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Saudi-French Business Forum Opens in Riyadh

Saudi Minister of Commerce and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority of Foreign Trade Majid Al-Qasabi addresses the forum on Sunday. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Commerce and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority of Foreign Trade Majid Al-Qasabi addresses the forum on Sunday. (SPA)
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Saudi-French Business Forum Opens in Riyadh

Saudi Minister of Commerce and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority of Foreign Trade Majid Al-Qasabi addresses the forum on Sunday. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Commerce and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority of Foreign Trade Majid Al-Qasabi addresses the forum on Sunday. (SPA)

The Saudi-French Business Forum opened in Riyadh on Sunday, hosted by Saudi Minister of Commerce and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority of Foreign Trade Majid Al-Qasabi and French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness Nicolas Forissier.

Al-Qasabi highlighted the Kingdom’s commitment to fostering relations and partnerships with France based on mutual respect, as well as strengthening trade cooperation and expanding joint economic opportunities.

The forum brought together over 230 leading Saudi and French companies to develop trade partnerships in areas such as smart cities, sports, culture, and advanced technology.

Trade volume between the two countries reached approximately $48 billion, with Saudi exports primarily in boilers, machinery, appliances, mechanical tools, and aircraft and spacecraft.

French exports to Saudi Arabia included boilers, machinery, appliances, mechanical tools, and pharmaceutical products.

Trade between the two nations grew at an average rate of 15.37% from 2020 to 2024.

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Erdogan Hails 2.6 bln Euro Jet Deal with Spain

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain June 30, 2022. (Reuters)
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain June 30, 2022. (Reuters)
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Erdogan Hails 2.6 bln Euro Jet Deal with Spain

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain June 30, 2022. (Reuters)
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain June 30, 2022. (Reuters)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday welcomed an agreement under which Spain will procure Turkish-made HURJET training aircraft, describing it as evidence of Türkiye's "pioneering role" in defense and aviation industry.

Under the deal, signed this week, the Spanish Air Force will acquire 30 HURJET aircraft from Türkiye in a contract valued at around 2.6 billion euros, according to Turkish officials.

Speaking at an event in Istanbul, Erdogan said Türkiye had become a globally recognized player in the defense and aviation sectors.

"Most recently, the agreement we concluded with Spain has confirmed our country's pioneering role in this field," Erdogan said.

He added that the inclusion of HURJET in the inventory of a European Union and NATO member state would further expand Türkiye's opportunities in the coming years.

On Tuesday, Haluk Gorgun, head of Türkiye's defense industry agency, described the agreement as more than a simple aircraft sale.

"This is not merely a training aircraft deal," Gorgun said. "It is a comprehensive package that includes ground systems, simulation systems, maintenance and sustainment services, as well as a cooperation model."

He added that the agreement underscored the deepening of defense industry and high-technology cooperation between Türkiye and Spain, noting that the aircraft configuration would be updated over time to meet Spain's specific operational requirements.

Türkiye has steadily expanded its defense exports in recent years, including drones that have been sold to multiple countries.

Erdogan said Türkiye's defense exports, which stood at $248 million in 2002, had increased nearly 40 fold to reach $9.8 billion in 2025.

Business

Venezuela's Oil Facilities Unscathed in US Strike

The logo of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA is seen on a fuel tank truck, in Caracas, Venezuela May 14, 2025. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
The logo of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA is seen on a fuel tank truck, in Caracas, Venezuela May 14, 2025. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
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Venezuela's Oil Facilities Unscathed in US Strike

The logo of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA is seen on a fuel tank truck, in Caracas, Venezuela May 14, 2025. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
The logo of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA is seen on a fuel tank truck, in Caracas, Venezuela May 14, 2025. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria

Venezuela's state-run oil production and refining were operating normally on Saturday ​and suffered no damage from a US strike to extract the country's president, two sources with knowledge of the operations of energy company PDVSA said.

US forces captured President Nicolas Maduro, US President Donald Trump said, after months of pressuring ‌him over accusations ‌of drug-running and illegitimacy ‌in ⁠power.

The ​port ‌of La Guaira near Caracas, one of the country's largest but one not used for oil exports, was reported to have suffered severe damage, one of the sources said.

Trump in December announced a blockade ⁠of oil tankers entering or leaving the country and ‌the US seized two ‍cargoes of Venezuelan oil.

That ‍lowered the OPEC country's exports last ‍month to about half of the 950,000 barrels per day (bpd) it shipped in November, according to monitoring data and internal documents.

The US measures ​prompted many vessel owners to divert away from Venezuelan waters, which has ⁠rapidly increased PDVSA's inventories of crude and fuel.

PDVSA has been forced to slow down deliveries at ports and store oil on tankers to avoid crude output or refining cut-backs.

PDVSA's administrative system also has not fully recovered from a cyberattack in December that forced it to isolate terminals, oilfields and refineries from its central system and to ‌resort to written records to continue operations.

Business

Türkiye's 2025 Exports Hit Record $273.4 billion, up 4.5% y/y, Says Erdogan

A Turkish flag is pictured on a boat in Istanbul, Türkiye, June 25, 2018. (Reuters)
A Turkish flag is pictured on a boat in Istanbul, Türkiye, June 25, 2018. (Reuters)
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Türkiye's 2025 Exports Hit Record $273.4 billion, up 4.5% y/y, Says Erdogan

A Turkish flag is pictured on a boat in Istanbul, Türkiye, June 25, 2018. (Reuters)
A Turkish flag is pictured on a boat in Istanbul, Türkiye, June 25, 2018. (Reuters)

Türkiye's ​exports hit a record high $273.4 billion in 2025, ‌up ‌4.5% ‌from ⁠a ​year ‌earlier, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

Erdogan, ⁠speaking ‌at an ‍event ‍at ‍the Istanbul Congress Center, said combined ​goods and services exports ⁠were estimated to have reached $396.5 billion last year.