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Gulf

French President to Visit Saudi Arabia in December

France's President Emmanuel Macron holds the 9th edition of the Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise (Dictionary of the French Academy), which is the official dictionary of the French language during the solemn session of presentation, in Paris on November 14, 2024. (AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron holds the 9th edition of the Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise (Dictionary of the French Academy), which is the official dictionary of the French language during the solemn session of presentation, in Paris on November 14, 2024. (AFP)
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French President to Visit Saudi Arabia in December

France's President Emmanuel Macron holds the 9th edition of the Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise (Dictionary of the French Academy), which is the official dictionary of the French language during the solemn session of presentation, in Paris on November 14, 2024. (AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron holds the 9th edition of the Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise (Dictionary of the French Academy), which is the official dictionary of the French language during the solemn session of presentation, in Paris on November 14, 2024. (AFP)

The Elysee Palace announced on Friday that French President Emmanuel Macron will carry out a state visit to Saudi Arabia in early December at the invitation of Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

The visit, between December 2 and 4, will be an opportunity for both sides to bolster the partnership between Saudi Arabia and France, said the Elysee.

Crown Prince Mohammed and Macron held telephone talks on Thursday to discuss regional developments and efforts to restore security and stability.

They also discussed bilateral affairs and cooperation in several fields, said official sources.

A Saudi official delegation, including the ministers of foreign affairs, culture and investment, is currently in Paris to participate in the meeting of the joint Saudi-French committee to develop the AlUla province.

Advisor to the French President for the Middle East and North Africa Anne-Claire Legendre was in Riyadh this month for talks on the Middle East and bilateral relations.

Crown Prince Mohammed had visited France in June 2023 to bolster bilateral ties and to hold talks on “challenges to regional instability,” as well as international affairs, such as the war on Ukraine and its impact on the world.

Macron, for his part, has visited Saudi Arabia in 2017, 2018 and 2021.

French sources hailed the relations between France and the Kingdom, underscoring the latter’s role on regional, Arab and international levels, highlighting Riyadh's hosting this week of the Arab-Islamic summit.

They said Israel’s war on Gaza and Lebanon, regional tensions, and the security of the Gulf will be discussed by Crown Prince Mohammed and Macron.

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Gulf

Bahrain to Host Gulf Ministerial Meeting to Discuss Regional Developments

The 167th Ministerial Council meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will be held in Bahrain on Wednesday. (AFP)
The 167th Ministerial Council meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will be held in Bahrain on Wednesday. (AFP)
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Bahrain to Host Gulf Ministerial Meeting to Discuss Regional Developments

The 167th Ministerial Council meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will be held in Bahrain on Wednesday. (AFP)
The 167th Ministerial Council meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will be held in Bahrain on Wednesday. (AFP)

Bahrain is hosting on Wednesday the 167th Ministerial Council meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to discuss regional and international developments.

It will be held under the chairmanship of Bahrain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and current President of the Ministerial Council Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, with the participation of GCC foreign ministers.

The third joint ministerial meeting of the GCC-Canada Strategic Dialogue will also be held on the sidelines. Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand is expected to attend.

GCC Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi said the ministerial council will review reports on the implementation of decisions issued by the GCC Supreme Council's 46th summit, held in Manama in December 2025.

The council will discuss memoranda and reports submitted by ministerial and technical committees and the General Secretariat, as well as matters related to strategic dialogues and relations between GCC member states and international countries and blocs.

Albudaiwi said the third joint GCC-Canada Strategic Dialogue Ministerial Meeting will tackle several issues, including ways to deepen cooperation between the GCC and Canada through the Joint Action Plan for 2025-2029.

The plan outlines priorities and mechanisms to strengthen cooperation in political and security affairs, trade and investment, energy, education, health, and other vital fields.

