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Saudi Arabia Launches 4th Industrial Revolution Center in Partnership with WEF

Saudi Arabia inaugurated the 4th Industrial Revolution Center in partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Saudi Arabia inaugurated the 4th Industrial Revolution Center in partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF).
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Saudi Arabia Launches 4th Industrial Revolution Center in Partnership with WEF

Saudi Arabia inaugurated the 4th Industrial Revolution Center in partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Saudi Arabia inaugurated the 4th Industrial Revolution Center in partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Saudi Arabia inaugurated on Wednesday the 4th Industrial Revolution Center in partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Chairman of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) Abdullah al-Sawahah announced the new center on the sidelines of the first Saudi Forum for the 4th Industrial Revolution.

The inaugural session was attended by WEF founder and Executive Chairman Professor Klaus Schwab, several ministers and senior officials and prominent Saudi and international speakers.

The forum is an extension of the support for development and innovation in Saudi Arabia by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.

Al-Sawahah said the forum offers an opportunity to combine talent and technology to present organizations that stimulate innovation.

He highlighted the importance of meeting thinkers and actors, such as representatives of governments, non-governmental institutions, and business leaders, in supporting this initiative.

Schwab congratulated the Kingdom for inaugurating the 4th Industrial Revolution Center that aims to harness new technologies with the best principles of flexible governance, which need government, business and civil society to make technology a force for good and ensure that the society benefits from it.

KACST President Dr. Munir bin Mahmoud El-Desouki said: “Our country needs cooperation and coordination of efforts in the public, private and non-profit sectors and open channels of dialogue to raise awareness about the Fourth Industrial Revolution and identify potential risks.”

“The Kingdom has a solid economic base to build on, through recent reforms to the governance model and the creation of new entities, such as the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, the Cybersecurity Authority, the Digital Government Authority, and the Research, Development, and Innovation Development Authority,” he added.

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Oil Dips as Economic Concerns, Supply and Demand Expectations Weigh

A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
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Oil Dips as Economic Concerns, Supply and Demand Expectations Weigh

A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

Oil prices slipped on Thursday after surging in the previous session on a larger-than-expected draw in US gasoline stocks, as markets weighed macroeconomic concerns and demand versus supply expectations. Brent futures were down 30 cents to $70.65 a barrel at 1140 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 31 cents to $67.37 a barrel.

Both benchmarks rallied about 2% on Wednesday after US government data showed tighter-than-expected oil and fuel inventories.

US gasoline inventories fell by 5.7 million barrels, more than the 1.9 million-barrel draw expected by analysts, while distillate stocks also dropped more than anticipated, despite gains in crude stocks, Reuters reported.

"Declining US gasoline inventories raised expectations for a seasonal demand increase in spring, but concerns about the global economic impact of tariff wars weighed on the market," said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist at Nissan Securities Investment.

"With strong and weak factors progressing simultaneously, it has become difficult for the market to lean decisively in one direction or the other," he added. US President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to escalate a global trade war with further tariffs on European Union goods, as major US trading partners said they would retaliate for trade barriers already erected by the US president.

Trump's focus on tariffs has rattled investors, consumers and business confidence, and raised US recession fears. With the US president's stated commitment to cheaper oil, Citi analysts said their outlook for Brent by the second half of 2025 is $60 a barrel.

Global oil supply could

exceed demand

by around 600,000 barrels per day this year, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday, revising down its 2025 demand growth forecast. Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said on Wednesday that Kazakhstan led a sizeable jump in February crude output by the wider OPEC+, highlighting a challenge for the producer group in enforcing adherence to agreed output targets, even as it intends to unwind production cuts.

Worries about flagging jet fuel demand weighed further on markets, with JP Morgan analysts saying that US Transportation Security Administration data showed "passenger volumes for March have decreased by 5% year-over-year, following stagnant traffic in February".

However, recent firm global demand numbers limited overall market weakness.

"As of March 11, global oil demand averaged 102.2 million barrels per day, expanding 1.7 million barrels per day year-over-year and exceeding our projected increase for the month by 60,000 barrels per day," the JP Morgan analysts added.