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US-Saudi Business Council Chief: Crown Prince’s Visit to Washington Will Accelerate Strategic Partnership

Donald Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during the US president’s visit to Saudi Arabia in May 2025 (Bandar Al-Galoud)
Donald Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during the US president’s visit to Saudi Arabia in May 2025 (Bandar Al-Galoud)
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US-Saudi Business Council Chief: Crown Prince’s Visit to Washington Will Accelerate Strategic Partnership

Donald Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during the US president’s visit to Saudi Arabia in May 2025 (Bandar Al-Galoud)
Donald Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during the US president’s visit to Saudi Arabia in May 2025 (Bandar Al-Galoud)

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the United States comes at a pivotal moment, as US-Saudi relations gain renewed momentum driven by the Kingdom’s ambitious Vision 2030 agenda.

At the center of this engagement stands the US-Saudi Business Council, positioned as a strategic link between the public and private sectors in both countries and tasked with turning shared goals into long-term economic partnerships.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, President and CEO of the Council Charles Hallab outlined the strategic objectives of the Crown Prince’s high-level visit.

He said he expects the trip to deepen the two countries’ strategic partnership by accelerating cooperation across sectors central to Vision 2030, including defense, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and quality-of-life industries.

According to Hallab, discussions will highlight expanding trade and investment flows, strengthening industrial and technological cooperation, and showcasing Saudi Arabia’s progress in building a more open, innovative, and competitive investment environment that welcomes long-term American participation.

He confirmed that a very large number of deals and memoranda of understanding will be unveiled during the US-Saudi Business and Investment Forum on Wednesday, which the Council is co-hosting with the Ministry of Investment.

The forum, titled “Leadership for Growth: Enhancing the US-Saudi Economic Partnership,” will be held at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and aims to explore new investment opportunities in energy, technology, financial services, infrastructure, and healthcare.

Hallab described the Crown Prince’s visit as taking place “at a moment of renewed momentum in US-Saudi relations,” adding that it reflects the Kingdom’s emergence as “one of the world’s most dynamic and forward-looking investment destinations.”

He said that the high-level engagement sends a message of “confidence, openness, and shared purpose,” reinforcing trust in the economic partnership.

He noted that this momentum is contributing to a more optimistic view among American investors regarding the breadth of partnership opportunities tied to Vision 2030.

Hallab stressed that US companies are showing strong and growing interest in sectors that align with Saudi Arabia’s long-term goals, particularly advanced manufacturing, energy, artificial intelligence, and digital infrastructure.

He also pointed to rising engagement in healthcare, tourism, and entertainment. American firms, he added, bring world-class expertise that complements the Kingdom’s ambitions in diversification and global competitiveness.

In addition, American financial institutions and investment funds are increasingly exploring opportunities in Saudi Arabia’s transformation projects, according to Hallab.

With their global experience, they are well-positioned to support major Vision 2030 initiatives in infrastructure, clean energy, tourism, and technology. This growing involvement reflects strengthening confidence in Saudi markets and reinforces the depth of the bilateral economic relationship.

Critical minerals have become a central pillar of US-Saudi economic cooperation. Hallab highlighted recent talks in Riyadh between Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Wealth Bandar Alkhorayef and US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum on deepening collaboration in mining and minerals. Their discussions focused on exploration, processing, and technology exchange.

Hallab emphasized that US-Saudi collaboration in advanced technologies could help transform the Kingdom into a regional hub for AI. He pointed to a new Saudi initiative under the entity Humain to build large-scale data centers and Arabic-language AI models with backing from major US tech companies including NVIDIA, AMD, Amazon Web Services, and Qualcomm.

These firms, he said, can help accelerate Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation and foster a sustainable innovation ecosystem that develops local talent.

Hallab stressed that the Council will continue to play a central role after the visit, working with government agencies and business leaders in both countries to follow up on commitments.

“Our goal is to keep the momentum and ensure that every dialogue leads to action and every partnership contributes to the long-term success of Vision 2030 and the continued growth of US-Saudi economic relations,” he stated.

