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Oman, Saudi Arabia Hold Joint Workshop on Digital Economy

The three-day workshop aims at strengthening cooperation, discussing joint initiatives and projects, and exchanging expertise between the two countries
The three-day workshop aims at strengthening cooperation, discussing joint initiatives and projects, and exchanging expertise between the two countries
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Oman, Saudi Arabia Hold Joint Workshop on Digital Economy

The three-day workshop aims at strengthening cooperation, discussing joint initiatives and projects, and exchanging expertise between the two countries
The three-day workshop aims at strengthening cooperation, discussing joint initiatives and projects, and exchanging expertise between the two countries

Oman and Saudi Arabia held a joint workshop on the digital economy on Monday.

The three-day workshop aims at strengthening cooperation, discussing joint initiatives and projects, and exchanging expertise between the two countries.

Dr. Ali bin Amer Al Shethani, undersecretary for Communications and Information Technology at Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, stressed in his speech the importance of the digital economy.

He further reviewed the Sultanate’s indicators and related initiatives and projects.

Dr. Ibrahim bin Mahmoud Babli, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of Saudi Arabia for Planning and Vision Realization, spoke about the importance of the workshop and the joint working sessions.

This would identify investment opportunities in the ICT sector, he added.

The two countries have made great strides to boost economic cooperation since the visit of Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tarik to the Kingdom and his meeting with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz in July.

The visit witnessed the establishment of the Saudi-Omani Coordination Council.

In August, Muscat hosted the Saudi-Omani Investment Forum and the meetings of the joint Saudi-Omani business council to introduce the investment opportunities between the two countries and to reinforce investment in various fields.

Last month also witnessed signing several MoUs to encourage joint investment between Saudi Arabia and Oman.

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Business

Oil Gains after Trump Denies He Is Willing to Ease Sanctions on Iran

The Argent Aster oil tanker passes the downtown Vancouver skyline as it travels on the harbour into port, on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Argent Aster oil tanker passes the downtown Vancouver skyline as it travels on the harbour into port, on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Oil Gains after Trump Denies He Is Willing to Ease Sanctions on Iran

The Argent Aster oil tanker passes the downtown Vancouver skyline as it travels on the harbour into port, on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Argent Aster oil tanker passes the downtown Vancouver skyline as it travels on the harbour into port, on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Oil prices rose on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump denied he would be willing to ease sanctions on Iran while Qatar pushed for peace talks, after falling in the previous session on a recovery in crude supply from the Middle East.

The Brent futures November contract, which is expiring on Wednesday, rose 71 cents, or 0.69%, to $103.30 a barrel by 0408 GMT. The more active December contract rose 35 cents to $96.51. US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 43 cents, or 0.48%, to $89.81.

Brent is ‌headed for a ‌monthly gain of around 14%, its biggest climb since July, ‌while ⁠WTI is on ⁠track for a 4% rise after having breached $106 for the first time since May.

The spread between the two benchmarks this month also expanded to its widest in four months as traders watched potential plans by the US to restrict diesel exports, which could create an oversupply in the domestic market and lead US refiners to process less crude.

US President Donald Trump is considering allowing sales of red-dyed diesel, instead of an export ban, to offer ⁠some price relief to consumers as the November midterm elections loom.

"Continued ‌uncertainty over sanctions relief and negotiations is keeping a ‌geopolitical risk premium embedded in prices," said Sugandha Sachdeva, founder of SS WealthStreet, a New Delhi-based ‌research firm.

"Improving supplies could cap further gains, but renewed disruption or an escalation in ‌tensions could trigger another rally," she added.

Qatar said on Tuesday it hopes that shuttle diplomacy between Iran and the US can lead to a breakthrough.

However, Trump denied an Axios report that cited US officials as saying he was willing to give Iran sanctions relief and release frozen Iranian ‌funds in return for "concrete" steps by Tehran on its nuclear program.

Crude oil exports from Middle East producers have rebounded in September to 16.328 million barrels per day, the highest since the US-Israeli war with Iran started in late February.

Over the past five days, the 10-day average for total oil exports has held at 20.5 million barrels per day, or 89% of 2025 levels, J.P. Morgan estimated.

In the US, crude oil and gasoline inventories rose, while distillate stocks fell last week, market sources said on Tuesday, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute.

Official inventory data from the US Energy Information Administration is due at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT). Analysts polled by Reuters expect crude and product inventories to have fallen.

