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Saudi Arabia Targets Tuwaiq with $760 Bn Projects

Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and Minister of Investment Khalid al-Falih during the signing ceremony of an agreement with Tuwaiq (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and Minister of Investment Khalid al-Falih during the signing ceremony of an agreement with Tuwaiq (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Targets Tuwaiq with $760 Bn Projects

Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and Minister of Investment Khalid al-Falih during the signing ceremony of an agreement with Tuwaiq (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and Minister of Investment Khalid al-Falih during the signing ceremony of an agreement with Tuwaiq (SPA)

Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Investment Khalid al-Falih, and the National Center for Industrial Development CEO, Abdul Rahman al-Qirtas, signed an agreement to support the sustainable growth of the Kingdom’s manufacturing sector.

The partnership takes Vision 2030 ambitions a step closer towards economic diversification and localization, with $760 billion invested into the renewable energy sector enabling sustainable development of energy supply chains.

Prince Abdulaziz stated that the Energy Ministry supports the establishment of the Tuwaiq Casting and Road Company to contribute to the localization of the energy sector in its various projects.

He noted that energy projects in oil and gas, petrochemicals, conventional, renewable energy, and hydrogen are significant tributaries in the national economy.

Prince Abdulaziz stated that the system aims to localize 75 percent of the materials required in energy sector projects, seeking to attract Saudi investments and capabilities worth $69.3 billion over the next decade.

He explained that the energy system established distinct projects to localize supply chains for the energy sector components, including the Tuwaiq Casting and Metal Industries project.

Prince Abdulaziz stressed that the project provides the main components needed by the energy sector and other sectors, making these projects essential in increasing the local content and sustainability of the energy supply chains.

For his part, the Investment Minister indicated that the Ministry is interested in supporting and developing this category of qualitative investments, which lay the foundations for establishing great industries.

Falih explained that casting and metal methods are the cornerstones of many industries, such as the machinery and equipment industry, paving the way for the development of many manufacturing industries, in line with Vision 2030.

He pointed out that the Ministry facilitated the provision of government incentives that enabled the launch of qualitative investment that would launch several strategic value chains.

Tuwaiq Casting and Road Company is expected to contribute to a $5.5 billion increase in the domestic product and localize supply chains for machinery and equipment.

Furthermore, the Chairman of the board of directors of Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company (Dussur), Mohammed Abunayyan, said the agreement is one of the facilities provided by the Saudi government to investors who aim to construct strategic and qualitative projects in line with Vision 2030.

The agreement aimed to localize promising industries, create quality jobs, contribute to raising the gross domestic product, and achieve the desired economic diversification, said Abunayyan.

Tuwaiq Casting and Roads Company was established in 2020, in partnership between Dussur, Aramco, and Doosan, with an investment volume of more than $2 million, aiming to produce 60,000 tons annually of industrial iron products of varying sizes.

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IMF and Arab Monetary Fund Sign MoU to Enhance Cooperation

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
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IMF and Arab Monetary Fund Sign MoU to Enhance Cooperation

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference on Emerging Market Economies (EME) to enhance cooperation between the two institutions.

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki, SPA reported.

The agreement aims to strengthen coordination in economic and financial policy areas, including surveillance and lending activities, data and analytical exchange, capacity building, and the provision of technical assistance, in support of regional financial and economic stability.

Both sides affirmed that the MoU represents an important step toward deepening their strategic partnership and strengthening the regional financial safety net, serving member countries and enhancing their ability to address economic challenges.

Business

Saudi Chambers Federation Announces First Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
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Saudi Chambers Federation Announces First Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT

The Federation of Saudi Chambers announced the formation of the first joint Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council for its inaugural term (1447–1451 AH) and the election of Salman bin Hassan Al-Oqayel as its chairman.

Al-Oqayel said the council’s formation marks a pivotal milestone in economic relations between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, reflecting a practical approach to enabling the business sectors in both countries to capitalize on promising investment opportunities and strengthen bilateral trade and investment partnerships, SPA reported.

He noted that trade between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait reached approximately SAR9.5 billion by the end of November 2025, including SAR8 billion in Saudi exports and SAR1.5 billion in Kuwaiti imports.

Business

Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
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Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).

Harvard University economics professor Pol Antràs said Saudi Arabia represents an exceptional model in the shifting global trade landscape, differing fundamentally from traditional emerging-market frameworks. He also stressed that globalization has not ended but has instead re-formed into what he describes as fragmented integration.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies, Antràs said Saudi Arabia’s Vision-driven structural reforms position the Kingdom to benefit from the ongoing phase of fragmented integration, adding that the country’s strategic focus on logistics transformation and artificial intelligence constitutes a key engine for sustainable growth that extends beyond the volatility of global crises.

Antràs, the Robert G. Ory Professor of Economics at Harvard University, is one of the leading contemporary theorists of international trade. His research, which reshaped understanding of global value chains, focuses on how firms organize cross-border production and how regulation and technological change influence global trade flows and corporate decision-making.

He said conventional classifications of economies often obscure important structural differences, noting that the term emerging markets groups together countries with widely divergent industrial bases. Economies that depend heavily on manufacturing exports rely critically on market access and trade integration and therefore face stronger competitive pressures from Chinese exports that are increasingly shifting toward alternative markets.

Saudi Arabia, by contrast, exports extensively while facing limited direct competition from China in its primary export commodity, a situation that creates a strategic opportunity. The current environment allows the Kingdom to obtain imports from China at lower cost and access a broader range of goods that previously flowed largely toward the United States market.

Addressing how emerging economies should respond to dumping pressures and rising competition, Antràs said countries should minimize protectionist tendencies and instead position themselves as committed participants in the multilateral trading system, allowing foreign producers to access domestic markets while encouraging domestic firms to expand internationally.

He noted that although Chinese dumping presents concerns for countries with manufacturing sectors that compete directly with Chinese production, the risk is lower for Saudi Arabia because it does not maintain a large manufacturing base that overlaps directly with Chinese exports. Lower-cost imports could benefit Saudi consumers, while targeted policy tools such as credit programs, subsidies, and support for firms seeking to redesign and upgrade business models represent more effective responses than broad protectionist measures.

Globalization has not ended

Antràs said globalization continues but through more complex structures, with trade agreements increasingly negotiated through diverse arrangements rather than relying primarily on multilateral negotiations. Trade deals will continue to be concluded, but they are likely to become more complex, with uncertainty remaining a defining feature of the global trading environment.

Interest rates and artificial intelligence

According to Antràs, high global interest rates, combined with the additional risk premiums faced by emerging markets, are constraining investment, particularly in sectors that require export financing, capital expenditure, and continuous quality upgrading.

However, he noted that elevated interest rates partly reflect expectations of stronger long-term growth driven by artificial intelligence and broader technological transformation.

He also said if those growth expectations materialize, productivity gains could enable small and medium-sized enterprises to forecast demand more accurately and identify previously untapped markets, partially offsetting the negative effects of higher borrowing costs.

Employment concerns and the role of government

The Harvard professor warned that labor markets face a dual challenge stemming from intensified Chinese export competition and accelerating job automation driven by artificial intelligence, developments that could lead to significant disruptions, particularly among younger workers. He said governments must adopt proactive strategies requiring substantial fiscal resources to mitigate near-term labor-market shocks.

According to Antràs, productivity growth remains the central condition for success: if new technologies deliver the anticipated productivity gains, governments will gain the fiscal space needed to compensate affected groups and retrain the workforce, achieving a balance between addressing short-term disruptions and investing in long-term strategic gains.