Latest World News: Interviews

Microsoft Saudi Head Affirms Kingdom Entering AI Execution Phase

Interviews Saudi Arabia shifts from AI pilots to live deployment in key sectors (Shutterstock)

Microsoft Saudi Head Affirms Kingdom Entering AI Execution Phase

Riyadh’s hosting of the Microsoft AI Tour this week delivered a headline with concrete weight: customers will be able to run cloud workloads from a local Azure…

Nassim Ramadan (Riyadh)
Interviews Guido Crosetto said Rome and Riyadh are working to support the success of the ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran (Italian Ministry of Defense).

Italian Defense Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Relations with Saudi Arabia at an Unprecedented Strategic Strength

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said relations between Rome and Riyadh have reached an unprecedented level of strategic strength, noting that the two…

Abdulhadi Habtor (Riyadh)
Interviews Sheikh Amr bin Habrish, First Deputy Governor of Hadhramaut (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Bin Habrish to Asharq Al-Awsat: Hadhramaut on Threshold of New Era

After nearly 500 days spent in the mountains and highlands, Sheikh Amr bin Habrish, First Deputy Governor of Hadhramaut and commander of the Hadhramaut…

Abdulhadi Habtor (Yemen)
Interviews President of Madagascar Michael Randrianirina (Presidency)

President of Madagascar to Asharq Al-Awsat: Three-Pillar Economic Plan to Revive the Country

President of Madagascar Michael Randrianirina said his country views Saudi Arabia as its “main partner” in the phase of “refoundation” and in building a new…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
Interviews Naim Yazbeck, President of Microsoft for the Middle East and Africa (Microsoft) 

Microsoft President: Saudi Arabia is Moving from Exporting Oil to Exporting Artificial Intelligence

As Saudi Arabia accelerates its national transformation under Vision 2030, the region’s technology landscape is undergoing a decisive shift. For the first time…

Nassim Ramadan (London)

Interviews AstraZeneca’s Chief Executive Officer, Sir Pascal Soriot

AstraZeneca’s CEO on Covid: ‘We Just Have to Adjust to it’

AstraZeneca’s Chief Executive Officer, Sir Pascal Soriot, told Asharq Al-Awsat in an interview that Covid-19 is not over “and we just have to adjust to it like…

Ibrahim Hamidi (London)
Interviews  Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak (PHOTO CREDIT: Nawaf al-Mutairi)

Yemeni FM: Houthi Officials Involved in Crimes Blacklisted...Peace Is Their Enemy

The Yemeni government is preparing to blacklist several Houthi leaders and entities in implementation of its decision to classify the Iran-backed militia as a…

Badr Al-Qahtani (London)
Interviews UNHCR Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Mohammed Abdi Affey speaks with Asharq Al-Awsat in the interview (Saad al-Anzi)

UN Envoy Warns Against Return of War in Ethiopia

UNHCR Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Mohammed Abdi Affey has warned the Ethiopian parties against a return to fighting between the government and the…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
Interviews ENGIE CEO Catherine MacGregor (Asharq Al-Awsat)

ENGIE: We Are Working with Saudi Arabia to Transition to Carbon-Neutral Economy

ENGIE CEO Catherine MacGregor affirmed that her company’s work in Saudi Arabia aligns with the Kingdom’s national transformation plan, Vision 2030, and its…

Mosaed al-Zayani (Riyadh)
Interviews Simon Penney, the British Trade Commissioner (HTMC) for the Middle East and Pakistan.

British Trade Commissioner: Saudi Arabia is the Largest Destination of UK Exports in the Region

Simon Penney, the British Trade Commissioner (HTMC) for the Middle East and Pakistan, said Saudi-British efforts were underway to increase and maximize…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
Interviews  Spanish Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Jorge Hevia Sierra (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Riyadh, Madrid to Develop Economic Cooperation, Military Industries

Spanish Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Jorge Hevia Sierra said that his country was seeking to strengthen its strategic partnership with Riyadh, noting that a…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
Interviews The president of the Lebanese American University in Beirut (LAU), Dr. Michel Mawad.

Michel Mawad: Lebanon’s Education Sector to Witness Five Lean Years

The president of the Lebanese American University in Beirut (LAU), Dr. Michel Mawad, said that the education sector in the country would witness five lean…

Thaer Abbas (Beirut)
Interviews South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Salva Kiir to Asharq Al-Awsat: Juba Agreement Did Not Fail, But It Lacks Funding

The Juba Agreement for Peace in Sudan, also known as the Juba Agreement, has succeeded in stopping the war, stressed South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
Interviews Democratic Union Party Co-Chairman Salih Muslim (REUTERS)

Salih Muslim: Divorce Is Inevitable Between the Syrian Regime, Türkiye

Salih Muslim, the co-chairman of the Democratic Union Party, the main party of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, has rejected the PYD…

