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Saudi Arabia Aspires to Lead Global Entrepreneurship in Green Technologies, Nuclear Energy

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman speaking at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman speaking at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Aspires to Lead Global Entrepreneurship in Green Technologies, Nuclear Energy

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman speaking at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman speaking at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC) kicked off in Riyadh under the patronage of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs, amid unanimous agreement that Saudi Arabia has become an ideal platform for launching entrepreneurs in all sectors.

During the first day's sessions, speakers indicated Sunday that it was the right time to achieve successes in the entrepreneurship sector in light of the progress achieved by the Kingdom and the vitality of the Saudi economy.

They noted that the economy succeeded in adapting the business to the emerging coronavirus pandemic.

Green Solutions

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the Kingdom does not seek any support to achieve its climate goals, as the goal in the Middle East is to reduce carbon emissions.

"The world wants to work with the Kingdom to reach technology that serves green solutions," he added.

Addressing GEC, Prince Abdulaziz said the Kingdom has a localization program and supports small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as it does not want them to fail and leave the field.

He announced that work is underway to train Saudi cadres on the Kingdom's nuclear program.

Next Generation

On the Kingdom's support for young entrepreneurs, the Saudi Minister said: "We must not forget that the person who leads Saudi Vision 2030 is a very ambitious young man who does not know the word 'impossible.'"

"As long as we are fortunate with a leader with such qualities, it is obvious that in this country there are large numbers of young women and men with the same ambition, enthusiasm and determination and they are working for their bright future as well as for the future of their country," he said.

The Saudi Energy Minister's work offices and incubators are crowded with a vibrant generation of educated young men and women full of enthusiasm.

Digital Infrastructure

The Governor of the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises (Monsha'at), Saleh al-Rasheed, confirmed that Saudi Arabia enjoyed flexibility during the pandemic with entrepreneurs, support, and facilities for the private sector.

"We have a strong digital infrastructure that has contributed to limiting economic damage during the pandemic."

The Kingdom gave innovative companies support worth $900 million, said Rasheed, adding that demand is huge for entertainment, health, and technology.

Saleh also explained that the new generation is enthusiastic and ready to receive modern technology, stressing that the forum is an opportunity to relaunch an economy.

Ecosystems

Founder of Global Entrepreneurship Network Jonathan Ortmans said there is a global revolution in startups with the recovery of entrepreneurship ecosystems and adaptation to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

He noted that global entrepreneurial leaders must consider integrating new concerns around ecological and social systems, collective responsibility, and inclusiveness.

Ortmans asserted that regardless of what part of the Kingdom they come from, this is an excellent time for Saudi youth to become entrepreneurs and be part of the global system.

Global Experience

For his part, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak discussed his experience in global technology, recalling how he started in the business wanting to develop the best and largest technologies for ordinary people to use in their lives.

He highlighted the opportunities in the current era and said that investment nowadays mostly happens through digital channels because we live in a wholly digital world.

Wozniak revealed that he never wanted to start a company, instead, he wished to be an engineer.

Four Days

Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC) launched under the theme Reboot, Rethink and Regenerate over four days.

It will address several subjects that seek to increase assistance to entrepreneurs to expand their businesses worldwide, granting them the necessary skills to face crises and enhance the flexibility of doing businesses.

The Congress includes more than 100 discussion sessions with over 150 speakers and in the presence of entrepreneurs, investors, experts, and decision-makers from 180 countries.

Participants will discuss building a unified global system for entrepreneurship, highlighting entrepreneurship, innovation, investment opportunities, and enabling business policymakers to listen to entrepreneurs.

They will also seek to address the challenges they face in a bid to develop more flexible procedures and enhance the ease and continuity of entrepreneurial work.

The Congress also includes an accompanying exhibition at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and innovation workshops and sections. Several events aim to develop the values of entrepreneurship and innovation among the youth in the world to contribute to sustainable entrepreneur development.

It will also provide an ideal opportunity to comprehend lessons offered by the global pandemic, get acquainted with the best practices in dealing with crises, and preserve the flexibility of commercial activities and their sustainability.

