عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Saudi Arabia Sends High-Ranking Delegation to World Economic Forum Annual Meeting

The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum 2024 will be held in Davos (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum 2024 will be held in Davos (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
TT

Saudi Arabia Sends High-Ranking Delegation to World Economic Forum Annual Meeting

The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum 2024 will be held in Davos (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum 2024 will be held in Davos (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia announced that a high-ranking delegation will participate in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2024 in Davos, Switzerland, from January 15-19, under the theme of "Rebuilding Trust."

The delegation, chaired by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Abdallah, includes Saudi Ambassador to the US Princess Reema bint Bandar, Minister of Commerce Majid al-Kassabi, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Envoy for Climate Adel al-Jubeir, Minister of Investment Khalid al-Falih, Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Jadaan, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah al-Swaha, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar al-Khorayef, and Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal al-Ibrahim.

- Current challenges

The Saudi delegation will address these era-defining challenges by working with the international community to advance substantive global collaboration, drive economic resilience, build sustainable resource security, and harness human-centric innovation.

It would also explore the opportunities offered by emerging technologies and their impact on the policy and decision-making process.

The Saudi delegation will highlight the social and economic progress made within the framework of Vision 2030, the transformation, diversification, and development witnessed by the Kingdom in various fields, and the multiple investment opportunities available across the nation's thriving economy.

- Competitive capabilities

The Saudi delegation will share its expertise in enhancing the Kingdom's attractiveness as a private and foreign investment destination.

The delegation will also review the best practices and solutions developed by the Kingdom to enhance the economy's resilience and achieve financial sustainability, in line with its ambitions for economic diversification and sustainable growth under Vision 2030.

- Enhancing cooperation

The 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum will discuss ways to enhance cooperation between the public and private sectors to explore future opportunities, review solutions and developments within various economic and development sectors within the framework of international cooperation, and joint work between governments and various institutions.

The Forum brings together representatives from more than 100 governments, major international organizations, and more than 1,000 major private sector players, in addition to representatives of civil society and academic institutions.

The theme "Rebuilding Trust" highlights the importance of joint international action in confronting humanitarian, climate, social, and economic challenges.

- Global risks

In addition, the Global Risks Report 2024 issued by the World Economic Forum warned of a global risk landscape that will witness a decline in human development. It will weaken countries and individuals and expose them to new risks.

Given the systemic changes in global power mechanisms, climate, technology, and demographic distribution, global risks impose significant pressures that may exhaust the world's ability to adapt.

The report said that these matters are among its most prominent findings, which showed that cooperation on global issues is declining and that there is an urgent need to adopt approaches to address global risks.

The transnational risks will become harder to handle as global cooperation erodes.

In this year's Global Risks Perception Survey, two-thirds of respondents predict that a multipolar order will dominate in the next ten years as middle and great powers set and enforce – but also contest – current rules and norms.

WEF Managing Director Saadia Zahidi said underlying geopolitical tensions combined with the eruption of active hostilities in multiple regions contribute to an unstable global order characterized by polarizing narratives, eroding trust, and insecurity.

Zahidi warned that the situation leaves ample room for accelerating risks – like misinformation and disinformation – to propagate in societies that have already been politically and economically weakened in recent years.

- Misinformation and Conflict

Emerging as the most severe global risk anticipated over the next two years, foreign and domestic actors will leverage misinformation and disinformation to widen societal and political divides further.

Cost-of-living pressures continue to bite amidst persistently elevated inflation, interest rates, and economic uncertainty in much of the world.

Misinformation and disinformation have risen rapidly in rankings to first place for the two-year timeframe, and the risk is likely to become more acute as elections in several economies take place this year.

Interstate armed conflict is a new entrant into the top risk rankings over the two-year horizon as both a product and driver of state fragility.

With many conflicts currently ongoing in different parts of the world, the risks of geopolitical tensions and declining community resilience may lead to the spread of conflict contagion.

- Economic uncertainty and declining development

The continued state of economic uncertainty and the widening of the financial and technical gap are among the most prominent features of the coming years, and the lack of economic opportunities ranked sixth in risks over the next two years.

