Energy deals with Brazil, Japan, and Jordan signed off by Saudi Cabinet

The Cabinet meeting was held in Jeddah. SPA
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Updated 12 May 2024
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Energy deals with Brazil, Japan, and Jordan signed off by Saudi Cabinet

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has approved economic and energy deals with several countries including Jordan, Brazil, and Japan, during its latest Cabinet meeting.

An agreement between the central banks of the Kingdom and Qatar focusing on cooperation in financing operations was also among the deals endorsed.

The meeting also approved various agreements between the Saudi government and other countries, including Oman, Georgia, and Morocco. 

The Council of Ministers discussed updates on the Kingdom’s cooperation with various countries worldwide, focusing on efforts to enhance bilateral and collective work across multiple fields. 

Among them were agreements reached between the Kingdom and both Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan in the field of energy.

These accords reflect a commitment to the sustainability and stability of petroleum markets. They also aim to advance cooperation in clean energy sectors, contributing to a globally organized energy transition. Additionally, they seek to build a more sustainable future for the three countries and the world. 

In his statement to the Saudi Press Agency following the session, Minister of Media Salman Al-Dosari highlighted the Council’s appreciation for the results of the recent Arab conferences in Riyadh focused on environmental matters.  

He added that the Cabinet stressed the Kingdom’s keenness to partner with regional and global entities to bolster agriculture, food security, and water resources, aligning with the country’s sustainable development goals. 

During the session, the Council of Ministers cleared various agreements including an energy cooperation deal between Saudi Arabia and Jordan, as well as a memorandum of understanding between the Saudi Ministry of Energy and Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy.

The Cabinet also endorsed two cooperation pacts between the Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources and both Morocco’s Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. These pacts relate to the fields of mineral wealth, mining, and mineral resources. 

Moreover, it cleared the Kingdom’s accession to the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement concerning the international registration of industrial designs. 

Additionally, the Cabinet approved the implementation of a decision made by the Gulf Cooperation Council states’ Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee regarding the final draft for exempting industrial inputs from fees. This decision was made during the committee’s 120th meeting, held in October 2023 in the Omani capital, Muscat. 


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

Updated 26 January 2026
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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.”