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Saudi Arabia Sends High-Ranking Delegation to World Economic Forum Annual Meeting

The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum 2024 will be held in Davos (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum 2024 will be held in Davos (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Sends High-Ranking Delegation to World Economic Forum Annual Meeting

The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum 2024 will be held in Davos (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum 2024 will be held in Davos (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia announced that a high-ranking delegation will participate in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2024 in Davos, Switzerland, from January 15-19, under the theme of "Rebuilding Trust."

The delegation, chaired by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Abdallah, includes Saudi Ambassador to the US Princess Reema bint Bandar, Minister of Commerce Majid al-Kassabi, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Envoy for Climate Adel al-Jubeir, Minister of Investment Khalid al-Falih, Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Jadaan, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah al-Swaha, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar al-Khorayef, and Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal al-Ibrahim.

- Current challenges

The Saudi delegation will address these era-defining challenges by working with the international community to advance substantive global collaboration, drive economic resilience, build sustainable resource security, and harness human-centric innovation.

It would also explore the opportunities offered by emerging technologies and their impact on the policy and decision-making process.

The Saudi delegation will highlight the social and economic progress made within the framework of Vision 2030, the transformation, diversification, and development witnessed by the Kingdom in various fields, and the multiple investment opportunities available across the nation's thriving economy.

- Competitive capabilities

The Saudi delegation will share its expertise in enhancing the Kingdom's attractiveness as a private and foreign investment destination.

The delegation will also review the best practices and solutions developed by the Kingdom to enhance the economy's resilience and achieve financial sustainability, in line with its ambitions for economic diversification and sustainable growth under Vision 2030.

- Enhancing cooperation

The 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum will discuss ways to enhance cooperation between the public and private sectors to explore future opportunities, review solutions and developments within various economic and development sectors within the framework of international cooperation, and joint work between governments and various institutions.

The Forum brings together representatives from more than 100 governments, major international organizations, and more than 1,000 major private sector players, in addition to representatives of civil society and academic institutions.

The theme "Rebuilding Trust" highlights the importance of joint international action in confronting humanitarian, climate, social, and economic challenges.

- Global risks

In addition, the Global Risks Report 2024 issued by the World Economic Forum warned of a global risk landscape that will witness a decline in human development. It will weaken countries and individuals and expose them to new risks.

Given the systemic changes in global power mechanisms, climate, technology, and demographic distribution, global risks impose significant pressures that may exhaust the world's ability to adapt.

The report said that these matters are among its most prominent findings, which showed that cooperation on global issues is declining and that there is an urgent need to adopt approaches to address global risks.

The transnational risks will become harder to handle as global cooperation erodes.

In this year's Global Risks Perception Survey, two-thirds of respondents predict that a multipolar order will dominate in the next ten years as middle and great powers set and enforce – but also contest – current rules and norms.

WEF Managing Director Saadia Zahidi said underlying geopolitical tensions combined with the eruption of active hostilities in multiple regions contribute to an unstable global order characterized by polarizing narratives, eroding trust, and insecurity.

Zahidi warned that the situation leaves ample room for accelerating risks – like misinformation and disinformation – to propagate in societies that have already been politically and economically weakened in recent years.

- Misinformation and Conflict

Emerging as the most severe global risk anticipated over the next two years, foreign and domestic actors will leverage misinformation and disinformation to widen societal and political divides further.

Cost-of-living pressures continue to bite amidst persistently elevated inflation, interest rates, and economic uncertainty in much of the world.

Misinformation and disinformation have risen rapidly in rankings to first place for the two-year timeframe, and the risk is likely to become more acute as elections in several economies take place this year.

Interstate armed conflict is a new entrant into the top risk rankings over the two-year horizon as both a product and driver of state fragility.

With many conflicts currently ongoing in different parts of the world, the risks of geopolitical tensions and declining community resilience may lead to the spread of conflict contagion.

- Economic uncertainty and declining development

The continued state of economic uncertainty and the widening of the financial and technical gap are among the most prominent features of the coming years, and the lack of economic opportunities ranked sixth in risks over the next two years.

In the long term, obstacles to economic mobility are expected to increase, which will lead to the deprivation of large segments of the population of economic opportunities.

In addition, countries affected by conflict or climate risks may become isolated from investment, advanced technologies, and new employment opportunities.

In the absence of guaranteed and secure livelihoods, individuals may become more vulnerable to involvement in crime, militancy, and extremism.

- The planet is in danger

It is expected that environmental risks continue to dominate the risk landscape over all three timeframes, while the report called on business leaders to reconsider the steps that must be taken to confront global risks.

The report recommended focusing global cooperation efforts on accelerating the construction of protection barriers against the most urgent emerging risks, such as signing agreements to integrate artificial intelligence in the decision-making process.

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Business

Gold Steady as Investors Await Details of US-Iran Deal, Fed Verdict

People walk past a gold business shop at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Türkiye, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP)
People walk past a gold business shop at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Türkiye, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP)
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Gold Steady as Investors Await Details of US-Iran Deal, Fed Verdict

People walk past a gold business shop at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Türkiye, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP)
People walk past a gold business shop at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Türkiye, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP)

Gold prices were steady on Wednesday, near a one-week high, as investors awaited further details on the US-Iran agreement and the Federal Reserve's policy decision from Kevin Warsh's debut meeting as Chair.

