Saudi Arabia, Belarus eye stronger trade ties 

The MoU aims to support Saudi Arabia and Belarus-based companies to expand targeted markets. SPA
Short Url
Updated 08 January 2024
Follow

Saudi Arabia, Belarus eye stronger trade ties 

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Belarus are set to bolster their trade and investment ties with the signing of a new memorandum of understanding. 

The MoU, signed between the Federation of Saudi Chambers and Belarus’ National Center for Marketing and Price Studies, includes exchanging information related to trade, investments, production, and export opportunities. 

This will support Saudi Arabia and Belarus-based companies to expand targeted markets, organize joint research activities in marketing to improve trade prospects, and further explore areas of cooperation. 

The deal aims to facilitate participation in trade fairs, holding economic events and forums, and exchanging trade delegations.  

According to the MoU, the two parties will collaborate to offer assistance to investors, foster business connections, organize online training seminars, and share insights on the implementation of information technology and digital transformation in trade promotion, the Saudi Press Agency reported. 

It aims to facilitate opportunities for companies from both nations to access markets in a mutually beneficial manner. 

The agreement was signed by the acting secretary of FSC, Waleed Alorainan, and Mikalai Barysevich, the director of Belarusian center for marketing and price studies. 

On Jan. 7, King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received letters from Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko. 

The letters dealt with bilateral relations and ways to support and enhance them in diverse fields.  

The documents were handed over to Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan during a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Sergei Aleinik in Riyadh.  

During the meeting, the top officials discussed relations between the two countries and ways to enhance them in various areas.


Reforms target sustained growth in Saudi real estate sector, says Al-Hogail

Updated 26 January 2026
Follow

Reforms target sustained growth in Saudi real estate sector, says Al-Hogail

RIYADH: The Real Estate Future Forum opened its doors for its first day at the Four Seasons Riyadh, with prominent global and local figures coming together to engage with one of the Kingdom’s most prospering sectors.

With new regulations, laws, and investments underway, 2026 is expected to be a year of momentous progress for the real estate sector in the Kingdom.

The forum opened with a video highlighting the sector’s progress in the Kingdom, during which an emphasis was placed on the forum’s ability to create global reach, representation, as well as agreements worth a cumulative $50 billion

With the Kingdom now opening up real estate ownership to foreigners, this year’s Real Estate Future Forum is placing a great deal of importance on this new milestone and its desired outcomes and impact on the market. 

Aside from this year’s forum’s unique discussions surrounding those developments, it will also be the first of its kind to launch the Real Estate Excellence Award and announce its finalist during the three-day summit.

Minister of Municipalities and Housing and Chairman of the Real Estate General Authority Majed Al-Hogail took to stage to address the diverse audience on the real estate market’s achievements thus far and its milestones to come.

Of those important milestones, he underscored “real estate balance” as a key pillar of the sector’s decisions to implement regulatory tools “with the aim of constant growth which can maintain the vitality of this sector.” He pointed to examples of those regulatory measures, such as the White Land Tax.

On 2025’s progress, the minister highlighted the jump in Saudi family home ownership, which went from 47 percent in 2016 to 66 percent in 2025, keeping the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goal of 70 percent by the end of the decade on track.

He said the opening of the real estate market to foreigners is an indicator of the sector’s maturity under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He said his ministry plans to build over 300,000 housing units in Riyadh over the next three years.

Speaking to Arab News,  Al-Hogail elaborated on these achievements, stating: “Today, demand, especially local demand, has grown significantly. The mortgage market has reached record levels, exceeding SR900 billion ($240 billion) in mortgage financing, we are now seeing SRC (Saudi Real Estate Refinance Co.) injecting both local and foreign liquidity on a large scale, reaching more than SR54 billion”

Al-Hogail described Makkah and Madinah as unique and special points in the Kingdom’s real estate market as he spoke of the sector’s attractiveness.

 “Today, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become, in international investment indices, one that takes a good share of the Middle East, and based on this, many real estate investment portfolios have begun to come in,” he said. 

Al-Ahsa Gov. Prince Saud bin Talal bin Badr Al-Saud told Arab News the Kingdom’s ability to balance both heritage sites with real estate is one of its strengths.

He said: “Actually the real estate market supports the whole infrastructure … the whole ecosystem goes back together in the foundation of the real estate; if we have the right infrastructure we can leverage more on tourism plus we can leverage more on the quality of life … we’re looking at 2030, this is the vision … to have the right infrastructure the time for more investors to come in real estate, entertainment, plus tourism and culture.”