Latest news with #RiyadhSummit
Gulf Today
26-05-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
On behalf of UAE President, RAK Ruler arrives in Malaysia to attend GCC-ASEAN Summit, ASEAN-GCC-China Summit
On behalf of UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, His Highness Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, arrived on Sunday in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, leading the UAE delegation to the 2nd GCC-ASEAN Summit, and the ASEAN-GCC-China Summit, scheduled to take place under the theme "Inclusivity and Sustainability.' Malaysia is hosting these high-profile events as part of its current presidency of the ASEAN 2025. Sheikh Saud was welcomed upon arrival by Malaysian Minister of Defence Mohamed Khaled Nordin, and several Malaysian officials. Sheikh Saud is accompanied by an official delegation comprising Sheikh Khalid Bin Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Vice Chairman of Ras Al Khaimah's Investment and Development Office; Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade; Ahmed Al Sayegh, Minister of State; Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar, Minister of State; Khalil Mohammed Sharif Foulathi, board member of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA); Dr. Mubarak Saeed Al Dhaheri, UAE Ambassador to Malaysia, and Abdullah Salem Al Dhaheri, UAE Ambassador to Indonesia and ASEAN. The two summits, which will be attended by several leaders, heads of government, and representatives of participating countries, are scheduled to discuss ways to enhance joint cooperation between the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the People's Republic of China across various economic, investment, development, and political fields. They will also explore new opportunities for cooperation to serve the aspirations of the countries' peoples to achieve development and prosperity. This is the second summit bringing together the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), following the Riyadh Summit hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2023, during which it was agreed to hold the summit between the GCC and ASEAN every two years. WAM
Malaysia Sun
26-05-2025
- Business
- Malaysia Sun
On behalf of UAE President, RAK Ruler arrives Malaysia to participate in GCC-ASEAN Summit, ASEAN-GCC-China Summit
KUALA LUMPUR, 25th May 2025 (WAM) -- On behalf of UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, H.H. Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, arrived today in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, leading the UAE delegation to the 2nd GCC-ASEAN Summit, and the ASEAN-GCC-China Summit, scheduled to take place under the theme "Inclusivity and Sustainability". Malaysia is hosting these high-profile events as part of its current presidency of the ASEAN 2025. H.H. was welcomed upon arrival by Malaysian Minister of Defence Mohamed Khaled Nordin, and several Malaysian officials. H.H. Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi is accompanied by an official delegation comprising Sheikh Khalid bin Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Vice Chairman of Ras Al Khaimah's Investment and Development Office; Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade; Ahmed Al Sayegh, Minister of State; Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar, Minister of State; Khalil Mohammed Sharif Foulathi, board member of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA); Dr. Mubarak Saeed Al Dhaheri, UAE Ambassador to Malaysia, and Abdullah Salem Al Dhaheri, UAE Ambassador to Indonesia and ASEAN. The two summits, which will be attended by several leaders, heads of government, and representatives of participating countries, are scheduled to discuss ways to enhance joint cooperation between the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the People's Republic of China across various economic, investment, development, and political fields. They will also explore new opportunities for cooperation to serve the aspirations of the countries' peoples to achieve development and prosperity. This is the second summit bringing together the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), following the Riyadh Summit hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2023, during which it was agreed to hold the summit between the GCC and ASEAN every two years.
