“A news sense is really a sense of what is important, what is vital, what has color and life — what people are interested in. That’s journalism.” This quotation of Arthur Burton Rascoe, former editor and literary critic of the New York Herald Tribune, also applies to Arab News, the Kingdom’s leading English daily, whose news coverage has ranged from vital to the colorful aspects of life.
What has propelled Arab News to the forefront of English dailies in the Gulf is its comprehensive coverage of local news of four to five pages daily under the dynamic leadership of Mohammed Fahad Al-Harthi, our editor in chief.
This is aside from regional and international coverage of news and views, making it the preferred choice of expatriates, Saudi and other business executives, senior government officials and diplomats who look forward this newspaper for all types of news. No wonder, it has carved out its own space in terms of scoops and other major stories.
The following is a cross-section of some of the exclusive stories that were featured in Arab News in the chronological order in the recent past.
On March 29, 2014, the newspaper carried a front page story on the talks between Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and US President Barack Obama focusing on the Iranian nuclear deal, Syria’s three-year-old civil war and their repercussions on the neighboring countries.
They also dwelt on key bilateral and regional issues such as Gulf security, the Middle East peace process and Egypt.
“Washington and Riyadh are working together to address a number of critical bilateral and regional issues, including resolving the crisis in Syria, preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, counterterrorism efforts to combat extremism, and supporting negotiations to achieve Middle East peace,” said a joint statement issued later.
Then, this year’s visit of Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, to four countries-Pakistan, India, China and Maldives-was very comprehensively covered by Arab News.
This high-profile visit was rich in the contents of diplomacy and politics as Saudi Arabia looks to the East to forge closer ties in different domains other than business.
Prince Salman’s trip was preceded by the presentation of SR855 billion annual budget by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.
Arab News was also on the forefront in reporting political changes taking place in the region as well as inside the country. It reported extensively the appointment of Prince Muqrin as second deputy premier, Prince Mishal as new Makkah governor and Prince Khaled as new education minister.
The coverage of the visit of French President Francois Hollande late last year was exceptional. He, like Prince Charles of the United Kingdom, performed a sword dance with top Saudi officials and shared lighter moments.
Arab News also interviewed on April 23, 2013 Mexico’s business tycoon Carlos Slim, the world’s richest man with a net worth of $73 billion.
He unveiled his plans to invest billions of dollars in some lucrative petrochemical projects in Jubail and other projects in undisclosed sectors.
Another exclusive on Jan. 9, 2013 was an interview with Hina Rabbani Khar, youngest and first female foreign minister of Pakistan, during her visit to Riyadh.
Among other top stories in 2011, Arab News had an interview with former US President Bill Clinton when he described small- and mid-sized private enterprises as a key to the Kingdom’s long-term job growth and prosperity.
He was speaking at the 5th Global Competitiveness Forum on January 26, when he cautioned nations across the Middle East and North Africa that there were no substitutes for good governance and opportunities for the uneducated and impoverished.
The former president was upbeat about the Saudi economy and praised the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority for its visionary 10x10 program, which sought to elevate the Kingdom’s global competitiveness to among the top 10 countries worldwide by 2010. Saudi Arabia is now ranked 11th, a significant increase since the program was launched a few years ago.
Another landmark event for Arab News was on November 14, 2006 in Riyadh.
In his presentation at the CIO Summit, Bill Gates discussed how improvements in the hardware and applications available in digital devices, combined with a much higher bandwidth and richer content, would help us organize information and consequently be more productive in our jobs.
Within five years, Gates predicted that improvements in speech recognition technologies would mean that people would use digital devices with speech as the primary input method, rather than a keyboard or touch screen for example. Speech would also be used for functionalities such as search.
Last but not the least, Arab News has also been playing a major advocacy role for Saudi women and for their empowerment.
This paper was the first to flash the news entitled “Women ready for top cabinet roles,” “Ministry for women empowerment urged,” and “Saudi demand laws to protect girls from domestic violence.”
These are some of the stories which testify to Arab News as a newspaper that readers, including decision-makers, look forward to at their breakfast table.
Pride: 4 decades of glorious journalism
Pride: 4 decades of glorious journalism
Saudi House kicks off Davos with push on Vision 2030, AI platform and ‘humanizing’ tourism
- Saudi ministers dominate pre-summit spotlight at Saudi pavilion, touting Vision 2030’s next phase and human capital as key to global edge
- Ministry of Economy and Planning announced the SUSTAIN Platform which aims to accelerate AI-enabled, cross-sector collaboration for sustainable development
DAVOS: For regulars at the World Economic Forum, Monday in Davos is usually a chance to ease into the week, a time to reconnect, plan meetings and prepare for the intense schedule ahead.