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Business

China's Finance Ministry: Fiscal Policies Will be More 'Proactive' in 2026

A man walks on a street in Beijing, China, 24 December 2025. EPA/WU HAO
A man walks on a street in Beijing, China, 24 December 2025. EPA/WU HAO
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China's Finance Ministry: Fiscal Policies Will be More 'Proactive' in 2026

A man walks on a street in Beijing, China, 24 December 2025. EPA/WU HAO
A man walks on a street in Beijing, China, 24 December 2025. EPA/WU HAO

China's finance ministry on Sunday said fiscal policies will be more proactive next year, reiterating its focus on domestic demand, technological innovation and a social safety net.

The statement comes as trading partners urge the world's second-biggest economy to reduce its reliance on exports, underscoring the urgency to revive confidence at home where a prolonged property crisis has rippled ⁠through the economy, weighing on sentiment.

China will boost consumption and actively expand investment in new productive forces and people's overall development, the ministry said in a statement after a two-day meeting at which it set ⁠2026 goals.

In addition, Reuters quoted the ministry as saying that it will support innovation to foster new growth engines, and improve the social security system by providing better healthcare and education services.

Other tasks for next year include promoting integration between urban and rural areas, and propelling China's transformation into a greener society.

China is likely to stick to ⁠its annual economic growth target of around 5% in 2026, government advisers and analysts told Reuters, a goal that would require authorities to keep fiscal and monetary spigots open as they seek to snap a deflationary spell.

Leaders this month promised to maintain a "proactive" fiscal policy next year that would stimulate both consumption and investment to maintain high economic growth.

Business

Bulgaria Adopts Euro Amid Fear and Uncertainty

Customers shop in a grocery store in the village of Chuprene, northwestern Bulgaria on December 7, 2025. (Photo by Nikolay DOYCHINOV / AFP)
Customers shop in a grocery store in the village of Chuprene, northwestern Bulgaria on December 7, 2025. (Photo by Nikolay DOYCHINOV / AFP)
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Bulgaria Adopts Euro Amid Fear and Uncertainty

Customers shop in a grocery store in the village of Chuprene, northwestern Bulgaria on December 7, 2025. (Photo by Nikolay DOYCHINOV / AFP)
Customers shop in a grocery store in the village of Chuprene, northwestern Bulgaria on December 7, 2025. (Photo by Nikolay DOYCHINOV / AFP)

Bulgaria will become the 21st country to adopt the euro on Thursday, but some believe the move could bring higher prices and add to instability in the European Union's poorest country.

A protest campaign emerged this year to "keep the Bulgarian lev", playing on public fears of price rises and a generally negative view of the euro among much of the population.

But successive governments have pushed to join the eurozone and supporters insist it will boost the economy, reinforce ties to the West and protect against Russia's influence.

The single currency first rolled out in 12 countries on January 1, 2002, and has since regularly extended its influence, with Croatia the last country to join in 2023.

But Bulgaria faces unique challenges, including anti-corruption protests that recently swept a conservative-led government from office, leaving the country on the verge of its eighth election in five years.

Boryana Dimitrova of the Alpha Research polling institute, which has tracked public opinion on the euro for a year, told AFP any problems with euro adoption would be seized on by anti-EU politicians.

Any issues will become "part of the political campaign, which creates a basis for rhetoric directed against the EU", she said.

While far-right and pro-Russia parties have been behind several anti-euro protests, many people, especially in poor rural areas, worry about the new currency.

"Prices will go up. That's what friends of mine who live in Western Europe told me," Bilyana Nikolova, 53, who runs a grocery store in the village of Chuprene in northwestern Bulgaria, told AFP.

The latest survey by the EU's polling agency Eurobarometer suggested 49 percent of Bulgarians were against the single currency.

After hyperinflation in the 1990s, Bulgaria pegged its currency to the German mark and then to the euro, making the country dependent on the European Central Bank (ECB).

"It will now finally be able to take part in decision making within this monetary union," Georgi Angelov, senior economist at the Open Society Institute in Sofia, told AFP.

An EU member since 2007, Bulgaria joined the so-called "waiting room" to the single currency in 2020, at the same time as Croatia.