Arab News
25-05-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Trump in Riyadh: Saudis shift the storyline
As US President Donald Trump's plane descended toward Riyadh on May 13, escorted by Saudi F-15 fighter jets, preparations on the ground evoked a quiet cultural confidence. Across the tarmac stretched the lavender ceremonial carpet, officially adopted in 2021, inspired by the desert khuzama flower and bordered with the geometric patterns of the UNESCO-inscribed traditional sadu weaving. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 'the visionary leader who never sleeps,' as Trump described him, welcomed his guest into the reception hall, where Saudi coffee was served in traditional Arabian style. And within two days, perceptions built up over decades began to shift. Riyadh was once again Trump's first foreign trip in office, this time coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the 1945 Quincy meeting between King Abdulaziz and President Franklin Roosevelt. Back in 2017, Trump's first summit in Riyadh had introduced a new political chemistry between a Saudi leadership with an ambitious vision and an outsider American administration driven more by deal-making than by bureaucratic routine. The 2025 meeting, however, took place between two well-acquainted partners, at a rare moment of symmetry: an American president returning to power after a sweeping victory, and a young Saudi leader who is the architect of regional transformation and the subject of global fascination, thanks to a vision that repositioned his country as a rising force on the global stage. While analysts were preoccupied with the headlines of political understandings, investment deals, and bilateral economic agreements, the deeper meaning of this visit lay in how the Saudis chose to present themselves, and how the Americans responded. For decades, visits by Western, especially American, leaders to the region followed a familiar script: security cooperation in exchange for energy stability, filtered through a condescending outsider's gaze and quiet assumptions of superiority. But this time, something fundamental had changed. The inspiring Saudi reality on the ground turned old expectations on their head and signaled a new way of seeing. The visit became an opportunity for Saudi Arabia to reintroduce itself to the world through its most authentic symbols, to reshape the storyline through which it has long been seen — the lavender carpet; dallah pots pouring Saudi coffee into finjan cups; Arabian horses escorting the presidential motorcade through Al-Yamamah Palace; and the samri dance that greeted Trump in At-Turaif, the UNESCO-listed district in Diriyah, birthplace of the Saudi state that restored the Arabian Peninsula's central role after a millennium away from the geopolitical spotlight. This was a live act of meaning-making from a nation that knows its own cultural weight. On air, in real time, the Kingdom projected a narrative of itself as confident, visionary, ambitious, and economically powerful. A country shaping how it wants to be seen. Western media captured the symbolism with awe, while Saudi digital majlises erupted with pride. The message was unmistakable: Welcome to the new Saudi Arabia, a nation proud of its roots, open to the world, and carrying a heritage unfolding toward the future. Beyond symbolism, the perception shift was clearest in Trump's own speech. In one of its most striking moments, he delivered a sharp critique of 'Western interventionists ... giving you lectures on how to live or how to govern your own affairs ... intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand.' Then he declared that 'the gleaming marvels of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not built by so-called nation-builders, or neocons, or liberal nonprofits. They were built by the people of this region themselves, developing their own sovereign countries, pursuing their own visions, and charting their own destinies.' The 2025 Riyadh Summit marks a new chapter in the Saudi-US story, one defined by mutual respect and a new understanding of the region from within, rather than through borrowed frameworks. Dr. Hatem Alzahrani This echoed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's 2018 remarks at the Future Investment Initiative, two years after Vision 2030 was launched: 'The new Europe is the Middle East' and that achieving this vision is 'the Saudis' war, my war personally. I do not want to die without seeing the Middle East at the forefront of the world. This goal will be achieved 100 percent.' Some at the time saw those words as a visionary promise still far from reach. Even Trump acknowledged that: 'Critics doubted whether what you achieved at home was even possible.' But what once sounded like a distant ambition is now an undeniable reality, and the US leader's remarks were a direct response to that. Moreover, these remarks marked a shift in how Washington perceives its relationship with the region. They pushed back against the 'Western savior' narrative, returned credit to local agency, and acknowledged that real change is now coming from within. The outcomes of the visit reflected this shift as well, culminating in a strategic economic partnership covering vital sectors. For years, the Middle East figured in American discourse as a problem to fix, a threat to contain, or a place waiting to be saved. These portrayals were largely imagined constructs, shaped by entrenched