Saudi foreign minister meets Thai counterpart

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Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan meets his Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan meets his Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai. (SPA)
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Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha departs Riyadh, concluding his visit to Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
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Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha departs Riyadh, concluding his visit to Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan meets his Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai. (SPA)
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Updated 26 January 2022
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Saudi foreign minister meets Thai counterpart

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan held talks with his Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai, on the sidelines of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s official visit to the Kingdom.
During the meeting, they discussed ways to enhance joint cooperation in many fields and at all levels, in addition to exchanging views on several regional and international issues to achieve the interests of the two countries, the Saudi foreign ministry said.
“The two sides also touched on the importance of intensifying bilateral consultation and coordination to push relations toward broader horizons,” the statement added.
Prince Faisal said the premier’s visit aimed to converge the viewpoints of both kingdoms and consult to end outstanding issues, as well as strengthen bilateral relations.

He said that the two countries are looking forward to intensifying bilateral action in maintaining security and stability, combating terrorism and extremism in all its forms and manifestations, and drying up sources of terrorism and its financing.
Prince Faisal said that his country is keen to work with all international partners to continue efforts that achieve global peace and security.
He also said the two kingdoms intend to raise the level of economic cooperation between them in light of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and its ambitious programs, adding that the volume of the Kingdom’s exports to Thailand amounted to $4 billion in 2020, while the volume of Thailand’s exports to the Kingdom amounted to $1.65 billion.
Prince Faisal said both countries agreed to continue work on developing their ties in all fields, political and economic cooperation, and extending more bridges of communication between them.
Meanwhile, Prayut departed Riyadh later on Tuesday, concluding his visit. He was seen off at King Khalid International Airport by Minister of Commerce and Acting Minister of Information Dr. Majid Al-Qasabi.


Saudi Arabia’s KAUST named FIFA’s first research institute in MENA

The canal in the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology campus. (Shutterstock)
Updated 10 February 2026
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Saudi Arabia’s KAUST named FIFA’s first research institute in MENA

  • KAUST President Prof. Sir Edward Byrne said that the university’s selection as the fifth FIFA Research Institute in the world — and the first in the region — marks a significant achievement, reflecting Kingdom’s growing presence in international football

RIYADH: FIFA has designated the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology as its first research institute in the Middle East and Asia to support the development of innovative football research, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.

The recognition highlights KAUST’s commitment to integrating sports, academic research and industry through advanced, high-level initiatives grounded in rigorous scientific methodologies, contributing to the advancement of football studies.

KAUST President Prof. Sir Edward Byrne said that the university’s selection as the fifth FIFA Research Institute in the world — and the first in the region — marks a significant achievement, reflecting Saudi Arabia’s growing presence in international football.

The accreditation aligns with national efforts to invest in research and development and promote the knowledge economy, supporting Saudi Vision 2030’s goals of building an advanced sports system based on innovation and sustainability.

The collaboration’s first project focuses on developing advanced AI algorithms to analyze historical FIFA World Cup broadcast footage, transforming decades of match videos into structured, searchable data, according to the KAUST website.

This work opens new opportunities to apply state-of-the-art computer vision techniques and deepen understanding of how football has evolved over time.

The second project uses player and ball tracking data from the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar and the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand to compile comprehensive datasets capturing in-game dynamics.

These datasets provide deeper insights into human movement, playing techniques and performance dynamics through AI-driven analysis.