America may no longer rely on Middle Eastern oil, but it still needs stable markets

Thursday, 14 November 2019

Washington’s goal of achieving energy independence seems to be in reach. After decades of declining oil and gas production since the end of the Second World War, America’s shale revolution has triggered explosive growth, with latest figures indicating that production levels finally surpassed demand in the fourth quarter of this year. Washington has duly taken credit for this astonishing development, and President Donald Trump in particular has argued that this newfound autonomy ...

Cyril Widdershoven

Morocco – Keeping the course when the seas are rough

Tuesday, 16 July 2019

Throughout the past decade, Morocco has faced several external challenges, including weak growth in key trading partners, large swings in international oil prices, and regional geopolitical tensions. Despite rough waters, the government stayed the course and remained focused not only on immediate stability, but also on the long-term needs of the Moroccan economy. During this turbulent time, a set of key priorities guided the country’s path towards increased economic resilience. Energy ...

Nicolas Blancher

Should the government stop the Uber-Careem acquisition deal?

Thursday, 4 April 2019

In late March 2019, the global ride-hailing giant Uber announced its acquisition of its Middle-Eastern competitor, Careem, for $3.1 bln, subject to antitrust approval by the countries in which the companies operate. The elimination of Uber’s most important competitor in the region brings with it the threat of abuse of market power, and a resultant increase in prices. Should authorities block the move? Absolutely not. In fact, consumers are much more likely to be winners than losers in ...

Omar Al-Ubaydli

Few people are capable of evaluating Saudi social change. I am one of them.

Tuesday, 19 March 2019

Media coverage of the Middle East, and Saudi Arabia in particular, is experiencing a crisis of credibility. International media outlets’ coverage of the Kingdom generally takes a reductionist and surface-skimming approach that ignores cultural intricacies, historical facts, and the religious complexities of a diverse and complex nation. I am a Saudi entrepreneur and investor who has worked in the Kingdom’s industry sector for decades. I’ve experienced our society when at its ...

Waleed AlBanawi

How Saudi entrepreneurs can benefit from a 1950s Italian-US agreement model

Saturday, 9 February 2019

In order to boost entrepreneurship, Saudi Arabia should consider following a 1950s plan used to improve the Italian economy, which was done in partnership with the US, a recent paper by Michela Giorcelli of the University of California suggested. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 seeks to modernize the economy, and the US is contributing to many of the associated projects, building upon its rich tradition of assisting its allies’ economic development, most famously in the postwar Marshall ...

Omar Al-Ubaydli

Saudi, Bahrain to tender new bridge parallel to existing causeway

Wednesday, 24 October 2018

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are putting forward a tender next week for advisory services for a new bridge linking the two Gulf states, government officials said on Wednesday. The tender’s scope is to manage the transitional phase of the bridge that will be parallel to the existing causeway, Saudi Arabia’s transport minister Nabil bin Mohammed Al-Amoudi and Bahrain’s minister of transportation Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed said in a joint statement.

Populism and protectionism, prelude to economic and political warfare

Wednesday, 22 August 2018

Seismic populist and protectionist shifts the world is witnessing threaten to pave the way for an era of pre-world War I and World War II. Many countries are seeking national identities and to set free from globalisation and liberal internationalism, a prelude to undercut collective security edifices and to awaken new formulas of ultra-nationalism through economic warfare. Economic warfare is one of the oldest types of wars known to mankind. Such war is a conflict over economic resources, ...

Shehab Al-Makahleh

VIDEO: In US garages, women using their own elbow grease

Tuesday, 21 August 2018

Patrice Banks was looking for a female mechanic to try to improve her automotive repair experiences. But when she was hard-pressed at finding any, she decided to take things into her own hands. Now, the Philadelphia native runs an all-women car clinic that she hopes will drive the industry toward gender equality. On the outside, the auto body shop looks like the three other garages in this unassuming suburb of Philadelphia, Inside, classic rock is blaring from a radio and the sweltering August ...

OPEC: In the shadow of NOPEC

Saturday, 23 June 2018

After a tense few days, the OPEC Vienna June meeting concluded on a successful note with all parties – Russia and Saudi Arabia on the one hand and Iran, Venezuela, and Iraq on the other – claiming that they can live with the final agreement made. However, the devil is in the details and the final communiqué was a masterful document in ambiguity. All things considered, Saudi Arabia with Russian support did a pretty impressive job in the messaging of OPEC meeting to satisfy ...

Dr. Mohamed A. Ramady

Saudi-Russian energy cooperation: A balancing act

Sunday, 18 June 2017

While current Qatar related regional tensions are dominating the headlines, there are some long-term Saudi strategic realignments taking place. President Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia certainly seemed to herald a new military and economic bond that had been temporarily shaken under the previous US Administration. In another bold move, the Kingdom has also moved swiftly to cement an evolving relationship that is just as important as the mega defence deals with the USA, which will help to ...

Dr. Mohamed A. Ramady