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Saudi Arabia Unveils Pavilion at International Defense Exhibition and Conference in UAE

The Saudi pavilion is showcasing the latest technologies and advanced systems, underscoring the significant progress the Kingdom has made in localizing military industries, in alignment with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. (SPA)
The Saudi pavilion is showcasing the latest technologies and advanced systems, underscoring the significant progress the Kingdom has made in localizing military industries, in alignment with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Unveils Pavilion at International Defense Exhibition and Conference in UAE

The Saudi pavilion is showcasing the latest technologies and advanced systems, underscoring the significant progress the Kingdom has made in localizing military industries, in alignment with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. (SPA)
The Saudi pavilion is showcasing the latest technologies and advanced systems, underscoring the significant progress the Kingdom has made in localizing military industries, in alignment with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. (SPA)

The activities of the Saudi pavilion, organized by the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), kicked off on Monday at the International Defense Exhibition and Conference "IDEX 2025" in Abu Dhabi. This event is being held under the patronage of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates.

Governor of GAMI Eng. Ahmad Abdulaziz Al-Ohali participated in the launch, in the presence of Lt.-Gen. Mohammad Bin Abdulrahman bin Hamed Al-Gharibi, Chief of Staff of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces, Sultan bin Abdullah Al-Angari, Saudi ambassador to the UAE, and a number of officials, international investors and decision-makers in the sector.

Al-Ohali emphasized the significance of the Kingdom's participation in IDEX 2025 as a leading global platform for showcasing the latest military technologies.

He underscored the importance of establishing international partnerships that enhance the Kingdom's defense and security capabilities.

The Saudi pavilion serves as a strategic window that reaffirms the Kingdom's commitment to developing its defense sector and strengthening national competencies, contributing to the ambitious goal of localizing over 50% of military spending by 2030, he added.

During the exhibition, GAMI signed a cooperation agreement in the field of government quality assurance with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration in South Korea.

The agreement aims to boost the assurance and reliability of defense products and services carried out under purchasing and acquisition operations, in accordance with the local laws and regulations of both sides.

The agreement reflects the mutual desire of both parties to deepen joint cooperation in the field of defense industry and technology, in a way that achieves the national interests of both countries. The two parties also intend to expand the scope of cooperation by exchanging experiences and best practices in the field of government quality assurance for defense products and services.

The Saudi pavilion is showcasing the latest technologies and advanced systems, underscoring the significant progress the Kingdom has made in localizing military industries, in alignment with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.

It is presenting the latest locally developed defense technologies across military, defense, and security industries. It features a variety of military products aimed at highlighting the capabilities of the defense and military sectors. Additionally, it presents investors with a conducive investment environment and the promising opportunities available in the sector.

In addition to GAMI and the General Authority for Defense Development (GADD), the pavilion includes the World Defense Show (WDS), along with several national companies operating in the military industries sector. The companies include the Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), the National Company for Mechanical Systems (NCMS), the Middle East Propulsion Company (MEPC), the Saudi Chemical Company Holding (SCCH), AlKorayef Group, Life Shield Military Industries (LIFE SHIELD), Emaan International, QUDRA Industrial Company, and the Saudi Company for Aircraft Maintenance and Preparation (GDC).

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Business

Google Cloud CEO to Asharq Al-Awsat: Our Data Centers Are Crisis-Resilient, Not Bound by Borders

Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, speaks to Asharq Al-Awsat. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, speaks to Asharq Al-Awsat. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Google Cloud CEO to Asharq Al-Awsat: Our Data Centers Are Crisis-Resilient, Not Bound by Borders

Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, speaks to Asharq Al-Awsat. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, speaks to Asharq Al-Awsat. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

At Google Cloud Next in Las Vegas, Thomas Kurian, chief executive of Google Cloud, responded to a question from Asharq Al-Awsat about attacks on hyperscale cloud data centers amid regional tensions by moving quickly beyond physical protection. The issue, he suggested, is no longer simply how to defend infrastructure, but how to ensure customers are not left dependent on one location when disruption occurs.

Kurian said Google Cloud has managed through global conflict scenarios for many years and has built not only physical safeguards, but also a private global network with extensive redundancy linking its data centers.

The company can shift workloads away from affected locations and replicate them globally because its cloud regions operate as a unified and consistently synchronized architecture, he explained. For customers, he argued, that means they are not tied to a single physical site.

His response moved the discussion from infrastructure protection toward a broader strategic question: whether cloud architecture itself has become part of business continuity planning.

From experimentation to operations

That framing also offered one of the clearest ways to understand Google Cloud’s broader message at Next 2026. Throughout the event, attended by more than 30,000 participants, the company sought to underscore that enterprise AI is moving from experimentation into what it calls the agentic enterprise.

Google Cloud said roughly 75 percent of its customers already use its AI-powered products. Some 330 customers processed more than one trillion tokens over the past 12 months, while more than 35 customers surpassed 10 trillion tokens. The company also said its frontier models now process more than 16 billion tokens per minute, up from 10 billion in the previous quarter.

The purpose of those figures was to signal that AI is no longer a side experiment, but an operational layer companies want to use across their businesses.

Integration and openness together

Perhaps most revealing in the private Q&A with Kurian was what he suggested about where competition is heading. He argued that Google Cloud’s distinguishing advantage lies in combining proprietary chips, frontier models, infrastructure and tools, allowing the company to optimize the entire stack, from computing power to the efficiency of AI agents.

The broader argument was that the next phase of AI will not be determined only by who has the strongest model, but by who can design the broader system around it most effectively. At the same time, Kurian paired this with another point equally important to enterprise customers: openness. He stressed that he does not expect companies to rely exclusively on Google Cloud and said the company has deliberately kept its architecture open.