Western frameworks built on outdated assumptions and ideological baggage. As historian Zachary Lockman reminds us in 'Contending Visions of the Middle East,' much of the Western scholarly engagement with the region was historically tied to the priorities of foreign powers, rather than a genuine intellectual quest for understanding. The Middle East was treated as the 'Other,' an object to be studied and explained in service of Western strategy. Now, the lens is changing. The developmental models taking shape in the wider region are not imported templates, but strategies born from lived experience and cultural depth. Now reality leads perception, after decades in which perception shaped reality. Thanks to countries like Saudi Arabia, the region is reclaiming its voice as a fully engaged actor, redefining itself from within what was long considered an 'exotic' or 'mysterious' part of the world. Saudi Arabia is redrawing its global image with clarity of vision and tangible results. Through self-assessment, data-driven governance, and large-scale reforms, the Kingdom has done in a few years what Trump called 'a modern miracle, the Arabian way.' This shift echoes a broader global rebalancing. As Fareed Zakaria outlines in 'The Age of Revolutions,' we are witnessing the rise of 'new powers,' countries that combine bold economic reform with cultural self-confidence and geopolitical ambition. Saudi Arabia stands as a leading example of these emerging global actors. With strategic clarity, Saudi Arabia is reclaiming its place in the global imagination, not as a petro-state anomaly, but a civilizational force rooted in the Arabian Peninsula. For centuries, this land served as a crossroads of trade and a hub of cultural exchange. It gave rise to a language that became a global medium of learning and philosophy. From its historic cities, the people of Arabia, alongside peoples from Asia, Africa, and Europe, helped synthesize ancient knowledge and forge new ideas in science, law, literature, and spirituality. Vision 2030 calls back to this legacy as a strategic resource, reinvesting it to forge global partnerships, articulate a confident Saudi identity, and position the Kingdom as a key player in shaping the future. In that spirit, the 2025 Riyadh Summit marks a new chapter in the Saudi-US story, one defined by mutual respect and a new understanding of the region from within, rather than through borrowed frameworks. 'All of humanity will soon be amazed at what they will see right here in this geographic center of the world and the spiritual heart of its greatest faiths,' Trump declared in his Riyadh address. It was a shift in perception, a recognition that the West will now understand the region through its own successful models. And at the center of those models stands Saudi Arabia as a force actively shaping the narratives of tomorrow. • Dr. Hatem Alzahrani is a writer, cultural adviser, and academic specializing in Middle Eastern cultures. He holds an MA from Yale University and a Ph.D. from Georgetown University. He is a member of the International Arts Advisory Committee at the Middle East Institute. X: @HoYalieOfArabia
Al Etihad
25-05-2025
- Business
- Al Etihad
On behalf of UAE President, RAK Ruler arrives in Malaysia to participate in GCC-ASEAN Summit, ASEAN-GCC-China Summit
25 May 2025 19:28 KUALA LUMPUR (WAM) On behalf of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, H.H. Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, arrived on Sunday in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, leading the UAE delegation to the 2nd GCC-ASEAN Summit, and the ASEAN-GCC-China Summit, scheduled to take place under the theme 'Inclusivity and Sustainability'.Malaysia is hosting these high-profile events as part of its current presidency of the ASEAN 2025.H.H. was welcomed upon arrival by Malaysian Minister of Defence Mohamed Khaled Nordin, and several Malaysian officials.H.H. Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi is accompanied by an official delegation comprising Sheikh Khalid bin Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Vice Chairman of Ras Al Khaimah's Investment and Development Office; Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade; Ahmed Al Sayegh, Minister of State; Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar, Minister of State; Khalil Mohammed Sharif Foulathi, board member of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA); Dr. Mubarak Saeed Al Dhaheri, UAE Ambassador to Malaysia, and Abdullah Salem Al Dhaheri, UAE Ambassador to Indonesia and two summits, which will be attended by several leaders, heads of government, and representatives of participating countries, are scheduled to discuss ways to enhance joint cooperation between the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the People's Republic of China across various economic, investment, development, and political fields. They will also explore new opportunities for cooperation to serve the aspirations of the countries' peoples to achieve development and prosperity. This is the second summit bringing together the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), following the Riyadh Summit hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2023, during which it was agreed to hold the summit between the GCC and ASEAN every two years.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump in the Middle East: How much are US-Gulf investments worth?