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Business

Lebanon is Handing over an Assad-era General after War Crimes Questioning

(FILES) Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during a press conference with Iraq's Prime Minister in Damascus on July 16, 2023. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
(FILES) Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during a press conference with Iraq's Prime Minister in Damascus on July 16, 2023. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
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Lebanon is Handing over an Assad-era General after War Crimes Questioning

(FILES) Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during a press conference with Iraq's Prime Minister in Damascus on July 16, 2023. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
(FILES) Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during a press conference with Iraq's Prime Minister in Damascus on July 16, 2023. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

Lebanon’s judicial authorities have decided to hand over a former senior Syrian military officer under ousted President Bashar Assad to Damascus after questioning him over crimes he allegedly committed during the country’s conflict, officials said Tuesday.

Maj. Gen. Adel Issa will be the first military officer to be handed over by Lebanon since Assad’s fall in late 2024. He is expected to stand trial in his home country. There were no immediate details on the alleged crimes.

The decision comes days after a vote in parliament that made Lebanon the first Arab country to abolish the death penalty, a step that will become formal once it is published in the Lebanese Official Gazette.

The judicial officials said Issa is being handed over to Syria in accordance with a 1951 agreement between the countries that calls for handing over suspected criminals.

On Tuesday afternoon, Issa was taken by members of Lebanon’s General Security Directorate, who will drive him to a border crossing and hand him over to Syrian authorities, two judicial and two security officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

After Syrian fighters opposed to Assad marched into Damascus to end the Assad family's five-decade rule in December 2024, a number of military and security officers fled to Lebanon, where some remain.

Dozens of other former members of his security agencies accused of atrocities have been arrested and put on trial in Syria.

Last week, a Syrian court sentenced Assad and his younger brother Maher to death in absentia while their maternal cousin, Brig. Gen. Atef Najib, became the most senior security official to be sentenced to death while in custody. The Assad brothers fled to Russia during the ouster.

Issa was questioned last week by judge Ahmad Rami Hajj, Lebanon’s public prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, over alleged crimes he had committed in Syria’s eastern province of Deir el-Zour and the northern province of Raqqa during Syria’s conflict that broke out in 2011.

The judicial officials told The Associated Press that Issa denied all the charges against him, saying he was a military officer carrying out orders.

The Syrian embassy in Beirut sent Issa’s charge sheet to Lebanese judicial authorities earlier this month, the officials said.

Issa was detained on Aug. 8 when he went to the Syrian embassy in Beirut for some paperwork. Embassy officials contacted Lebanon’s prosecutor’s office to tell them that Issa is wanted in Syria. He has been held at Beirut’s Palace of Justice detention center.

Issa had fled to Lebanon by crossing illegally after Assad’s fall, the officials said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said after commanding the Syrian army’s 17th Division, Issa was moved in 2015 to command ground forces in Deir el-Zour that borders Iraq, and that he retired in late 2016.

Syria’s conflict, which began with anti-government protests in March 2011 before turning into a civil war, left half a million people dead and over 1 million wounded.

Business

Aramco, Maaden Sign Joint Venture Agreement on Mineral Exploration, Hard-Rock Mining in Saudi Arabia

File photo of the Saudi flag - SPA
File photo of the Saudi flag - SPA
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Aramco, Maaden Sign Joint Venture Agreement on Mineral Exploration, Hard-Rock Mining in Saudi Arabia

File photo of the Saudi flag - SPA
File photo of the Saudi flag - SPA

Aramco and Maaden announced the signing of a shareholders’ agreement to form a Joint Venture (JV) to unlock new opportunities in mineral exploration and hard-rock mining in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Combining the strengths of two leaders in their respective fields, the JV would focus on copper and other minerals critical to the energy transition. The JV plans were first disclosed in January 2025.

The JV is expected to be owned 51% by Maaden and 49% by Aramco, and focus on exploration across Zone-4, also known as the Transition Zone, within the Arabian Platform. It represents a major new opportunity for mineral discovery in the Kingdom.

Spanning approximately 182,000 square kilometers, nearly 10% of Saudi Arabia’s total land area, the expected exploration area stretches along a 100-kilometer-wide zone running parallel to the Arabian Shield.