In the long term, obstacles to economic mobility are expected to increase, which will lead to the deprivation of large segments of the population of economic opportunities.

In addition, countries affected by conflict or climate risks may become isolated from investment, advanced technologies, and new employment opportunities.

In the absence of guaranteed and secure livelihoods, individuals may become more vulnerable to involvement in crime, militancy, and extremism.

- The planet is in danger

It is expected that environmental risks continue to dominate the risk landscape over all three timeframes, while the report called on business leaders to reconsider the steps that must be taken to confront global risks.

The report recommended focusing global cooperation efforts on accelerating the construction of protection barriers against the most urgent emerging risks, such as signing agreements to integrate artificial intelligence in the decision-making process.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

IEA Sees Gradual Hormuz Recovery Tipping Into Significant 2027 Surplus

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
TT
TT

IEA Sees Gradual Hormuz Recovery Tipping Into Significant 2027 Surplus

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

The world oil market will recover gradually from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz before tipping into a significant surplus in 2027, the International Energy Agency said in its monthly oil market report on Wednesday.

The US and Iran reached an agreement to end the three-month-old war, which includes Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz ⁠and the US lifting ⁠its naval blockade, potentially bringing an end to the largest oil supply disruption in history which shut in over 14 million barrels per day of Middle East oil output, according ⁠to the IEA.

"If the deal holds, exports and production from the Gulf should see a gradual recovery – not least because Iranian oil exports can fully resume once the US blockade is lifted," the agency, which advises industrialized countries, said.

The oil market will then enter a significant supply overhang next year, the IEA said ⁠in ⁠its first look at 2027, with global oil supply set to surge by 8 million bpd and demand rising by just 2 million bpd.

"This may provide a welcome respite to the market and an opportunity to replenish depleted inventories, or to build new strategic reserves, as countries review their energy strategies and policies in response to the crisis."

Business

US Fed Set to Hold Rates Steady at Warsh’s First Meeting in Charge

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh delivers a speech on the day of his swearing-in ceremony, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 22, 2026. (Reuters)
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh delivers a speech on the day of his swearing-in ceremony, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 22, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

US Fed Set to Hold Rates Steady at Warsh’s First Meeting in Charge

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh delivers a speech on the day of his swearing-in ceremony, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 22, 2026. (Reuters)
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh delivers a speech on the day of his swearing-in ceremony, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 22, 2026. (Reuters)

The US Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday at Kevin Warsh's first meeting in charge of the central bank, with rate hikes potentially on the horizon to combat surging inflation.

Warsh has presided over the two-day meeting of the Fed's open market committee (FOMC) this week, with a decision to be announced at 2:00 pm local time (1800 GMT) on Wednesday.

US inflation came in at a three-year high in April. It has been fueled this year by President Donald Trump's war on Iran, which saw energy prices skyrocket, with knock-on effects on a range of sectors.

With the labor market firming, Fed policymakers flagged an increased concern about inflation, and rate hikes are potentially in the pipeline to tame raging prices.

Such a move would be sure to anger Trump, who has launched an unprecedented campaign of intimidation to pressure the Fed to lower interest rates.

Warsh has backed interest rate cuts in the recent past, despite inflation remaining well above the Fed's long-term two-percent target -- it was 3.8 percent in April, according to the central bank's preferred gauge.

On Wednesday, however, analysts expect Warsh to join other policymakers in allowing the energy price shock to wash over the world's largest economy before making a move.

"I think he's going to be in the wait-and-see camp," said Dan North of Allianz Trade. "It's pretty hard to justify a cut when you've got inflation in the pipeline already."

- 'Fractured' -

While Wednesday's decision is all but certain to hold interest rates at a range between 3.50 and 3.75 percent, all eyes will be on the language the Fed uses in its statement.

At least four of 12 voting members of the committee have backed a change in wording to indicate that the next rate move could just as likely be a hike as a cut.

