Saudi Arabia

11 April 2022; MEMO: The Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), owned by the Kingdom's sovereign wealth Public Investment Fund (PIF), has signed a preliminary agreement with the world's largest aerospace company, Boeing, to enter a joint venture to expand the Saudi aviation sector.

10 April 2022; MEMO: Pilgrims arriving from overseas must also submit a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before their departure to the kingdom.

Saudi authorities want to promote pilgrims' safety "while ensuring that the maximum number of Muslims worldwide can perform the Hajj," the ministry's statement added.

At the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, only 1,000 pilgrims were able to take part in the Hajj. This limit was increased to 60,000 last year for fully vaccinated, domestic participants.

10 April 2022; MEMO: The Saudi-led coalition in the ongoing war in Yemen has an outstanding payment to the US for the sum of $17 million. The debt remains unpaid more than three years after the US stopped some air support for the coalition.

07 April 2022; MEMO: Saudi-backed Yemeni President, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, on Thursday, ceded power to a Council whose members form the core of an anti-Houthi alliance as Saudi Arabia looks to exit a costly war that has strained Washington's ties with Gulf allies, Reuters reports.

WHY DOES THIS MOVE MATTER?

07 April 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia supports the establishment of zones free of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction as the first step towards the complete elimination of such weapons, the Kingdom's deputy permanent representative to the UN, Mohammed Al-Ateeq, has said.

05 April 2022; MEMO: Amnesty International yesterday called on Saudi Arabia to release four Uyghur, including a mother and her 13-year-old daughter, and not send them to China where they could face torture.

RIYADH, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry welcomed on Saturday a two-month truce in Yemen announced by the United Nations, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg announced on Friday the two-month truce, which will become effective at 7 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) on Saturday, through which all forms of military operations inside Yemen and on the Saudi-Yemeni borders shall be halted.

RIYADH, Apr 1 (NNN-SPA) – The Saudi Arabia-led coalition, involved in the civil war in Yemen, said yesterday that, it remained committed to a ceasefire that it announced two days ago.

The coalition affirmed that its air forces did not carry out any combat operations inside Yemen, and it would take all steps to achieve a successful cessation of military operations and comprehensive peacemaking, according to the tweet.

30 March 2022; MEMO: The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi rebel group in Yemen said, late Tuesday, that it will suspend military operations to ensure the success of consultations and to create a positive environment for peacemaking efforts during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan upon the request of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Anadolu News Agency reports.

29 March 2022; MEMO: The Formula 1 season opened over the weekend with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but not without a major controversy as drivers threatened to boycott the race. Unease and dissent over the decision to go ahead with the race despite Friday's bombing ten miles from the circuit has once again pit commercial demands against ethical and safety concerns.