Gulf

Saudi Arabia, Yemen Sign $150 Mn Petroleum Supply Deal to Support Energy Sector, Power Plants

Tuesday's agreement was signed by Minister of Electricity and Energy Eng. Adnan Al-Kaf and Saudi Ambassador to Yemen and SDRPY General Supervisor Mohammed bin Saeed Al Jaber. (SPA)
Tuesday's agreement was signed by Minister of Electricity and Energy Eng. Adnan Al-Kaf and Saudi Ambassador to Yemen and SDRPY General Supervisor Mohammed bin Saeed Al Jaber. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia, Yemen Sign $150 Mn Petroleum Supply Deal to Support Energy Sector, Power Plants

Tuesday's agreement was signed by Minister of Electricity and Energy Eng. Adnan Al-Kaf and Saudi Ambassador to Yemen and SDRPY General Supervisor Mohammed bin Saeed Al Jaber. (SPA)
Tuesday's agreement was signed by Minister of Electricity and Energy Eng. Adnan Al-Kaf and Saudi Ambassador to Yemen and SDRPY General Supervisor Mohammed bin Saeed Al Jaber. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia and Yemen signed on Tuesday an agreement worth $150 million to supply petroleum derivatives for power plants across various Yemeni governorates.

The agreement was signed under the patronage of Yemeni Prime Minister Dr. Shaya Mohsin Zindani and is part of Saudi Arabia’s support through the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY) to the Yemeni Ministry of Electricity and Energy, reported the Saudi Press Agency.

It was signed by Minister of Electricity and Energy Eng. Adnan Al-Kaf and Saudi Ambassador to Yemen and SDRPY General Supervisor Mohammed bin Saeed Al Jaber.

The petroleum derivatives support, consisting of diesel and mazut, will fuel more than 70 electricity generation plants across various Yemeni governorates, helping boost the stability and continuity of electricity services and support vital sectors linked to electrical energy.

The support reflects Saudi Arabia’s longstanding commitment to supporting the Yemeni people and alleviating their humanitarian suffering, particularly amid rising temperatures.

It is expected to contribute to stimulating commercial activity, creating job opportunities, and promoting economic growth in Yemen.

An additional agreement was also signed between the Yemeni oil company PetroMasila, the Yemeni Ministry of Electricity and Energy, and SDRPY to support the sustainability of PetroMasila’s operations as a state-owned company, strengthening its capabilities, improving operational efficiency, and ensuring continuity of services in support of the Yemeni government.

The initiative will be implemented under a comprehensive governance framework to ensure that assistance reaches the final beneficiaries, through a supreme committee linked to the prime minister and comprising several Yemeni entities responsible for overseeing and monitoring the distribution of petroleum derivatives to power plants based on the identified needs of electricity generation facilities across Yemen.

SDRPY provided petroleum derivatives grants in 2018 valued at $180 million, one in 2021 worth $422 million, another in 2022 amounting to $200 million, and one in 2026 valued at $81.2 million.

The current $150 million grant comes as searing summer temperatures approach and amid an urgent need to improve electricity service quality to better daily life and living standards for the Yemeni people.

Gulf

OIC Condemns Israel’s Withholding of Palestinian Tax Revenues

Israeli military excavators demolish a Palestinian building in the town of Jabaa in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, near Jerusalem June 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli military excavators demolish a Palestinian building in the town of Jabaa in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, near Jerusalem June 3, 2026. (Reuters)
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OIC Condemns Israel’s Withholding of Palestinian Tax Revenues

Israeli military excavators demolish a Palestinian building in the town of Jabaa in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, near Jerusalem June 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli military excavators demolish a Palestinian building in the town of Jabaa in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, near Jerusalem June 3, 2026. (Reuters)

The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) strongly condemned on Tuesday the Israeli Knesset’s approval of a “racist” bill to expand mechanisms for confiscating Palestinian tax revenues, in “flagrant violation of international law and existing bilateral agreements”.

It warned of the “gravity of this illegal measure, which constitutes an assault on the rights of the Palestinian people and their financial resources.”

The move will “exacerbate the deteriorating humanitarian and economic conditions in the Palestinian Territories,” it added.

The General Secretariat renewed its call on the international community “to shoulder its responsibilities by pressuring the Israeli authorities to stop this official piracy and to immediately and unconditionally release all Palestinian tax revenues being illegally withheld.”