile currency, mounting debt, and a weak financial sector—severely constrain its ability to contribute meaningfully to reconstruction in its war-torn southern neighbor. The Turks understand that for their Syrian allies to consolidate power in Damascus, they must demonstrate tangible progress in rebuilding Syria's infrastructure and restoring essential services. This is a Herculean task, given that international assessments estimate reconstruction costs in the hundreds of billions of dollars, leaving Ankara little choice but to seek Saudi assistance. From Riyadh's perspective, this presents a strategic opening to limit Turkey's influence over the emerging Syrian state. By leveraging Turkish dependence on the kingdom and other wealthy Gulf actors such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia can construct a bulwark against Ankara's ambitions to assert itself as the region's dominant power. This imperative is shaped by a long history dating back to the 18th century when the first Saudi state was established in the mid-18th century after MbS' ancestors rebelled against Erdogan's Ottoman forebearers. The Ottomans were able to dismantle the first and second Saudi states in 1824 and 1891 respectively but their own empire collapsed at the end of World War I by which time the Saudis were on their way to staging a comeback in the form of the current modern kingdom. By the late 20th century, Turkey had become a major military and industrial power, while Saudi Arabia leveraged vast oil reserves to emerge as a global financial heavyweight, setting the stage for both nations to assert themselves as major powers. The two nations, however, did not embark upon the path towards strategic competition until the Erdogan regime in the late 2000s began to reorient Turkey from the west and towards the Middle East. This shift was shaped by three decades of upheaval—the collapse of the Soviet Union, the September 11 attacks, and the Arab Spring. Iran's arc of influence extending westwards from the Zagros Mountains to the Eastern Mediterranean, however, continued to serve as a buffer between the Turks and the Saudis. Until last year, when the destruction of Hezbollah's offensive capabilities in Lebanon, which led to the ouster of the Assad regime, brought them face-to-face with one another in Syria. Despite their domestic constraints, both countries view Syria as a strategic priority. The Saudis lack the military and strategic capabilities to match Turkey, while Ankara does not possess the financial leverage Riyadh can wield. These complementary strengths compel the two to cooperate in pursuit of their objectives in Syria. They also share the goal of preventing an Iranian resurgence while ensuring that Israel's security concerns do not derail their mutual aim of stabilizing the country
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Saudi considers NEOM job cuts, relocations amid cost pressures
The Scoop Saudi Arabia's NEOM is considering significantly cutting its workforce and relocating more than 1,000 employees to Riyadh as the kingdom tries to control costs and improve oversight of the vast new city and other developments being built on its northwestern coast, according to people familiar with the matter. The relocations, which may start later this year, would reverse NEOM's former Chief Executive Nadhmi Al-Nasr's policy that staff be based on the barren construction site, the three people said. Employees who will be moved to the capital are expected to lose benefits including housing and meals that were provided at NEOM due to the site's remote location, the people said, resulting in a de facto pay cut. More than 1,000 staff may also be laid off in the restructuring, according to the people. No final decisions on the overhaul have been made and the plans could still change, the people said. The Public Investment Fund — Saudi Arabia's $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund — established NEOM as a company to develop the eponymous region and so far has been providing the funding for its construction. NEOM includes a cluster of projects: the main development known as The Line, mountaintop resorts, tourism islands, and an industrial district connected to a port. NEOM and PIF declined to comment. Know More PIF launched an audit of the project after Al-Nasr's departure late last year and the brief opening of Sindalah, the luxury $4 billion Red Sea island intended to showcase NEOM's potential and prove to skeptics that the wider project was progressing. But after a glitzy launch party in October, Sindalah was shut down and its fate is uncertain. NEOM moved its headquarters to northwest Saudi Arabia in 2020, forcing staff to relocate to what was then — and, except for the people actually working on it, largely still is — a remote and mostly uninhabited site. Employees were put up in temporary cabins and provided round-the-clock canteens, gyms, and schools. The cushy lifestyle broke through in viral videos last year, with residents showing off the camps, to the chagrin of management. The company already has Riyadh offices, which are set to expand under the current proposals. Early stage work on The Line, twin mirrored skyscrapers intended to stretch for 170 kilometers (106 miles), has been underway for several years, although focus has shifted to completing a smaller part of the towers by 2030. The industrial city and port known as Oxagon is progressing along with one of the world's largest green hydrogen plants. NEOM is also building Trojena, which will host the Asian Winter Games 2029. Mike Cheung, the head of audit at PIF, has been spending more time in NEOM to lead a review of progress and spending. Concentrating NEOM's staff in Riyadh is also seen as a way for PIF to strengthen oversight, the people said. Al-Nasr said last year that NEOM employed around 5,000 full-time staff from 100 countries including Saudis, Europeans and Americans. A further 140,000 additional contractors were also working on the site, Al-Nasr said at the time. Saudi Arabia is also looking to hire a consultant for a 'strategic review' of The Line, the futuristic linear city intended to be at the core of NEOM, Bloomberg reported this week. Step Back When NEOM was announced in 2017, it was set to be the centerpiece of efforts to diversify Saudi Arabia's oil-dependent economy and bring in foreign investment. Initial cost estimates were $500 billion. That figure has ballooned to $1.5 trillion as its scale and the kingdom's ambitions grew. New initiatives have also since emerged, such as hosting World Expo 2030 in Riyadh and the men's soccer World Cup in 2034. Preparing for these events — both awarded after NEOM's launch — is now the priority. PIF appointed Aiman Al-Mudaifer as acting CEO of NEOM after Al-Nasr's departure, and he took on the role full time in May. In that time he has launched a wide-ranging review of the scope and priority of projects under development by the company, the Financial Times reported in April. He was previously head of the local real estate investment division at the wealth fund since 2018. Notable NEOM has significantly scaled back plans for how much its centerpiece The Line will be completed by 2030, according to Bloomberg. The linear city had aimed to house 1.5 million people by then, but is now targeting 300,000 residents. Saudi Arabia will need to accelerate construction hugely to complete The Line by its stated deadline, according to industry publication New Civil Engineer, which used Google Earth satellite images and experts to make the assessment. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Saudi's PIF takes $8 billion writedown on megaprojects
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, the engine driving the kingdom's ambitious Vision 2030 economic transformation plan, slashed $8 billion in value from its five mega-projects as costs spiraled and oil prices dipped. The writedown, revealed in PIF's 2024 annual report, comes as the kingdom's flagship project, NEOM, is under review, with jobs and project scopes on the line. The sovereign wealth fund still expects to more than double its assets to $2.67 trillion by 2030, doubling down on domestic growth even as fiscal pressures mount. In 2024, the fund created 24 new companies, including artificial intelligence mega-fund HUMAIN, advanced manufacturing firm ALAT, and commercial aerospace company Neo Space, as it boosted domestic assets to roughly 80% of its portfolio and pared back the share of international investments. Meanwhile, there are signs that the kingdom's support of its mature, operational businesses is paying off, which may prove critical to threading the post-oil needle. Video game and esports company Savvy Games Group, aircraft lessor AviLease, telecom firm STC, and mining giant Ma'aden, as well as dividend earnings from Saudi National Bank, helped boost 2024 revenues 25%. — Manal Albarakati Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
