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PIF Governor: Saudi Arabia Seeks to Become Global Hub for AI

Yasir Al-Rumayyan said the FII focuses on several key sectors, primarily sustainability, education, healthcare, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics. SPA
Yasir Al-Rumayyan said the FII focuses on several key sectors, primarily sustainability, education, healthcare, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics. SPA
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PIF Governor: Saudi Arabia Seeks to Become Global Hub for AI

Yasir Al-Rumayyan said the FII focuses on several key sectors, primarily sustainability, education, healthcare, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics. SPA
Yasir Al-Rumayyan said the FII focuses on several key sectors, primarily sustainability, education, healthcare, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics. SPA

Public Investment Fund (PIF) Governor, Chairman of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute, and Chairman of Saudi Aramco’s Board of Directors Yasir Al-Rumayyan said that the FII focuses on several key sectors, primarily sustainability, education, healthcare, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics.

He said it has invested in several companies operating in these sectors and established partnerships with research, academic and consulting institutions to support these goals.

Delivering a speech at the FII PRIORITY summit in Miami, Al-Rumayyan explained that the initiative will expand its global presence in the coming period by organizing events in Brazil and Kenya to enhance links and investment opportunities with markets in Latin America and Africa and discuss issues such as environmental protection and the transition towards renewable energy.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, he also addressed the PIF’s strategy, saying that more than 70% of its investments are local and directed towards the Kingdom's economy, while the public share of international investments has declined to less than 25%.

Al-Rumayyan also explained that PIF investments mainly target new sectors under its goal to make a long-term impact by being the economic driver of the transformation journey within the Saudi Vision 2030, which is distinguished from other international strategic plans by its success in achieving many of its goals before their set timelines.

“The fund invests between $40 billion to $50 billion annually and this will continue until 2025, and we look at our investments in the Kingdom with regard to their impact on the gross domestic product, job creation, and local content increase, and we are looking forward to increase local revenues generated from investments as per the framework to create sustainable impact on the Saudi economy and realize the targets of the Saudi Vision 2030,” he said.

On the fund's international investments, Al-Rumyyan said that their value continues to rise in terms of volume despite a decline in their percentage compared to local investments, pointing out that investments in the US market amount to 40% of the fund's total international investments in the form of investments or purchases, which amounted to more than $100 billion between 2017 and the end of 2023.

The PIF governor stressed that Saudi Arabia is well positioned to be a major global hub for AI and related industries, explaining that it has many competitive advantages to achieve this goal, including its leadership in clean energy resources, political will, funding capabilities, and human competencies.

The Aramco chairman also discussed the priority that the company gives to sustainability issues, saying that it is the most sustainable of all oil producers in the world, with the amount of carbon produced per barrel of oil not exceeding 25% of what other companies produce. He also said that Aramco has 12 research-and-development centers around the world to work on clean energy technology.

Aramco and the PIF are interested in blue hydrogen, SPA quoted him as saying.

He added that the Kingdom aims to provide 15% of blue hydrogen production globally and it pays special attention to green hydrogen while having clean energy resources that contribute to hydrogen production.

“The price per kilowatt-hour of solar energy in the Kingdom does not exceed 2 cents, making it the lowest in the world and giving the Kingdom a key competitive advantage,” he said.

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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.

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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).
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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.