He pointed to support for multiple models, Google’s own chips, close collaboration with NVIDIA, compatibility with different data platforms and partnerships with third parties in security.

That matters because enterprises want the efficiency of deep integration without being locked into a closed environment. Google Cloud is signaling it can provide a vertically integrated stack while still operating across diverse enterprise technology environments.

Sovereignty at the forefront

Sovereignty also emerged as a major theme. Asked whether European customers would receive the full product offering, Kurian said the broader product is already available in Europe in compliance with sovereignty regulations, hosted across multiple sites including Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland and the United Kingdom.

Though the answer focused on Europe, its significance extends beyond the continent. Enterprise customers, including Saudi Arabia, increasingly want advanced AI services without giving up control over where their data is hosted and processed. That is not a side issue, but part of the architecture of trust itself.

Connectors make the difference

Kurian also addressed another practical issue tied to one of enterprise AI’s real bottlenecks.

Asked who would build the connections between Gemini Enterprise and the many applications companies already use, he said Google Cloud is doing so itself. The company already offers more than 100 connectors covering document repositories, software-as-a-service applications and databases.

He added that Google Cloud also provides a framework for building connectors and supports standards such as Bring Your Own MCP for custom-built systems.

The significance of that point lies at the heart of why many enterprise AI projects struggle: a model may be impressive in isolation, but it only becomes useful when it connects to where work actually happens — documents, business applications, records and databases.

AI and defense

The cybersecurity portion of the discussion was no less significant.

Kurian said Google Cloud recognized some time ago that as models improve at understanding software, malicious actors would use them to analyze code, discover vulnerabilities and attack systems. In his view, the response must also be driven by AI.

He described one layer focused on analyzing and repairing a company’s own code, pointing to a new model called Code Defender that helps fix vulnerabilities.

A second layer focuses on external threats, including threat hunting and threat intelligence. He pointed to Dark Web Intelligence announced at the conference, saying it can prioritize the threats customers should defend against with about 90 percent accuracy.

He also linked this logic to Google Cloud’s acquisition of Wiz, describing a layered model in which a red agent probes systems for weaknesses, a blue team identifies the needed fixes and a green layer carries out remediation.

Business

Saudi Industry Minister Discusses Boosting Industrial Cooperation with Oman

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef and President of Oman's Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones Qais Al-Yousef meet in Riyadh on Monday. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef and President of Oman's Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones Qais Al-Yousef meet in Riyadh on Monday. (SPA)
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Saudi Industry Minister Discusses Boosting Industrial Cooperation with Oman

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef and President of Oman's Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones Qais Al-Yousef meet in Riyadh on Monday. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef and President of Oman's Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones Qais Al-Yousef meet in Riyadh on Monday. (SPA)

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef met in Riyadh on Monday with President of Oman's Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones Qais Al-Yousef for talks on boosting industrial cooperation and developing joint investments between their countries.

They tackled means to strengthen cooperation in the fields of industrial cities and special economic zones, in addition to developing strategic partnerships that enhance industrial integration between the two countries in a manner that supports regional supply chains and boosts the competitiveness of the Saudi and Omani economies.

They stressed the importance of expanding industrial and investment partnerships, exchanging expertise and experiences in developing industrial infrastructure, and enabling high-quality investments in priority industrial sectors. This aligns with the objectives of the two countries’ national visions, contributing to sustainable economic development and achieving shared interests.

The meeting comes within the framework of strengthening economic relations between Saudi Arabia and Oman and advancing cooperation in the industrial sector to achieve the goals of economic development and industrial integration between them.

Business

Gold Hits Three-Week Low with US-Iran Talks, Central Bank Decisions in Focus

A jeweller holds gold bars in Cairo, Egypt, March 9, 2026. (Reuters)
A jeweller holds gold bars in Cairo, Egypt, March 9, 2026. (Reuters)
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Gold Hits Three-Week Low with US-Iran Talks, Central Bank Decisions in Focus

A jeweller holds gold bars in Cairo, Egypt, March 9, 2026. (Reuters)
A jeweller holds gold bars in Cairo, Egypt, March 9, 2026. (Reuters)

Gold fell to a three-week low on Tuesday, as elevated oil prices kept inflation concerns high, while investors awaited key central bank decisions this week to see if the Middle East conflict has altered the interest rate outlook.

Spot gold was down 1.1% at $4,628.63 per ounce, ‌as of 0746 GMT, ‌its lowest level since April 7. ‌US ⁠gold futures for June ⁠delivery fell 1.1% to $4,642.90.

US President Donald Trump is unhappy with the latest Iranian proposal on resolving the two-month war, a US official said, dampening hopes for a resolution to the conflict that has disrupted energy supplies, fueled inflation, and killed thousands.

"Geopolitical headlines are still the main driver (of gold prices). In the ⁠event of a deal (between the US and Iran) ‌or an interim deal, the ‌dollar should weaken, and gold will likely break out to the upside," ‌said Edward Meir, analyst at Marex.

The dollar gained, ‌and oil prices rose above $111 a barrel, as the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway remained largely shut.

Higher crude oil prices can stoke inflation by raising transportation and production costs, increasing the likelihood of higher ‌interest rates.

While gold is considered an inflation hedge, high interest rates make yield-bearing assets ⁠more attractive, weighing ⁠on its appeal.

The Bank of Japan kept interest rates steady on Tuesday but three of its nine-member board proposed hiking borrowing costs, signaling policymakers' concerns over inflationary pressures from the Middle East conflict.

The US Federal Reserve is also widely expected to hold interest rates steady at the end of its two-day meeting on Wednesday.

Investors will be focusing on other central bank decisions this week, including those from the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada.

Spot silver fell 2.9% to $73.28 per ounce, platinum lost 1.6% to $1,951.33, and palladium was down 1.6% at $1,453.38.