Kamal Sheikho (Qamishli)
Interviews US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea (L) presents a letter to Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) during their meeting at Berri's house in Beirut, Lebanon, 01 October 2022. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: US Draft Proposal on Maritime Deal is ‘Positive’

US mediator Amos Hochstein has presented a written proposal for maritime boundary demarcation between Lebanon and Israel that establishes a qualitative…

Thaer Abbas (Beirut)
Interviews Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein during his interview. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Iraqi FM to Asharq Al-Awsat: We Are Mediating Between Washington, Tehran

The Iraqi government is playing a role in “bringing opposites together and creating a situation that promotes dialogue” among neighboring countries, especially…

Interviews Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party politburo official Ahmed Sulaiman. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Kurdish Progressive Party to Asharq Al-Awsat: Damascus’ Opting for Military Solution Led to Foreign Meddling

The Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party, one of Syria’s oldest Kurdish parties, believes that efforts to normalize relations between the Damascus regime and…

Kamal Sheikho (Qamishli)
Interviews Member of the Central Council of Sudan’s Alliance for Freedom and Change, Yasir Arman (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Yasir Arman to Asharq Al-Awsat: The Sudanese Brotherhood is Close to Regaining Power

Member of the Central Council of Sudan’s Alliance for Freedom and Change, Yasir Arman, warned against the return of the Sudanese Brotherhood to power. Arman…

Ahmed Younes (Khartoum)
Interviews Gemayel speaks during an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat.

Sami Gemayel: We Refuse to Be Held Hostage by Hezbollah

The head of the Lebanese Kataeb Party, Sami Gemayel, warned against some opposition parties resorting to a settlement with Hezbollah in the upcoming…

Thaer Abbas (Beirut)
Interviews  Foreign Minister of Singapore Vivian Balakrishnan

Singapore’s Foreign Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Russian-Ukrainian Crisis Threatens World Order

Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said that the Russian attack on Ukraine was a “great threat to the world order,” warning at the same time…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
Interviews Williams Calls for ‘Historic Compromises’ in Libya

Williams Calls for ‘Historic Compromises’ in Libya

The UN Secretary-General's former Special Advisor on Libya, Stephanie Williams, has urged Libya’s High Council of State and the House of Representatives to…

Ibrahim Hamidi (London)
Interviews Abdullah al-Senussi seen in court. (Reuters file photo)

Senussi’s Tribe to Asharq Al-Awsat: We Don’t Know if He’s Dead or Alive

Libya’s Magarha tribe stressed that it does not know the fate of its son, Abdullah al-Senussi, former chief of intelligence in the regime of ousted ruler…

Jamal Jawhar (Cairo)
Interviews Greek Minister of Development and Investment Adonis Giorgiadis (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Greek Development Minister: Cooperation between Riyadh, Athens Has No Limits

A high-ranking Greek official said that the visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Greece would establish a strategic partnership between the two…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
Interviews Vice-President of the Indonesian People’s Consultative Council Dr. Muhammad Hidayat Nur (Photo: Saad al-Dossary)

Saudi-Indonesian Talks for Cooperation in Military Industries, Employment

Dr. Muhammad Hidayat Nur, Vice-President of the Indonesian People’s Consultative Council, said that talks were underway between Riyadh and Jakarta to find a…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
Interviews The UNDP’s Resident Representative in Kabul, Afghanistan, Abdullah Dardari (Asharq Al-Awsat)

UNDP Official in Afghanistan to Asharq Al-Awsat: Taliban, ISIS Locked in Brutal War

The UNDP’s Resident Representative in Kabul, Afghanistan, Abdullah Dardari, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the political dialogue between the international body and…

Ibrahim Hamidi (London)
Interviews Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Yemen FM: Biden's Visit Presents Opportunity to Achieve Consensus on Yemen Crisis

Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak considered the upcoming visit of US President Joe Biden to Saudi Arabia an opportunity to achieve regional and…

Abdulhadi Habtor (Riyadh)
Interviews Jim E Risch, US Senator for Idaho

Senator Risch to Asharq Al-Awsat: Biden Should Strengthen Partnerships to Confront Iranian Threats

Prominent US congress members have welcomed President Joe Biden’s trip to the Middle East. Wide criticism leveled against the Biden administration for its…

Rana Abtar (Washington)
Interviews The head of the Libyan elders’ national reconciliation council, Sheikh Mohammed Al-Mubasher (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Al-Mubasher: Foreign Initiatives Are Doomed to Fail Unless Imposed on Libyans by Force

The head of the Libyan elders’ national reconciliation council, Sheikh Mohammed Al-Mubasher, has called on the parties to the political conflict to make…

Jamal Jawhar (Cairo)
Interviews Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths

Griffiths to Asharq Al-Awsat: Climate, Conflict and Cost-of-living Threaten World’s Poorest

Asharq Al-Awsat has asked Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths about the three biggest threats…

Badr Al-Qahtani (London)