Saudi Arabia showcases its global leadership role at WEF  

The World Economic Forum is being held in Davos. WEF
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Updated 16 January 2024
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Saudi Arabia showcases its global leadership role at WEF  

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s participation in the five-day annual meeting of the World Economic Forum is bolstered by its position and leadership role in the global arena, according to a top official.    

In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency, Princess Reema bint Bandar, the Kingdom’s ambassador to the US, said that guided by its Vision 2030 the country has made remarkable achievements in various international forums and adopted a new approach in its foreign policy.   

This has established Saudi Arabia as a leader in the region and the world.    

She also expressed her keenness to play a key role in enhancing the Kingdom’s successful engagement at the WEF by exchanging views and ideas that can help address global challenges.  

Princess Reema is eager to share Saudi Arabia’s achievements in the political, economic, climate, technical and innovative domains at the event.    

For his part, Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Al-Swaha discussed ways to enhance cooperation and digital inclusion with the secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, on Jan. 15.  

On the sidelines of the WEF annual meeting, the discussion focused on stimulating collaborations and initiatives aimed at connecting the world, empowering individuals, and protecting the planet.  

Additionally, the talks also focused on how important it is to develop partnerships in order to support the expansion of the digital economy, and how critical it is to take advantage of generative artificial intelligence prospects, advance national digital skills, and support digital entrepreneurship.  

In an effort to strengthen collaborations in the fields of innovation and the digital economy, Al-Swaha also met with a number of executives from well-known international technology and innovation businesses.  

The topics of discussion included creating technologies and solutions for cloud computing, generative AI, and improving Saudis’ digital skills in new fields like digital content localization.  

Furthermore, the minister met with Alexander Wang, the founder and CEO of Scale AI, and Borje Ekholm, president and CEO of the Ericsson Group, to discuss collaborations, share expertise, and promote the expansion of the digital economy and innovation.  

During the WEF annual meeting, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef held several meetings with a number of leaders of international companies and institutions, according to Saudi Press Agency. 

Alkhorayef discussed enhancing cooperation and promising investment opportunities in the industrial and mining sectors, as well as developing avenues for trade exchange and increasing the access of Saudi non-oil exports to global markets. 

“Saudi Arabia is open for business,” Alkhorayef said, highlighting the Kingdom’s efforts to attract investors and entrepreneurs to the mining and Industry sectors from around the world, according to a tweet by the Ministry of Economy and Planning on X. 


European gas prices soar almost 50% as Iran conflict halts Qatar LNG output

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European gas prices soar almost 50% as Iran conflict halts Qatar LNG output

  • Analysts warn prolonged disruption could push prices higher
  • Some shipments of oil, LNG through Strait of Hormuz suspended
  • Benchmark Asian LNG price up almost 39 percent

LONDON: ​Benchmark Dutch and British wholesale gas prices soared by almost 50 percent on Monday, after major liquefied natural gas exporter Qatar Energy said it had halted production due to attacks in the Middle East.

Qatar, soon to cement its role as the world’s second largest LNG exporter after the US, plays a major role in balancing both Asian and European markets’ demand of LNG.

Most tanker owners, oil majors and ‌trading houses ‌have suspended crude oil, fuel and liquefied natural ​gas shipments ‌via ⁠the ​Strait of ⁠Hormuz, trade sources said, after Tehran warned ships against moving through the waterway.

Europe has increased imports of LNG over the past few years as it seeks to phase out Russian gas following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Around 20 percent of the world’s LNG transits through the Strait of Hormuz and a prolonged suspension or full closure would increase global competition for other ⁠sources of the gas, driving up prices internationally.

“Disruptions to ‌LNG flows would reignite competition between ‌Asia and Europe for available cargoes,” said ​Massimo Di Odoardo, vice president, gas ‌and LNG research at Wood Mackenzie.

The Dutch front-month contract at the ‌TTF hub, seen as a benchmark price for Europe, was up €14.56 at €46.52 per megawatt hour, or around $15.92/mmBtu, by 12:55 p.m. GMT, ICE data showed.

Prices were already some 25 percent higher earlier in the day but extended gains ‌after QatarEnergy’s production halt.

Benchmark Asian LNG prices jumped almost 39 percent on Monday morning with the S&P Global ⁠Energy Japan-Korea-Marker, widely used ⁠as an Asian LNG benchmark, at $15.068 per million British thermal units, Platts data showed.

“If LNG/gas markets start to price in an extended period of losses to Qatari LNG supply, TTF could potentially spike to 80-100 euros/MWh ($28-35/mmBtu),” Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy at ING, said. The British April contract was up 40.83 pence at 119.40 pence per therm, ICE data showed.

Europe is also relying on LNG imports to help fill its gas storage sites which have been depleted over the winter and are currently around 30 percent full, the latest data from Gas Infrastructure ​Europe showed. In the European carbon ​market, the benchmark contract was down €1.10 at €69.17 a tonne