Aljadaan Heads Kingdom's Delegation to Saudi-Chinese Meetings in Beijing

Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed Aljadaan. SPA
Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed Aljadaan. SPA
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Aljadaan Heads Kingdom's Delegation to Saudi-Chinese Meetings in Beijing

Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed Aljadaan. SPA
Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed Aljadaan. SPA

The Saudi Minister of Finance, Mohammed Aljadaan, heads the Kingdom's delegation participating in the two-day Saudi-Chinese meetings to be held on Monday in Beijing.

The Saudi delegation includes the Vice Minister of Finance Abdulmuhsen Alkhalaf, as well as officials from the Ministry of Finance; the National Center For Privatization (NCP); the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA); the Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA); the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA); the National Development Fund (NDF); the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD); and the National Infrastructure Fund.

Aljadaan and the Chinese Minister of Finance, Lan Fo'an, will co-chair the third meeting of the Financial Sub-Committee for the High-level Chinese-Saudi Joint Committee.

Aljadaan will also participate in a roundtable meeting organized by the Saudi National Center for Privatization in cooperation with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

Alkhalaf and the Chinese Vice Minister of Finance, Liao Min, will co-chair a roundtable meeting hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Finance, and organized by China Development Bank (CDB) and China Investment Corporation (CIC).

Aljadaan will also meet with several Chinese ministers, officials, and investors to discuss the latest economic and financial developments, topics of common interest, as well as investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia in light of Saudi Vision 2030.

These meetings come as an extension of efforts to strengthen cooperation and enhance relations between Saudi Arabia and China in various fields to promote global economic growth.



Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
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Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)

The United States on Thursday called on Israel to extend its cooperation with Palestinian banks for another year, to avoid blocking vital transactions in the occupied West Bank.

"I am glad that Israel has allowed its banks to continue cooperating with Palestinian banks, but I remain convinced that a one-year extension of the waiver to facilitate this cooperation is needed," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday, on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Rio de Janeiro.

In May, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to cut off a vital banking channel between Israel and the West Bank in response to three European countries recognizing the State of Palestine.

On June 30, however, Smotrich extended a waiver that allows cooperation between Israel's banking system and Palestinian banks in the occupied West Bank for four months, according to Israeli media, according to AFP.

The Times of Israel newspaper reported that the decision on the waiver was made at a cabinet meeting in a "move that saw Israel legalize several West Bank settlement outposts."

The waiver was due to expire at the end of June, and the extension permitted Israeli banks to process payments for salaries and services to the Palestinian Authority in shekels, averting a blow to a Palestinian economy already devastated by the war in Gaza.

The Israeli threat raised serious concerns in the United States, which said at the time it feared "a humanitarian crisis" if banking ties were cut.

According to Washington, these banking channels are key to nearly $8 billion of imports from Israel to the West Bank, including electricity, water, fuel and food.