Warsh himself has called for removing the Fed's forward guidance messaging altogether, arguing that it locks policymakers into a position rather than allowing them to react to changing situations.

Still, change at the central bank tends to be gradual, and analysts do not expect Warsh to take a big swing at his first meeting in charge.

"It may be a more fractured environment, certainly," Greg Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon, told AFP.

"In this first instance, he may be going to suggest some changes to communication, and we may be in the early steps of a move towards more discretionary decisions when it comes to monetary policy."

Wednesday's announcement will also see the release of the Fed's quarterly summary of economic projections, which includes policymakers' expectations on inflation, growth and the interest-rate path.

As part of his "reform-oriented" agenda, Warsh has called for the Fed to drop its "dot-plot," an anonymized projection of where Fed leaders expect rates to go.

On Wednesday, the new Fed chair is expected to withhold his own "dot," but analysts say he is unlikely to drop the entire exercise immediately.

- 'Not helping his case' -

Pao-Lin Tien, an economics professor at George Washington University, told AFP that moving towards more opaque monetary policymaking could mean inflation expectations are less anchored.

"I think our fear would be that without the forward guidance, inflation expectations might become a little bit more volatile," she said.

As for Trump, any move short of a rate cut is likely to anger the Republican, who wants to see the Fed lower borrowing costs to increase economic activity -- despite the already high inflation.

"President Trump is not helping his own case by making these demands so openly, it makes it harder for anyone he appoints to actually do that," said Tien.

"He does the opposite of what he needs to do in order to make sure the rates go lower," she added, referring to the war on Iran.

Business

UK Inflation Holds Steady at 2.8% Ahead of Bank of England Decision

A shopper in a London supermarket (EPA)
A shopper in a London supermarket (EPA)
TT
TT

UK Inflation Holds Steady at 2.8% Ahead of Bank of England Decision

A shopper in a London supermarket (EPA)
A shopper in a London supermarket (EPA)

British inflation unexpectedly held at 2.8% for May, unchanged from the 13-month low reached in April, official figures showed on Wednesday, a day before the Bank of England will announce its next interest rate decision.

Sterling weakened a little against the US dollar after the data and investors slightly trimmed their expectations for a rate rise later this year.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a rise to 3.0% for May, as the US-Iran war kept British inflation almost a percentage point higher than the BoE had forecast in February.

Lower prices than in April for meat, ⁠vegetables and dairy products ⁠as well as domestic heating oil helped offset a jump in airfares and petrol, the Office for National Statistics said.

Inflation has been above the BoE's 2% target for most of the past five years.

In April, the BoE said it was likely to rise above 3.5% by the end of the year and potentially exceed 6% early next year under the most adverse of three scenarios.

However, ⁠financial markets this week have drawn comfort from an interim agreement between the US and Iran which promises to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a major corridor for oil exports, and is due to be signed in Switzerland on Friday.

"Today's data strengthens the case for a continued cautious approach from the Bank of England," Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG, said.

"Underlying inflationary pressures have yet to show clear signs of strengthening, which is likely to underpin a majority decision within the Monetary Policy Committee to hold interest rates at Thursday's meeting," she said.

Economists polled by Reuters expect the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee to vote 7-2 to keep rates on hold at 3.75%.

While Governor Andrew Bailey says ⁠the BoE has ⁠time to wait to assess the impact of the conflict, some policymakers worry businesses will use it to raise prices more broadly, or that it could dent households' confidence in the BoE inflation target.

Britain has been more affected than most Western countries by the conflict due to its reliance on imported natural gas and manufacturers reported an 8.7% annual rise in their raw material costs for May, the biggest since February 2023.

Services price inflation - which the BoE views as a guide to underlying price pressures - rose to 3.7% in May from 3.2% in April, in line with economists' forecasts.

The rise in services inflation partly reflected a 10.3% monthly jump in airfares, which are volatile. High Easter prices were not captured in April 2026 data but were in 2025.

Core inflation, which excludes food, energy, alcohol and tobacco prices, rose slightly less than expected to 2.6% from 2.5%.