LONDON: Russia and Saudi Arabia plan to set up a $1 billion fund to invest in technology, the chief executive of a sovereign Russian wealth fund said on Wednesday.
The joint venture is the latest in a series of deals expected to be signed during a visit to Russia by King Salman this week, the first to Moscow by a reigning Saudi monarch.
Other deals include a $1 billion fund to invest in energy projects and Saudi investment in Russian toll roads, including a new one in Moscow to relieve congestion.
Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said on a press call that the two countries would seek areas of synergy between Russia and Saudi Arabia and aim to exploit their “unique technologies.”
He cited desalination technologies and energy efficiency for air conditioning, and also highlighted Russia’s largest tech company Yandex, which specializes in Internet-related services and products.
“Yandex is an interesting company for us because it is already present in the Middle East and Turkey and it has a search engine that beats Google in the Russian market by a large margin,” Dmitriev said.
The fund will also look at relevant investments outside Russia and Saudi Arabia, he added.
Saudi Arabia’s main sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has already invested in the SoftBank Vision Fund, a technology-focused private equity fund established with the Japanese company and other big investors.
Meanwhile, the RDIF has invested in Hyperloop One, which is developing an advanced transport system. (Reporting by Claire Milhench)
Russia, Saudi Arabia to set up $1 billion technology fund
Russia, Saudi Arabia to set up $1 billion technology fund
KSrelief transfers Gaza girl to Jordan for cancer treatment
- Roza Al-Dreimli in Jordan because Israel destroyed Gaza hospitals
- Under assessment, monitoring at the King Hussein Cancer Center
AMMAN: A cancer-stricken Palestinian girl from Gaza is now undergoing clinical observation prior to treatment at a specialist hospital in Jordan, thanks to Saudi Arabia’s aid agency KSrelief.
Roza Al-Dreimli was transported to Amman from the Gaza Strip through the initiative of KSrelief, as a part of Saudi Arabia’s continued medical support for Palestinians, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday.
Al-Dreimli was prioritized because assessments indicated the need for advanced treatment of cancerous cells at the base of her brain. She is at the King Hussein Cancer Center, and being treated by a team of pediatricians.
She is currently undergoing “intensive clinical monitoring” to “ensure control of the condition, and prevent any potential neurological or visual complications resulting from the tumor’s location,” the SPA reported.
Al-Dreimli’s family expressed profound gratitude for KSrelief’s swift intervention, and hoped the specialized care would ensure a full recovery.
Such specialized care is currently unavailable in the Gaza Strip because of Israel’s alleged genocidal destruction of hospitals and killing of medical workers since Oct. 7, 2023.
Israel has systematically destroyed homes and commercial buildings and infrastructure in the Palestinian enclave, killing over 70,000 Palestinians, many of them unarmed men, women and children, and injuring more than 170,000.
Tel Aviv has stated that its actions were in retaliation to a raid by Hamas of Israeli border villages, during which the militant group reportedly killed more than 1,200 people and took 254 hostages.