This year, Saudi Arabia moved quickly to fill that lull, taking center stage with a packed program of panels ahead of Tuesday’s official opening.
At the Saudi House — the Kingdom’s official pavilion on the Promenade, returning after its debut as a standalone venue at the 2025 WEF Annual Meeting — Saudi ministers and global executives set out how the Kingdom sees the next phase of its transformation.
Established by the Ministry of Economy and Planning, the venue is pitched as a platform for international thought leaders to tackle the challenges, opportunities and solutions shaping the global economy.
Opening a session on the Kingdom’s role at this year’s Forum and the next phase of Vision 2030 — now in its 10th year and roughly two-thirds complete — Princess Reema bint Bandar, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US, said human capital “is the actual driver if you want a competitive, modern economy.”
She described one of the biggest achievements of the past decade as the emergence of a highly qualified cohort of young Saudis who could work anywhere in the world but “choose to come home, choose to build at home and choose to deliver at home,” calling this “the biggest symbol of the success of Vision 2030.”
Who can give you optimum access to opportunities while addressing risks? I contend that Saudi Arabia has been able to provide that formula.
Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi minister of investment
On the same panel, Minister of Finance Mohammed Aljadaan said this success is rooted in a “behavioral change” that has strengthened the Kingdom’s credibility with both international partners and its own citizens.
“Credibility comes from being very pragmatic, making sure that you maintain your fiscal policy discipline, but at the same time refocus your resources where it matters,” he said, warning that “markets will call your bluff if you’re not serious.”
The Saudi House, a cross-ministerial initiative led by the Ministry of Economy and Planning, is intended to underscore the Kingdom’s “commitment to global cooperation” by offering “a platform where visionary ideas are shared and shaped,” while showcasing opportunities and lessons from its “unprecedented national transformation.”
Echoing earlier comments to Arab News, Economy and Planning Minister Faisal Alibrahim said the Kingdom’s role as an anchor of stability has helped unlock its potential, stressing that while the objective is to decouple from reliance on a single commodity, “2030 is not the finishing line.”
Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi minister of investment, said Saudi Arabia has been able to enable access to opportunities while addressing major risks, arguing that few countries can match the Kingdom’s overall mix.
“No country has all of those to 100 percent,” he said. “But who can give you the mix that gives you optimum access to opportunities while addressing all of those risks?
“I contend that Saudi Arabia has been able to provide that formula and the proof is in the pudding,” noting that local investment has doubled in recent years to reach levels comparable with India and China.
While societal transformation dominated the morning discussions, the afternoon turned to technology, tourism, sport and culture, four strategic sectors expected to spearhead Vision 2030’s next phase.
The Ministry of Economy and Planning used the day to announce the SUSTAIN Platform, due to launch in 2026, which aims to accelerate AI-enabled, cross-sector collaboration for sustainable development.
The ministry said SUSTAIN will translate the Kingdom’s public and private-sector coordination mandate into a practical national tool to help government entities, businesses, investors, academia and civil society identify credible partners, form trusted coalitions and move initiatives “from planning to implementation more efficiently,” addressing a global challenge where fragmented partnerships often slow delivery and blunt impact.
“We are in a moment in time where technology may well impact the face of humanity,” said Dina Powell McCormick, recently appointed president and vice chairman of Meta, welcoming the Kingdom’s “desire” to partner with technology companies and its embrace of innovation.
Minister of Tourism Ahmed Alkhateeb, discussing how technology is being deployed in his sector, underlined that “in travel and tourism, people are very important. We learn about other people’s culture through interacting with people. We digitalize the unnecessary and humanize the necessary.”
He added that while technological transformation is a priority, “we don’t want to replace this big workforce with technology. I think we need to protect them in Saudi Arabia, where we’re being a model. I’m an advocate of keeping the people.”
Throughout the week, Saudi House will host more than 20 sessions, including over 10 accredited by the WEF, across six themes: Bold Vision, Insights for Impact, People and Human Capability, Quality of Life, Investment and Collaboration, and Welcoming the World.
The pavilion will also launch “NextOn,” a new series of influential and educational talks featuring leading global voices.
