MOSCOW: King Salman arrived in Moscow on Wednesday for a historic and unprecedented state visit to Russia, the first by a Saudi monarch in almost a century of diplomatic ties.
The king was greeted at Vnukovo airport by senior Russian officials and a military brass band. He will have talks with the Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Friday.
The two countries will sign investment agreements worth more than $3 billion during the visit, the Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said. They include a $1.1 billion deal for the Russian petrochemical company Sibur to build a plant in Saudi Arabia, a $1 billion joint technology investment fund, another $1 billion joint fund to invest in energy projects, and Saudi investment in Russian toll roads, including a new one in Moscow.
King Salman and President Putin are also expected to discuss extending oil production cuts ahead of the OPEC meeting in November.
The king is leading a high-powered delegation of government and private-sector figures. “The potential for economic cooperation between the countries is really unlimited,” Konstantin Dudarev, former Saudi general manager of the Russian oil and gas engineering construction company PJSC Stroytransgaz told Arab News.
“Their economies complement each other, and it is time to gain what was lost during the past years, and to take practical steps to overcome all obstacles to secure a breakthrough in trade and economic relations.”
Ilya Fabrichnikov, head of the foreign affairs group at the Russian Association of Public Relations, said the visit marked a shift in regional and global affairs. “We are witnessing a move from a unipolar world to a more regionalized state of affairs,” he told Arab News.
Anton Mardasov of the Russian International Affairs Council said the two countries were moving to end their “stereotyped perceptions of each other. Taking into account the nature of the Russian economy and the country’s geopolitical position, it is important for Moscow to attract foreign investment and ameliorate the investment climate.
“In this regard, Saudi-Russian business and investment cooperation serves Russian national interests. There are a large number of Muslims in Russia who can benefit from Islamic banking, which is an area of investment for Russia and Saudi Arabia.”
Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said the two countries would seek areas of synergy and aim to exploit their “unique technologies,” for example in desalination and energy efficiency for air conditioning.
He 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,” he said.
Dmitriev’s fund will also look at relevant investments outside Russia and Saudi Arabia, he said.
The Council of Saudi Chambers organized a networking meeting in Moscow on Wednesday for more than 100 Saudi and Russian business leader and chief executives, to coincide with King Salman’s visit.
Council Chairman Ahmed Al-Rajhi said he hoped the meeting would boost commercial cooperation and investment between the two countries.
An increase in meetings between Russia and Saudi Arabia “has become a pressing necessity to activate commercial and investment relations,” he said.
King Salman’s visit will conclude on Saturday.
A turning point in Saudi-Russian relations
A turning point in Saudi-Russian relations
Wrapping up Year of Handicrafts at AlUla’s Winter at Tantora
- Annual festival takes place until Jan. 10
ALULA: AlUla’s Old Town has sprung into life with Winter at Tantora — the annual festival which runs until Jan. 10 — as cooler temperatures settle over the region.
The three-week event contains workshops, concerts and gastronomic experiences which have transformed the historic landscape into a vibrant cultural gathering point, catering to locals and visitors alike.
Winter at Tantora takes its name from the traditional sundial, or the tantora, once used to mark the agricultural calendar.
The actual tantora is still perched atop what is now Dar Tantora The House Hotel, which was named as one of Time magazine’s “World’s Greatest Places” in 2024.
One of the festival’s most atmospheric offerings is Shorfat Tantora, where live music fills Al-Jadidah Arts District as musicians perform from balconies, blending traditional rhythms with contemporary beats.
The open-air experience invites audiences to gather and witness music’s unifying power on Thursday and Friday nights between 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. It ends on Jan. 2.
Since this year’s festival also highlights Saudi Arabia’s rich artisanal heritage — in line with the Ministry of Culture’s designation of 2025 as the Year of Handicrafts — there are plenty of crafts to be seen.
The festival spirit was also reflected this week at the outdoor Thanaya venue, a short drive from Old Town, where Emirati superstar Ahlam Al-Shamsi, who is known as Ahlam, took to the stage.
Her name, which means “dream” in Arabic, felt particularly fitting as the audience was immersed in her craft on the crisp, cool night with AlUla’s ancient rock formations as a backdrop. With wind billowing over the sky, she was perhaps the brightest star of the night.
Ahlam told the crowd: “In the Year of Handicrafts we celebrate human creativity through the hands that craft and the spirit that creates.
“The weather has been chilly over the last two days, but you (the audience) radiate warmth.”
With craft stations and food trucks nearby, Ahlam represented a modern twist weaved into the ongoing oral storytelling tradition.
Back in Old Town, people enjoyed the Art Walk tour and snaked through the labyrinth of painted mudbrick homes, murals and traditions while being guided by a local storyteller.
The Old Town Culinary Voyage merges storytelling and tasting. It spotlights traditional flavors and culture through aromas, spices and tastings.
Walking through the dusty, uneven rocky ground, visitors come across the ancient “Incense Road,” a well-known trade route central to pre-Islamic history and a main stage for global exchange.
A key stop in a network of ancient caravan routes, the road connected southern parts of Arabia, where frankincense and myrrh were produced, to the Mediterranean world.
These routes made incense one of the most valuable commodities of the ancient world. Parts of the route are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