Spot gold was flat at $4,331.29 per ounce, as of 0420 GMT. U.S. gold futures for August delivery was down 0.1% at $4,351.40.

Bullion touched an ‌over one-week ‌high of $4,370.82 on Monday.

Details of a US-Iran interim deal ‌to ⁠end the conflict ⁠are emerging, with President Donald Trump saying it would rule out a nuclear weapon for Tehran and a US official saying it would allow Iran to sell oil once signed.

Oil prices hovered near a three-month low on expectations of Iranian supply, easing inflation concerns.

"The rally (in gold) is losing some steam as all eyes turn to the ⁠monetary policy announcement from the Fed," said Ilya Spivak, ‌head of global macro at ‌Tastylive.

"This marks the first FOMC meeting to be chaired by Kevin Warsh and ‌traders still seem unsure about how he will reconcile a ‌hawkish record, rising inflation, and pressure from a White House demanding a dovish pivot," Spivak said.

Most Fed policymakers now feel they will need to keep US short-term borrowing costs on hold all year, projections due out later ‌in the day are expected to show, with a small number seen penciling in a rate ⁠hike to ⁠stop a spike in inflation from getting entrenched in the economy.

Traders see a 59% chance of a US rate hike in December, down from about 70% last week before the US-Iran peace deal announcement, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Gold tends to lose appeal when rates are high, as it does not yield interest.

"Over the longer term, structural support (for gold) is expected to persist, driven by ongoing Asian demand and continued central bank purchases as a hedge against geopolitical and policy risks," Westpac analysts wrote in a research note.

Spot silver fell 0.2% to $70.05 per ounce, platinum lost 0.7% to $1,792.05, and palladium was down 0.8% at $1,341.23.

Business

Oil Dips as Investors Weigh Deal on Iran War as Uncertainty Persists on Hormuz

A person prepares to pump gas at a Valero gas station on June 16, 2026 in Austin, Texas. (Getty Images via AFP)
A person prepares to pump gas at a Valero gas station on June 16, 2026 in Austin, Texas. (Getty Images via AFP)
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Oil Dips as Investors Weigh Deal on Iran War as Uncertainty Persists on Hormuz

A person prepares to pump gas at a Valero gas station on June 16, 2026 in Austin, Texas. (Getty Images via AFP)
A person prepares to pump gas at a Valero gas station on June 16, 2026 in Austin, Texas. (Getty Images via AFP)

Oil prices inched lower on Wednesday, extending the previous session's declines as investors assessed the US-Iran peace deal, though uncertainty over the full resumption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz limited further falls.

Brent crude futures dipped 16 cents, or 0.2%, to $78.80 a barrel by 0340 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate fell 25 cents, or 0.3%, to $75.80 a barrel.

Both benchmarks fell about 5% for a second straight session on Tuesday to stand at three-month lows, on hopes that a US-Iran deal would allow oil flows through the Strait.

"Markets are broadly stripping out ‌the embedded geopolitical risk ‌premium in oil prices," said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at ‌Phillip ⁠Nova.

"That said, the ⁠path toward normalization remains far from straightforward. While political agreements may be progressing, physical tanker traffic through the Strait has yet to fully recover."

The deal would provide for the United States to lift its blockade of Iran's ports, while Tehran would allow oil tanker traffic through the Strait, effectively blocked since US and Israel strikes on February 28.

"Oil markets retreated on expectations the Strait of Hormuz would reopen following the peace agreement, but traders held off further ⁠selling pending details," said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist of Nissan ‌Securities Investment.

WTI is likely to stay volatile in ‌a range of $10 above or below $80 a barrel, he added.

Before the closure, about a fifth of ‌global crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies flowed through the Strait.

Details of ‌the interim peace deal began to emerge on Tuesday, with President Donald Trump saying it would rule out a nuclear weapon for Tehran and a US official saying it would allow Iran to sell oil upon signing.

The memorandum of understanding, not yet public, extends by another 60 days a ‌tenuous ceasefire agreed in April, so as to allow room for talks toward a permanent truce.

Still, industry officials say a ⁠full return to ⁠pre-war production and refining levels is likely to take weeks, months or even years.

Israel has distanced itself from both the April ceasefire and the latest US-Iran pact, fueling uncertainty about whether it will hold.

Israeli drone strikes targeted three vehicles in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at least four and wounding others, Lebanon's National News Agency said, prompting a rare public rebuke from Trump.

China's crude oil throughput fell 9.1% in May on the year to its lowest in almost four years, data showed, also signaling that refiners were starting to draw on stockpiles amid the Iran war.

The American Petroleum Institute report showed US crude stocks fell 8.3 million barrels in the week ended June 12, the sources said.

It exceeded expectations for a draw of 4.6 million barrels, with official numbers due from the Energy Information Administration at 10:30 a.m. ET (1430 GMT) on Wednesday.

