Arab Countries Urge Saudi Industry to Meet their Needs

Arab countries urge Saudi factories to more effectively contribute to the production of vital commodities during pandemic
Arab countries urge Saudi factories to more effectively contribute to the production of vital commodities during pandemic
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Arab Countries Urge Saudi Industry to Meet their Needs

Arab countries urge Saudi factories to more effectively contribute to the production of vital commodities during pandemic
Arab countries urge Saudi factories to more effectively contribute to the production of vital commodities during pandemic

Arab countries have urged Saudi factories to more effectively contribute to the production of vital commodities necessary for exports to the Arab world.

This appeal comes as the coronavirus pandemic has had a largescale economic impact.

The Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC) called on operating companies to meet the needs of Arab states in food and medical products.

In April, the Arab Industrial Development and Mining Organization (AIDMO) launched an interactive platform on offers of Arab industrial products that would serve as a commercial knowledge base.

This platform is aimed at supporting and coordinating efforts of Arab member states to face the impact of the pandemic on Arab industry.

The CSC requested the data of companies and institutions that have a production capacity to meet the needs of the Arab world.

The platform will be updated on a regular basis in line with regional and international developments in order to monitor the implications of the pandemic on the industrial sector.

The Chambers of Commerce and Industry across the Kingdom have directed factories, plants and companies to benefit from the platform.

The Organization stressed that the pandemic represents one of the major challenges facing Arab states, mainly in the import and export of commodities necessary to confront the disease and meet basic food needs.

The e-platform includes requests and offers available on official websites to meet the needs of Arab countries in food, health and medical goods.

It also suggests to some Arab companies and factories that have the necessary production capabilities to meet those needs.

Interested government agencies and private sector institutions can contribute to the platform by registering data and submitting requests and offers.



Trump Taps Scott Bessent for Treasury

(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
TT

Trump Taps Scott Bessent for Treasury

(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

President-elect Donald Trump on Friday said he will nominate prominent investor Scott Bessent as US Treasury secretary, a key cabinet position with vast influence over economic, regulatory and international affairs.

"I am most pleased to nominate Scott Bessent to serve as the 79th Secretary of the Treasury of the United States," Trump said in a statement released on Truth Social. "Scott is widely respected as one of the world's foremost international investors and geopolitical and economic strategists."

Wall Street has been closely watching who Trump will pick, especially given his plans to remake global trade through tariffs and extend and potentially expand the raft of tax cuts enacted during his first term, Reuters reported
The choice came after days of deliberations by Trump as he sorted through a shifting list of candidates. Bessent spent day after day at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida providing economic advice, sources said, a proximity to the president-elect that may have helped him prevail.
Other names that had been floated included Apollo Global Management Chief Executive Marc Rowan and former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh. Investor John Paulson had also been a leading candidate, but dropped out, while Wall Street veteran Howard Lutnick, another contender, was appointed as head of the Commerce Department.
Bessent, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, has advocated for tax reform and deregulation, particularly to spur more bank lending and energy production, as noted in a recent opinion piece he wrote for The Wall Street Journal.
The market's surge after Trump's election victory, he wrote, signaled investor expectations of "higher growth, lower volatility and inflation, and a revitalized economy for all Americans."
"Bessent has been on the side of less aggressive tariffs," said Oxford Economics' Ryan Sweet, adding that picking him makes the steep tariffs Trump proposed on the campaign trail less likely.
Bessent follows other financial luminaries who have taken the job, including former Goldman Sachs executives Robert Rubin, Hank Paulson and Steven Mnuchin, Trump's first Treasury chief. Janet Yellen, the current secretary and first woman in the job, previously chaired the Federal Reserve and White House Council of Economic Advisers.
Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina, Bessent's home state, said in a statement: "President Trump's economic agenda is in good hands with Scott Bessent. I look forward to working closely with Scott and President Trump to lower inflation and create the golden age of prosperity for the American people."