The gains of joining the euro are "substantial", ECB president Christine Lagarde said last month in Sofia, citing "smoother trade, lower financing costs and more stable prices".

Small and medium-sized enterprises stand to save an equivalent of some 500 million euros ($580 million) in exchange fees, she added.

One sector expected to benefit in the Black Sea nation is tourism, which this year generated around eight percent of the country's GDP.

Lagarde predicted the impact on consumer prices would be "modest and short-lived", saying in earlier euro changeovers, the impact was between 0.2 and 0.4 percentage points.

But consumers -- already struggling with inflation -- fear they will not be able to make ends meet, according to Dimitrova.

Food prices in November were up five percent year-on-year, according to the National Statistical Institute, more than double the eurozone average.

Parliament this year adopted empowered oversight bodies to investigate sharp price hikes and curb "unjustified" surges linked to the euro changeover.

But analysts fear wider political uncertainty risks delaying much needed anti-corruption reforms, which could have a knock-on effect on the wider economy.

"The challenge will be to have a stable government for at least one to two years, so we can fully reap the benefits of joining the euro area," Angelov said.

Business

Syria Prepares to Launch New Currency Amid Major Challenges

Syrian Central Bank Governor Abdulkader Husrieh (X)
Syrian Central Bank Governor Abdulkader Husrieh (X)
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Syria Prepares to Launch New Currency Amid Major Challenges

Syrian Central Bank Governor Abdulkader Husrieh (X)
Syrian Central Bank Governor Abdulkader Husrieh (X)

Syria’s central bank governor, Abdulkader Husrieh, said the new Syrian pound is not merely a means of exchange but a symbol of the success of the Syrian revolution, national belonging, and confidence in the country’s ability to recover.

In a Facebook post, Husrieh said that with the launch of the new currency, Syrians were not just celebrating a banknote, but also celebrating their sovereignty and national identity, noting that many international experiences show that national currencies become strong when people rally around them, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.

He pointed to Germany’s experience, where the introduction of the mark after the war marked the starting point of economic recovery, and to France, where the new French franc became the financial symbol of the new republic, known as the Fifth Republic.

Husrieh said the central bank would carry out its role with a clear understanding of the challenges and opportunities, while committing to responsibility, transparency, and the protection of the national currency. He added that the cornerstone remains public solidarity and trust, because a strong currency begins with the people's belief in it.

He called for turning the launch into a dignified national occasion through which Syrians express awareness, confidence, and adherence to the pound as a symbol of sovereignty and a national choice.

Husrieh added that supporting the pound is supporting the nation, and taking pride in it is a matter of pride in the future for Syrians and their children. He described the move as an opportunity for a new success following the success of the revolution in liberation and the lifting of economic sanctions that had shackled Syria’s economy for nearly fifty years.

Husrieh had recently announced that Jan. 1, 2026, would mark the launch of the new Syrian currency and the start of the exchange process for the old notes, with the exchange to be carried out through 66 companies and 1,000 designated outlets.

Restoring confidence

Political and economic researcher Bassel Kouwefi said the exchange plans, if well implemented, could serve as an entry point for rebuilding confidence in the national economy, encouraging domestic investment, and paving the way for broader reforms in the financial sector. However, he warned against failing to address the root causes of inflation and economic collapse during the previous regime's rule.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Kouwefi described currency exchange and the removal of zeros as complex economic measures.

He said their main benefits include simplifying daily transactions, reducing the volume of banknotes in circulation, boosting confidence in stability, lowering printing and transportation costs, simplifying accounting records and financial software, and reducing currency speculation driven by corruption networks seeking to undermine stability in Syria.

Kouwefi said the exchange plans, if well-executed, could help restore confidence in the macroeconomy, but stressed the challenges posed by failing to tackle the fundamental causes of past inflation and collapse, including fiscal deficits, instability, and weak production. He said a comprehensive economic and financial program was therefore essential.

He added that the process also requires strong banking infrastructure, an organized transition period, and sufficient liquidity in the new denominations.

He said these remain major challenges under current Syrian conditions, alongside the need to mitigate social impacts that could lead to public confusion, market exploitation, and difficulties for less informed segments of society.