French Program to Support Industrial Transformation in Saudi Arabia

 Business France launches in Riyadh a program to support industrial transformation within NIDLP (SPA)
Business France launches in Riyadh a program to support industrial transformation within NIDLP (SPA)
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French Program to Support Industrial Transformation in Saudi Arabia

 Business France launches in Riyadh a program to support industrial transformation within NIDLP (SPA)
Business France launches in Riyadh a program to support industrial transformation within NIDLP (SPA)

Business France, a French government agency concerned with international development, launched on Monday in Riyadh the first edition of a program to support industrial transformation in Saudi Arabia. The program was launched in cooperation with Saudi Arabia’s National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP).

The program, which offers an expanded package dedicated to innovative French companies that are keen to become a major player in Saudi Arabia’s national transformation plan, Vision 2030, includes companies that aim to support the Saudi industrial revolution.

Saudi Arabia’s industrial strategy looks to triple manufacturing GDP by 2030.

NIDLP CEO Suliman Almazroua voiced excitement to maintain and develop bilateral cooperation with Business France, noting that the Kingdom is witnessing a rapid transformation since the launch of Vision 2030.

Almazroua pointed out that the transformation opens the doors of the Kingdom to the international community to achieve the ambitious goals that affect the future of Saudi Arabia.

He noted that transformation will be reflected in the promotion of both domestic and international economic growth.

For his part, Abdulrahman Baeshen, head of Al-Shorouk Center for Economic Studies in Jazan, Saudi Arabia, stressed the importance of strengthening Saudi-French cooperation in terms of transferring expertise and technology industries, especially since France leads European countries in terms of its attractiveness to foreign investments.

Baeshen explained that France has a large share of attracting international projects and industrial investments at the level of European countries, which gives it an industrial advantage and an innovative technical and research superiority.



Iraq’s Government Orders Kurdistan Region to Immediately Transfer Oil Production to SOMO

The Iraqi Council of Ministers headed by Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani (INA)
The Iraqi Council of Ministers headed by Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani (INA)
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Iraq’s Government Orders Kurdistan Region to Immediately Transfer Oil Production to SOMO

The Iraqi Council of Ministers headed by Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani (INA)
The Iraqi Council of Ministers headed by Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani (INA)

The Iraqi government announced on Tuesday that it has ordered the Kurdistan region to immediately transfer its oil production to Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO). The Iraqi cabinet also approved a budgetary measure to reimburse the Kurdish government for production and transportation costs, setting a rate of $16 per barrel for foreign oil companies operating in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Türkiye had halted oil flows through the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) pipeline in March 2023 after the International Chamber of Commerce ordered Ankara to pay $1.5 billion in compensation to Baghdad. This was due to unauthorized oil exports by the KRG between 2014 and 2018. The arbitration ruling concluded that Ankara had violated the 1973 treaty by enabling oil exports from the region without the Iraqi federal government’s approval.

Efforts to reopen the pipeline have been stalled by competing demands from the KRG, foreign oil companies, and the Iraqi federal government. According to a cabinet statement, Iraq’s Ministry of Oil, in coordination with the Kurdistan Ministry of Natural Resources, will appoint an international technical advisor to determine fair production and transport costs for each oil field within 60 days of the law’s implementation. If no agreement is reached within that period, the Iraqi cabinet will select an international advisory body independently of Kurdish authorities.

Iraq has attributed the delay in resuming crude exports to foreign companies and Kurdish authorities, stating that these entities have not yet submitted their contracts to the Iraqi Oil Ministry for review. Additionally, foreign companies have demanded higher production costs, a request the Iraqi government has rejected.