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Al-Swaha: 'Expo 2030' Reflects Saudi Arabia's Readiness to Play Pioneering Global Role

Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology during his meeting with the delegation of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) Enquiry Mission - (Saudi Arabia Ministry of Communications and Information Technology)
Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology during his meeting with the delegation of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) Enquiry Mission - (Saudi Arabia Ministry of Communications and Information Technology)
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Al-Swaha: 'Expo 2030' Reflects Saudi Arabia's Readiness to Play Pioneering Global Role

Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology during his meeting with the delegation of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) Enquiry Mission - (Saudi Arabia Ministry of Communications and Information Technology)
Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology during his meeting with the delegation of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) Enquiry Mission - (Saudi Arabia Ministry of Communications and Information Technology)

Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah Al-Swaha stressed that Saudi Arabia was looking forward to host the Expo 2030, affirming that it will reflect the Kingdom's readiness to play a global pioneering role.

His remarks came during his meeting with the delegation of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) Enquiry Mission, as part of their meetings to evaluate the Riyadh candidacy for Expo 2030.

Al-Swaha said the theme of Riyadh Expo 2030 "Together for a Foresighted Tomorrow” reflects Saudi Arabia’s depth of aspiration and willingness to play an active role on the global stage and to solve the most pressing challenges of this era.

"Our vision is to make Riyadh Expo 2030 a collaborative platform, to design and share the tools to create the blueprints for a better tomorrow. We also aspire for the Expo 2030 to enable foresight-led action by countries with impact at a global scale, and to offer the greatest impact and biggest possibilities to co-create the future,” state news agency SPA quoted Al-Swaha as saying.

The theme focuses on three areas of national and global interest:“A Different Tomorrow”, “Climate Action”, and “Prosperity for All”.

The BIE delegation also met with senior officials from the Public Investment Fund and NEOM, as well as Princess Haifa Al-Mogrin, Saudi Arabia’s Permanent representative to the UNESCO, Dr. Hala Al-Tuwaijri, President of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, and Dr. Eman Al-Mutairi,Vice Minister of Commerce.

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Honda and Nissan Start Merger Talks in Historic Pivot

Makoto Uchida, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation, Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President and Representative Executive Officer of Honda and Takao Kato, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, attend a joint press conference on their merger talks, in Tokyo, Japan, December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Makoto Uchida, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation, Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President and Representative Executive Officer of Honda and Takao Kato, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, attend a joint press conference on their merger talks, in Tokyo, Japan, December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
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Honda and Nissan Start Merger Talks in Historic Pivot

Makoto Uchida, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation, Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President and Representative Executive Officer of Honda and Takao Kato, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, attend a joint press conference on their merger talks, in Tokyo, Japan, December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Makoto Uchida, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation, Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President and Representative Executive Officer of Honda and Takao Kato, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, attend a joint press conference on their merger talks, in Tokyo, Japan, December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Honda and Nissan have started talks toward a potential merger, they said on Monday, a historic pivot for Japan's auto industry that underlines the threat Chinese EV makers now pose to some of the world's best known car makers, Reuters said.
The integration would create the world's third-largest auto group by vehicle sales after Toyota and Volkswagen. It would also give the two companies scale and a chance to share resources in the face of intense competition from Tesla and more nimble Chinese rivals, such as BYD.
The merger of the two storied Japanese brands - Honda is Japan's second-largest automaker and Nissan its no. 3 - would mark the biggest reshaping in the global auto industry since Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA merged in 2021 to create Stellantis in a $52 billion deal.
Smaller Mitsubishi Motors, in which Nissan is top shareholder, was also considering joining, the companies said. The chief executives of all three companies held a joint press conference in Tokyo.
"The rise of Chinese automakers and new players has changed the car industry quite a lot," Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe told the press conference.
"We have to build up capabilities to fight with them by 2030, otherwise we'll be beaten," he said.
The two companies would aim for combined sales of 30 trillion yen ($191 billion) and operating profit of more than 3 trillion yen through the potential merger, they said.
They aimed to wrap up talks around June 2025 and then set up a holding company by August 2026, at which time both companies' shares would be delisted.
Honda has a market capitalisation of more than $40 billion, while Nissan is valued at about $10 billion.
Honda will appoint the majority of the holding company's board, it said.
Combining with Mitsubishi Motors would take the Japanese group's global sales to more than 8 million cars. The current No. 3 group is South Korea's Hyundai and Kia .
Honda and Nissan have been exploring ways to bolster their partnership, including a merger, Reuters reported last week.
The two companies said in March they were considering cooperation on electrification and software development. They agreed to conduct joint research and widened the collaboration to Mitsubishi Motors in August.
Last month, Nissan announced a plan to cut 9,000 jobs and 20% of its global production capacity after sales plunged in the key China and U.S. markets. Honda also reported worse-than-expected earnings due to declining sales in China.
Like other foreign carmakers, Honda and Nissan have lost ground in the world's biggest market China to BYD and other local brands that make electric and hybrid cars loaded with innovative software.
In a separate online press conference with the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan on Monday, former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn said he did not believe the Honda-Nissan alliance would be successful, saying the two automakers were not complementary.
Ghosn is wanted as a fugitive in Japan for jumping bail and fleeing to Lebanon. His 2018 arrest for financial wrongdoing pitched Nissan into a crisis.
French automaker Renault, Nissan's largest shareholder, is open in principle to a deal and would examine all the implications of a tie-up, sources have said.
Taiwan's Foxconn, seeking to expand its nascent EV contract manufacturing business, approached Nissan about a bid but the Japanese company rejected it, sources have told Reuters.
Foxconn decided to pause the approach after it sent a delegation to meet with Renault in France, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.
Shares in Honda ended the day up 3.8%, Nissan rose 1.6% and Mitsubishi Motors gained 5.3% after the news reports on the details of the planned merger, while the benchmark Nikkei closed up 1.2%.