Business

Saudi Minister Says AIIB Success Measured by Development Impact, Not Financing

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan at the 11th annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s Board of Governors (X)
Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan at the 11th annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s Board of Governors (X)
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Saudi Minister Says AIIB Success Measured by Development Impact, Not Financing

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan at the 11th annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s Board of Governors (X)
Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan at the 11th annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s Board of Governors (X)

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan urged the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to judge its success by the impact of its projects, saying financing volumes and approvals alone do not show whether the bank is improving services, strengthening institutions, or building economic resilience.

Speaking at the 11th annual meeting of the bank’s Board of Governors, which concluded on Tuesday in Doha, al-Jadaan said the AIIB had built strong foundations in its early years.

Progress on regional connectivity, cooperation and private-sector participation had strengthened its ability to meet member countries’ infrastructure needs, he said.

As the bank expands, progress “should not be measured by financing volumes or project approvals alone, but by development impact,” he said.

Success should mean “better infrastructure services, stronger institutions, greater economic resilience and broader private-sector participation,” al-Jadaan said, as the bank enters its second decade and seeks to expand infrastructure financing and mobilize more private capital.

He called for earlier engagement with member countries to better understand their circumstances, infrastructure gaps and priorities, and for multiyear programs aligned with national strategies.

Al-Jadaan also urged the bank to broaden partnerships with multilateral development banks and international organizations to share expertise, avoid duplicating efforts and mobilize more public and private resources.

He said the bank should remain guided by member countries’ needs, taking account of differences in institutional capacity, fiscal space and levels of infrastructure development.

The Doha meeting, held under the theme “Future Infrastructure: Impact and Innovation,” comes as the bank prepares for a new phase of expansion.

The AIIB has said it aims to nearly double annual financing to about $20 billion by 2030, focusing on infrastructure linked to climate resilience, renewable energy, digital transformation and regional connectivity, while mobilizing more private capital.

Saudi Arabia is a founding member of the AIIB, a multilateral development finance institution established in Beijing in 2016.

Business

African Leaders to Gather in Egypt for Business Summit

Friday's forum is expected to bring together more than 20 heads of state and government representatives in the Mediterranean city of Alamein, alongside business leaders, bankers and development institutions. © KHALED DESOUKI / AFP/File
Friday's forum is expected to bring together more than 20 heads of state and government representatives in the Mediterranean city of Alamein, alongside business leaders, bankers and development institutions. © KHALED DESOUKI / AFP/File
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African Leaders to Gather in Egypt for Business Summit

Friday's forum is expected to bring together more than 20 heads of state and government representatives in the Mediterranean city of Alamein, alongside business leaders, bankers and development institutions. © KHALED DESOUKI / AFP/File
Friday's forum is expected to bring together more than 20 heads of state and government representatives in the Mediterranean city of Alamein, alongside business leaders, bankers and development institutions. © KHALED DESOUKI / AFP/File

African leaders will meet in Egypt on Friday for a business summit that Cairo hopes will bolster its clout across the continent.

Friday's forum is expected to bring together more than 20 heads of state and government representatives in the Mediterranean city of Alamein, alongside business leaders, bankers and development institutions.

"This is an African platform," Egypt's deputy foreign minister for African affairs Mohamed Abu Bakr Saleh told AFP.

"A country in East Africa should be able to sign an agreement with a country in West, North or southern Africa through this platform."

Saleh said the forum would become a biennial event under an African Union mandate, focusing on infrastructure, trade, agriculture, healthcare, mining, technology and renewable energy.

Officials estimate Egyptian investments across Africa at around $14 billion. Among Egypt's flagship ventures is Tanzania's $3 billion Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project, built by a consortium led by Egyptian companies.

Yet trade within Africa remains limited, totalling just $192 billion in 2023 and only accounting for around 15 percent of the continent's total trade, compared with more than 55 percent in Asia and over 70 percent in Europe.

Africa also attracted about $70 billion in foreign direct investment in 2025, a fraction of the roughly $1.6 trillion invested globally, according to the UN.

"Africa possesses vast resources, but they are still not being exploited to the level we would like to see," Saleh said.

The gathering also takes place against the backdrop of an unresolved dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over the $5 billion GERD, Africa's largest hydroelectric project.

Ethiopia says the dam, inaugurated last year, is vital for economic growth, while Egypt says it could threaten Nile water supplies without a binding operating agreement.

More than a decade of negotiations have failed to yield a settlement.

"Our position on Egypt's water security has not changed and will not change," Saleh said. "It is an existential issue for Egypt."