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Saudi Arabia Advances 10 Ranks Internationally in Gender Pay Gap

The Saudi government has enacted many laws to improve the labor market and enhance women’s participation in various sectors. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi government has enacted many laws to improve the labor market and enhance women’s participation in various sectors. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Advances 10 Ranks Internationally in Gender Pay Gap

The Saudi government has enacted many laws to improve the labor market and enhance women’s participation in various sectors. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi government has enacted many laws to improve the labor market and enhance women’s participation in various sectors. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia has achieved remarkable progress in the fields of training and gender balance in the labor market, after it approved several regulations and legislation for the development of human capabilities and women empowerment.

Last year, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman launched the Human Capacity Development Program, within the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which constitutes a national strategy aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of national capabilities at the local and global levels.

Pointing to the global report on the gender gap, which was recently issued by the World Economic Forum, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) said that Saudi Arabia advanced 10 places in the index of equal wages for similar work for both genders, to achieve the 16th place worldwide, and 12 places in terms of the percentage of women’s participation in the labor force.

With regard to training, the Kingdom jumped 22 ranks in the employee training index to achieve the 14th place globally, and 12 ranks in vocational training, to occupy the 9th rank in this indicator, according to the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY).

The Saudi Council of Ministers has recently approved the adoption of the national policy to encourage equal opportunities and equal treatment in employment, which aims to eliminate any discrimination in this field.

The percentage of women’s participation in the local labor market during the past year reached 37 percent, exceeding the target of 30 percent, which was set within Vision 2030.

The MHRSD recently announced that the percentage of commitment to the new decisions and regulations by establishments operating in the labor market reached 98 percent, while the percentage of commitment to wage protection reached 80 percent. The rate of the amicable settlement of labor disputes rose to 74 percent.

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Business

Iraq Signs Deal with Oil Services Giant Halliburton

This picture shows the Nahr Bin Omar oil field and facility in Iraq's southern port city of Basra on June 14, 2024. (AFP)
This picture shows the Nahr Bin Omar oil field and facility in Iraq's southern port city of Basra on June 14, 2024. (AFP)
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Iraq Signs Deal with Oil Services Giant Halliburton

This picture shows the Nahr Bin Omar oil field and facility in Iraq's southern port city of Basra on June 14, 2024. (AFP)
This picture shows the Nahr Bin Omar oil field and facility in Iraq's southern port city of Basra on June 14, 2024. (AFP)

Iraq's government and US oil services giant Halliburton signed a deal Sunday to manage two oil fields in the country's south, as Baghdad looks to boost production.

The state-owned "Basra Oil Company has signed a joint management contract with the American company Halliburton for the Bin Omar and Sinbad oil fields" in Basra province, said the Iraqi oil ministry's media office.

Iraqi Oil Minister Bassem Khodeir said the deal with Halliburton aligns with the government's plans to "boost oil and gas production capacity".

He added that Iraq aims to boost oil output at the Bin Omar field by 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) within five years, along with 300 million cubic feet of associated gas.

Production at the Sinbad oil field should increase by 80,000 to 100,000 bpd.

Baghdad's new government led by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has urged the OPEC oil cartel to increase Iraq's oil production quota, taking into account the damage done to its industry from past conflicts and the recent Middle East war.

Like other oil producers, Iraq, a founding member of OPEC, was greatly affected by the US-Iran conflict, as it is hugely dependent on oil exports, which make up about 90 percent of its budget revenues.

The new contract with Halliburton was signed prior to al-Zaidi's upcoming visit to Washington later this month.

Al-Zaidi, who only recently took office with the blessing of the United States, hopes to attract more US investment to Iraq, which urgently needs to revive its economy, especially after revenue losses caused by the halt of oil exports during the Middle East war.

Business

OPEC+ Approves Further Oil Output Increase

The logo of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is seen at its headquarters in Vienna on June 3, 2023. (AFP)
The logo of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is seen at its headquarters in Vienna on June 3, 2023. (AFP)
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OPEC+ Approves Further Oil Output Increase

The logo of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is seen at its headquarters in Vienna on June 3, 2023. (AFP)
The logo of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is seen at its headquarters in Vienna on June 3, 2023. (AFP)

OPEC+ has agreed a further increase in output targets from August, the group said in a statement on Sunday, adding to global supply at a time when oil prices are falling due to the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz for oil exports.

