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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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Turkish Central Bank Total Reserves Fell Nearly $6 Bln Last Week, Bankers Say 

People walk with the Suleymaniye Mosque in the background ahead of the holy month of Ramadan in Istanbul, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP)
People walk with the Suleymaniye Mosque in the background ahead of the holy month of Ramadan in Istanbul, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP)
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Turkish Central Bank Total Reserves Fell Nearly $6 Bln Last Week, Bankers Say 

People walk with the Suleymaniye Mosque in the background ahead of the holy month of Ramadan in Istanbul, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP)
People walk with the Suleymaniye Mosque in the background ahead of the holy month of Ramadan in Istanbul, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP)

The Turkish Central Bank's total reserves are expected to have decreased by around $5.8 billion last week to $206 billion, due to a eurobond redemption, bankers ‌said.

Three bankers ‌consulted by ‌Reuters ⁠calculated that net reserves ⁠decreased by $7 billion to $89 billion in the week ending February 20.

Bankers estimated that ⁠an increase in ‌gold ‌prices in the week ‌to February 20 ‌had an upward impact of around $1 billion on reserves. According to ‌the calculations, the central bank sold $3 ⁠billion ⁠in the market last week.

The reserve calculations are based on preliminary data from the central bank. Official data will be released on Thursday.

Business

Despite Drop in 2025, Russian Oil Exports Exceed Pre-war Volumes

Russia relies on a shadow fleet of tankers to get past Western restrictions on its oil exports. Damien MEYER / AFP/File
Russia relies on a shadow fleet of tankers to get past Western restrictions on its oil exports. Damien MEYER / AFP/File
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Despite Drop in 2025, Russian Oil Exports Exceed Pre-war Volumes

Russia relies on a shadow fleet of tankers to get past Western restrictions on its oil exports. Damien MEYER / AFP/File
Russia relies on a shadow fleet of tankers to get past Western restrictions on its oil exports. Damien MEYER / AFP/File

While Russian oil exports dropped last year, Russia is still exporting higher volumes than before its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, researchers said Tuesday, calling for stricter sanctions enforcement.

The volume of Russian crude oil exports remained six percent above pre-invasion levels in the fourth year of the war, despite Western sanctions aimed at curbing Russia's "shadow fleet," according to a report by Finnish think tank Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

Russia's shadow fleet consists of ageing tankers, with often opaque ownership, used to circumvent sanctions imposed by the European Union, the United States and the G7 group of nations.

However, oil revenues, which are fueling Moscow's war chest, have dropped below pre-invasion levels, as Russia has been forced to adopt price discounts, the report said.

"We've seen a significant drop in Russian fossil fuel export earnings as a result of new measures and greater enforcement," Isaac Levi, a CREA analyst and co-author of the report, told AFP.

But he added that "there are still significant loopholes and areas that have been unaddressed by sanctioning countries", allowing volumes to remain high.

Loopholes include the false flagging of ships but also the issue of re-exportation of refined fuels made from Russian crude oil to sanctioning countries.

"We propose a ban of imports from any refinery or storage terminal that has received a shipment of Russian oil in the previous six months," Levi said.

- Crude to China, India, Türkiye-

Russian revenues from crude oil exports -- one of Russia's main exports -- decreased by 18 percent to 85.5 billion euros in the 12 months leading up to February 24, compared to the year before, according to the report.

Meanwhile volumes fell by six percent to 215 million tons, for the same period, according to the report.

Ninety-three percent of Russian crude was exported to China, India and Türkiye.

The report urged the EU and UK to "detain Russian shadow fleet vessels that pose huge environmental and security threats to European and UK coastlines".

The European Union lists 598 vessels suspected of being part of the "shadow fleet" that are banned from European ports and maritime services.

It also called for an end to Hungary's and Slovakia's continued imports of Russian crude oil.

The two countries, which were exempted from EU sanctions on Russian oil imports, imported 11 percent more Russian crude oil in the first 10 months of 2025 compared to the same period a year earlier, the report stated.

Business

European Oil and Gas Stocks Hit Record High, Surpassing 2007 Level

The chimneys of the Total Grandpuits oil refinery are seen just after sunset, southeast of Paris, France, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann
The chimneys of the Total Grandpuits oil refinery are seen just after sunset, southeast of Paris, France, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann
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European Oil and Gas Stocks Hit Record High, Surpassing 2007 Level

The chimneys of the Total Grandpuits oil refinery are seen just after sunset, southeast of Paris, France, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann
The chimneys of the Total Grandpuits oil refinery are seen just after sunset, southeast of Paris, France, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

The European oil and gas stocks index hit a record high on Monday, surpassing a previous record hit in 2007, helped in recent weeks by a rise in the price of oil, Reuters reported.

At 1450 in London the basket was up 1.5%. Oil and gas names have added 17% year-to-date versus a 6.5% rise for the pan-European STOXX 600 index.

Brent rose as high as $72.44 a barrel on Monday a six month high. It has risen nearly 19% so far in 2026 as investors worry about US military action in Iran.