Aramco Vice President of Transition Minerals Saleh M. Al Saleh said: "Over 90 years, Aramco has accumulated and analyzed the largest amount of geological and geophysical data ever acquired in a single basin for the Kingdom. This partnership intends to leverage this legacy information to find minerals in the JV area within the basin. Maaden’s expertise, our people, high-performance computing, and AI are expected to play a pivotal role in accelerating the discovery of key transition minerals at low cost."

Maaden Executive Vice President for Exploration Darryl Clark said: “Maaden has been advancing one of the world’s largest single jurisdiction exploration programs across the Arabian Shield to help unlock the Kingdom’s mineral potential. This joint venture would take that ambition into a new area. By combining Maaden’s exploration and development expertise with Aramco’s extraordinary knowledge of the Arabian Platform, we would have an opportunity to move faster, explore smarter, and create new opportunities to discover the minerals that will power the energy transition.”

Copper, which is increasingly significant for electric vehicles, power networks, energy storage, and renewable energy systems, would be a main focus of the JV. Copper is a major metal making up over 20% of the $1.2 trillion mined metals market. The copper market is currently valued at approximately $250 billion and is projected to grow to over $400 billion by 2035. The JV would also explore for other energy transition minerals including zinc, lead, and rare earth elements that are expected to be crucial to industries of the future.

Leveraging advanced computational algorithms, AI, and high-performance computing, the JV intends to target areas most likely to contain copper and valuable minerals, accelerating the path from regional screening to target definition and discovery. This is expected to support long-term sector development, reinforce the Kingdom’s role in the global minerals value chain, and help meet rising demand for transition minerals.

The effectiveness of the shareholders’ agreement and the incorporation of the JV is conditional upon the fulfillment of certain condition precedents, including, but not limited to, obtaining all the required corporate and regulatory approvals and antitrust clearance.

Business

Gold Slips on Firmer Treasury Yields, Oil Prices; Fed Minutes in Focus

An employee displays a gold necklace at a jewelry store in Varanasi, India (AFP)
An employee displays a gold necklace at a jewelry store in Varanasi, India (AFP)
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Gold Slips on Firmer Treasury Yields, Oil Prices; Fed Minutes in Focus

An employee displays a gold necklace at a jewelry store in Varanasi, India (AFP)
An employee displays a gold necklace at a jewelry store in Varanasi, India (AFP)

Gold fell on Tuesday, pressured by higher Treasury yields and oil prices, while traders awaited minutes of the US Federal Reserve's July policy meeting for clues on the outlook for interest rates.

Spot gold was down 0.4% to $4,397.42 per ounce, as of 0624 GMT, while US gold futures for December delivery dropped 0.5% to $4,452.90. Yields ‌on the benchmark ‌10-year US Treasury note extended gains, raising ‌the ⁠opportunity cost of holding ⁠non-yielding bullion.

Oil prices edged higher after Iran said it would shift to a "fully offensive" military posture following a breakdown in efforts to negotiate a permanent end to the war with the United States, while Washington ruled out extending a temporary ceasefire agreement.

Oil prices will remain one ⁠of the key factors keeping gold under ‌pressure as the situation in ‌the Middle East continues to look uncertain, ANZ analyst Soni ‌Kumari said.

Traders' expectations around Fed policy rates are ‌going to be important for gold, with a focus on technical levels, Kumari added.

Elevated energy prices tend to raise inflationary fears and bolster expectations of higher interest rates. While gold is typically seen ‌as a hedge against inflation, higher interest rates tend to diminish bullion's appeal.

However, market ⁠pricing for ⁠a September quarter-point hike flipped to a nearly 65% chance of a "hold" after unexpected job losses in July, lower-than-expected consumer price inflation and weaker retail sales.

Investors are also awaiting minutes of the Fed's most recent policy meeting, with the release scheduled for Wednesday.

Spot gold may test support at $4,381, a break below which could open the way towards the $4,320 to $4,351 range, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. Among other metals, spot silver slipped 0.7% to $65.32 per ounce, platinum lost 0.6% to $1,759.63 and palladium dipped 0.6% to $1,325.47.