United States President Donald Trump has started his Middle East tour, arriving in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, just after 10am, where he was greeted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). During his three-day trip, he will also travel to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with a focus on securing economic agreements with three of the world's wealthiest nations. The trip will involve discussions on investment opportunities, and some experts say Trump may urge the Gulf countries to lower oil prices. Trump arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday just before 10am local time (07:00 GMT), where he was greeted by MBS. The same day, he is scheduled to attend a Saudi-US investment forum featuring leading companies such as BlackRock, Citigroup, Palantir, Qualcomm, and Alphabet. On Wednesday, he is scheduled to take part in a Gulf summit in Riyadh, before travelling to Qatar later that day. He will conclude his trip in the UAE on Thursday, May 15. During his first term, 2017 to 2021, Trump became the first US president to make the Middle East his first international destination, breaking with the longstanding tradition of visiting neighbouring North American countries first. His trip to Saudi Arabia from May 20 to 22, 2017 – during which he attended the Riyadh Summit – was a calculated move to bolster defence ties and secure substantial arms deals. During that trip, Trump also visited Israel and Palestine. While Trump did not go to Qatar or the UAE during his first term, he met Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the Riyadh Summit. During the summit, Trump and Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud signed a $110bn arms deal, including missile defence systems, tanks, combat ships and cybersecurity technology, with the intent of buying $350bn worth of arms over 10 years. A memorable moment from that 2017 trip to Saudi Arabia was during the inauguration of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology in Riyadh. In a surreal photo op that quickly went viral, Trump stood alongside King Salman and President el-Sisi with their hands on a glowing orb. Sami al-Arian, director of the Center for Islam and Global Affairs at Istanbul Zaim University, told Al Jazeera that Trump has been very vocal about his objective in visiting the three Gulf states: investments. Trump's administration has reportedly discussed the possibility of expediting investments by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE before his trip to the region. 'He's trying to get trillions of dollars out of these countries,' al-Arian told Al Jazeera. 'He's already said that he's hoping to get $1 trillion from Saudi Arabia in terms of arms sales and commercial deals,' he said. According to the latest data from the US Department of Commerce, the total stock of US foreign direct investment (FDI) in Saudi Arabia reached $11.3bn in 2023. Conversely, Saudi Arabia's FDI stock in the US stood at $9.6bn, mostly in transport, real estate, plastics, automotive, financial services and communications, according to the Commerce Department. These figures are only FDI, not other investments, like portfolio investments or short-term financial flows. In 2023, the total stock of US FDI in Qatar was estimated at $2.5bn. According to the US-Qatar Business Council, US companies that have facilitated FDIs in Qatar focused on the fields of energy, petrochemicals, construction, engineering, and communications technology. Conversely, Qatari FDI stock in the US reached $3.3bn in 2023, with investments concentrated in financial services, energy and real estate. In 2023, the total stock of US FDI in the UAE reached $16.1bn. According to the Reuters news agency, in 2023, the main FDI drivers were manufacturing, finance and insurance, construction and wholesale and retail trade sectors. Meanwhile, UAE FDI stock in the US totalled $35bn in 2023 – in financial services, transport, food and beverages, aerospace, and business services, according to the Commerce Department. In March, UAE National Security Adviser Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan met Trump and committed $1.4 trillion in investments to the US over 10 years in sectors such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, energy and manufacturing. The US is the biggest exporter of arms globally and a top supplier to Gulf countries. Qatar and Saudi Arabia each accounted for 6.8 percent of the world's total arms imports for 2020-24, making them the third and fourth largest importers globally. The UAE is the 11th largest importer of arms, accounting for 2.6 percent of global imports for the same period. Saudi Arabia is the main recipient of US arms, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Between 2020 and 2024, Saudi Arabia received 12 percent of the US's total arms exports. About 74 percent of Saudi arms imports come from the US. Trump is poised to offer Saudi Arabia an arms package worth more than $100bn during his trip, according to Reuters. In the 2020-24 period, the US was the top supplier of arms to Qatar, accounting for 48 percent of its imports. In March, the US Department of State approved a large weapons package to Qatar worth $2bn, which includes long-range maritime surveillance drones and hundreds of missiles and bombs. In the same period, the US was also the top supplier of weapons to the UAE, accounting for 42 percent of the country's arms imports.