Business

Energy Sector Clears ‘Hormuz’ After US-Iran Deal, Risk Premium in Focus

Ships wait to transit the Strait of Hormuz on June 15. REUTERS
Ships wait to transit the Strait of Hormuz on June 15. REUTERS
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Energy Sector Clears ‘Hormuz’ After US-Iran Deal, Risk Premium in Focus

Ships wait to transit the Strait of Hormuz on June 15. REUTERS
Ships wait to transit the Strait of Hormuz on June 15. REUTERS

The energy sector and the global economy have avoided the worst-case scenario: oil at $150 a barrel.

That was the level many financial institutions and international companies had used in shaping their investment assumptions. International officials and governments also expected it and aligned with those forecasts.

For the global economy, $150 oil would have meant an energy sector slipping out of control, with damaging consequences for other industries. That did not happen. Brent crude is now trading at about $80 a barrel, roughly $70 below that feared level and above its pre-war price of $70.

With shipping through the Strait of Hormuz resuming after a preliminary peace agreement reached by the United States and Iran, expected to take effect next Friday, energy is again moving to the center of the global economic picture. For years, the sector has supported global growth, development and market stability, helping shield international markets from sudden shocks.

What comes after the agreement?

Since the preliminary US-Iran agreement was announced, oil prices have fallen by nearly $20 a barrel. That is a major cost relief for countries that import crude, and one that is likely to feed through to many other goods, given oil’s role as a basic input in finished products.

Stock markets rose in parallel, lifted by optimism over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the return of shipping to normal. The prospect of commodity prices easing back toward pre-war levels could support corporate earnings and the wider global economy.

But Mamdouh Salameh, an international energy expert, said prices would not return to pre-war levels so easily.

“The current situation indicates that Iran controls 20% of global oil and gas supplies as a result of its closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Therefore, oil prices after the agreement must take into account a permanent price premium because of Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz,” Salameh told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Speaking from London, Salameh said that even after the strait reopens, “the volume of oil flowing through it will fall to half its pre-war level because of the damage sustained by oil production facilities in the Arabian Gulf.”

He expected repairs to some facilities to take about eight to 12 months. “For this reason, Brent crude will not return to its pre-war level of $60 to $65 a barrel, but will range between $85 and $90 for many years to come,” he said.

Spot premiums for crude oil and some refined products in Asian markets fell on Tuesday, settling at pre-war levels after the announcement of the preliminary agreement between Washington and Tehran. Still, caution over the timeline for restoring normal navigation has so far placed a floor under energy prices, preventing a sharper decline.

Supply and demand

Saudi Aramco President Amin Nasser estimated that the oil market loses about 100 million additional barrels for every week the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, after the crisis had already removed about 1 billion barrels from supply.

Nasser said in remarks in mid-May that the gap was being covered through withdrawals from strategic and commercial inventories.

About 20% of global oil supplies pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Its closure has tested the depth of strategic inventories worldwide and posed a major challenge to the global energy sector. That was clear in moves by the International Energy Agency and its members to draw from strategic reserves.

Estimates of global demand growth this year range from 700,000 to 900,000 barrels per day. That suggests demand will remain strong long after Hormuz reopens, driven by daily oil needs for power generation and normal consumption, as well as the need to rebuild inventories.

Asia is the most exposed. The US Energy Information Administration estimates that 84% of the crude oil and condensates that passed through Hormuz in 2024 went to Asian markets, led by China, India, Japan and South Korea.

Against this backdrop, Aramco, the Saudi oil giant, said its maximum production capacity remains intact and that the company can, if requested by the government and within allocated quotas, return to maximum sustained capacity in less than three weeks.

QatarEnergy, among the hardest hit, said it expects to raise natural gas production to about 50% of capacity one month after safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is restored.

The world is now waiting for the terms of the preliminary agreement between the United States and Iran to be disclosed, so implementation can begin. Only then can a timeline be set for ships to reach “zero waiting,” followed by the return of Gulf production capacity.

Haitham El-Gendy, an international markets expert, said, “The matter depends on how quickly navigation through the Strait of Hormuz returns to pre-war levels, and how quickly supplies from the Gulf region resume. Both issues depend primarily on hostilities not resuming during the 60-day negotiation period.”

“If we assume that things will proceed well, a return to normal will require weeks, given the scale of tanker congestion around the strait and the need to remove mines,” El-Gendy told Asharq Al-Awsat. “As for Gulf supplies, this will also require varying periods depending on the extent of the damage to each country’s energy facilities.”

According to Wood Mackenzie, halted crude production fields in the region will return to 70% of their previous output within three months and about 90% within six months. For liquefied natural gas, of which Qatar produces one-fifth of global supply, a return to full production capacity will take several months and could stretch into years after damage to the Ras Laffan facility.

On crude prices, El-Gendy said that if tensions do not flare again, oil could move in the $80-a-barrel range, with room to rise, as countries replenish inventories and strategic reserves depleted in recent months and Chinese demand recovers to pre-war levels.