The oil-producing group agreed during an online meeting to increase quotas by 188,000 barrels per day from August, on top of similar increases for June and July.

The seven core members of OPEC+, which groups OPEC and allied producers including Russia, have hiked their output quotas from April through July by almost ‌800,000 bpd.

OPEC+ output fell to 33.13 million bpd in May, according to OPEC data, from 42.77 million bpd in February.

Despite persisting supply disruptions, oil prices have returned to pre-war levels, pressured by lower Chinese imports, higher exports from ⁠non-Middle East producers, and a record global strategic stock release coordinated by ‌the International Energy Agency.

"The group of seven kept unwinding their ‌production cuts as widely expected," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said. "The near-term focus will remain on how many tankers will ‌manage to cross the Strait of Hormuz and how quickly demand and Chinese crude imports recover."

A ‌memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran to end the war has also helped convince traders that supply will ultimately return to normal levels.

Brent crude prices traded near $72 per barrel on Friday, down from recent peaks of more than $120 per barrel and back to levels traded just before the US ‌and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.

Those seven producers — Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan and Oman — are boosting output as part of the phased rollback of a 1.65 million bpd supply cut agreed in 2023, when the group still included the UAE.

Business

Saudi Tourism Gains Momentum in Q1 as Licenses Rise and Workforce Nears One Million

A view of a tourist resort in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
A view of a tourist resort in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
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Saudi Tourism Gains Momentum in Q1 as Licenses Rise and Workforce Nears One Million

A view of a tourist resort in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
A view of a tourist resort in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)

The tourism and hospitality sector in Saudi Arabia showed strong operational dynamism and institutional expansion in the first quarter of 2026, according to official data from Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Statistics. Despite the freedom demonstrated in daily price levels and occupancy rates, the sector's regulatory environment saw extraordinary growth in licenses and an influx of both national and expatriate workers.

Indicators confirmed an increase in the total number of licensed tourism hospitality facilities in the Kingdom during Q1 2026 by 22.7 percent, reaching 6,122 facilities compared to 4,988 in the same quarter of 2025. Serviced apartments and other hospitality facilities accounted for the largest share, at 51.6 percent of the total, with 3,159, while the number of licensed hotels reached 2,963.

This facility expansion was paralleled by an increase in the number of establishments; the number of tourism establishments with employees in the Kingdom reached approximately 177,031 during Q1 2026, marking a 9.0 percent growth compared to the corresponding quarter of last year, which then recorded 162,473 establishments.

The total number of people employed in tourism activities saw a 6.5 percent year-on-year jump, increasing the sector's workforce to 1,047,313 employees compared to 983,253 in the same period of 2025.

According to the data, the number of Saudi employees in tourism activities reached 250,094, representing 23.9 percent of the total workforce, while non-Saudis numbered 797,219.

Conversely, the room occupancy rate in hotels decreased to 60.8 percent during Q1 2026, a decline of 2.2 percentage points compared to the same quarter of 2025, which recorded 63.0 percent.

In contrast, the serviced apartments and other hospitality facilities sector showed positive growth; its occupancy rate increased by 1.0 percent to reach 51.6 percent compared to 50.7 percent in the corresponding quarter in 2025.

At the price level, the average daily rate for a hotel room recorded an 11.4 percent decrease, reaching 423 Saudi Riyals compared to 477 Riyals in Q1 2025. The average daily rate in the serviced apartments and other hospitality facilities sector also saw a slight decrease of 1.2 percent, stabilizing at 206 Saudi Riyals compared to 209 Riyals.

Despite fluctuations in prices and occupancy, the Authority's statistics revealed a tangible improvement in the average length of guest stay:

In Hotels: The average length of stay increased by 2.0 percent, reaching 4.2 nights during Q1 2026 compared to 4.1 last year.

In Serviced Apartments: The length of stay increased by 1.2 percent, reaching 2.2 nights compared to 2.1 in the same quarter of 2025.

These aggregated data, which were compiled by the General Authority for Statistics using administrative records and secondary data, reflect an important phase of structural transformation in the Kingdom's tourism sector as it strives for operational solvency and relies on long-term, quality investments.