Saudi Arabia to Allocate $100 Million for 1st Global Tourism Fund

Saudi Arabia hosts the first global summit with wide international participation to discuss the recovery of the tourism sector internationally (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Saudi Arabia hosts the first global summit with wide international participation to discuss the recovery of the tourism sector internationally (Asharq Al-Awsat).
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Saudi Arabia to Allocate $100 Million for 1st Global Tourism Fund

Saudi Arabia hosts the first global summit with wide international participation to discuss the recovery of the tourism sector internationally (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Saudi Arabia hosts the first global summit with wide international participation to discuss the recovery of the tourism sector internationally (Asharq Al-Awsat).

In partnership with the World Bank, Saudi Arabia made a pledge of USD100 million for the establishment of a global fund to support tourism, as the first international fund of its kind to stimulate the sector’s post-pandemic growth.

The announcement came during a summit launched on Wednesday in Riyadh with the participation of tourism ministers and relevant international organizations, to discuss ways to reshape the future of tourism that has collapsed with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khatib stressed that the Kingdom, through its contribution to the establishment of the International Fund for Comprehensive Tourism in cooperation with the World Bank, aims to support human capabilities to make the most of the sector for a more sustainable future, a step that promotes tourism while preserving the local environment.

Khatib underlined the importance of achieving sustainability in the sector in all areas, especially the environment, pointing to the need for sustainable financial resources by diversifying income and investment returns.

“We must rebuild tourism and make it more resilient in the face of crises, to overcome the challenges of the past 14 months, during which many jobs were lost in the sector,” the Saudi minister told the conference.

He also emphasized the importance of global exchange and coordination under the umbrella of the World Tourism Organization (WTO), calling for the development of a unified protocol to facilitate travel.

The minister said that the NEOM project is a destination that offers the world an environmentally friendly sustainable development model, as it offers a transport system free of carbon emissions. Other projects, including the Red Sea, exclusively rely on clean energy, he remarked, noting that Saudi Arabia has also adopted the Green Middle East Initiative to plant billions of trees.

Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization Zurab Pololikashvili hoped the sector would regain its health and growth.

“We are here in Riyadh with senior officials and ministers from around the world to inject many ideas and have the ability to answer many difficult questions, so that we can re-launch tourism safely,” he said.



Oil Slips as Investors Eye Trump Move on Russian Export Curbs

FILE PHOTO: An oil pump jack is seen at sunset near Midland, Texas, US, May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ernest Scheyder/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An oil pump jack is seen at sunset near Midland, Texas, US, May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ernest Scheyder/File Photo
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Oil Slips as Investors Eye Trump Move on Russian Export Curbs

FILE PHOTO: An oil pump jack is seen at sunset near Midland, Texas, US, May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ernest Scheyder/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An oil pump jack is seen at sunset near Midland, Texas, US, May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ernest Scheyder/File Photo

Oil prices fell on Monday as expectations of US President-elect Donald Trump relaxing curbs on Russia's energy sector in exchange for a deal to end the Ukraine war offset concern of supply disruption from harsher sanctions.
Brent crude futures dropped 16 cents, or 0.2%, to $80.63 a barrel by 0453 GMT after closing down 0.62% in the previous session.
The more active US West Texas Intermediate crude April contract fell 6 cents to $77.33 a barrel. The front-month contract, which expires on Tuesday, was at $78.03 a barrel, up 15 cents, or 0.19%, after settling down 1.02% on Friday.
Trump, who will be inaugurated later on Monday, is widely expected to make a flurry of policy announcements in the first hours of his second term, including an end to a moratorium on US liquefied natural gas export licences - part of a wider strategy to strengthen the economy.
"There is a fair amount of uncertainty across markets coming into this week given the inauguration of President Trump and the raft of executive orders he reportedly is planning to sign," ING analysts said in a note.
"This combined with it being a US holiday today, means that some market participants may have decided to take some risk off the table."
Both contracts gained more than 1% last week in their fourth successive weekly ascent after the Biden administration sanctioned more than 100 tankers and two Russian oil producers. That led to a scramble by top buyers China and India for prompt oil cargo and a rush for ship supply as dealers of Russian and Iranian oil sought unsanctioned tankers to ferry their load.
While the new sanctions could impact the supply of nearly 1 million barrels per day of oil from Russia, recent price gains could be short lived depending on Trump action, ANZ analysts said in a client note.
Trump has promised to help end the Russia-Ukraine war quickly, which could involve relaxing some curbs to enable an accord, they said.
Analyst Tim Evans said the new sanctions are seen curtailing supply, at least in the near term.
"Higher tanker rates on unencumbered vessels and a widening backwardation in crude oil calendar spreads have been among the notable ripple effects, reinforcing the concern over supplies," he said in his newsletter Evans on Energy.
Backwardation refers to prompt prices being higher than those in future months, indicating tight supply.
The prompt Brent monthly spread <LCOc1-LCOc2> widened in backwardation by 5 cents to $1.27 a barrel on Monday. The WTI spread <CLc1-CLc2> was at 63 cents a barrel, up 14 cents.
Easing tension in the Middle East also kept a lid on oil prices.
Hamas and Israel exchanged hostages and prisoners on Sunday that marked the first day of a ceasefire after 15 months of war.
Separately, investors are watching out for the impact from a cold snap in Texas and New Mexico which may affect US oil production, analysts at ANZ and ING said.