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RIYADH: Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and his French counterpart, Agnes Pannier-Runacher, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate in the field of energy, with a focus on clean energy from renewable resources.
In a joint statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency, France and Saudi Arabia agreed on a hydrogen cooperation and electricity produced from renewable resources roadmap focusing on three pillars:
• Technology development: Cooperation will advance hydrogen and electricity produced from renewable technology deployment from production, transportation and conversion at demand centers;
• Business co-operation: the private sector has a critical role to play, Saudi–France cooperation welcomes joint efforts between Saudi and French companies to partner in the entire energy supply chain to unlock business and hydrogen trade;
• Policies and regulation: the roadmap will further promote the development of the hydrogen industry through a mutual recognition of certification framework including emission life cycle assessment from all possible sources necessary for consistency in international trade.
“Both countries will work to enhance their cooperation in developing and sustaining supply chains for the energy sectors and to enable cooperation between companies to maximize the utilization of local resources in both countries, which contributes to achieving flexibility and effectiveness of energy supplies,” the statement said.
The MoU also calls for the creation of a “French-Saudi Task-Force” to carry out the cooperation arrangement.
According to the statement, both countries acknowledge the importance of advancing the implementation of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement in accordance with the principles, objectives and goals defined therein, including pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C.
“Addressing climate change and promoting secure, reliable, affordable and sustainable supplies of energy are shared strategic priorities of Saudi Arabia and France,” the statement said.
“Moreover, the two countries recognize that clean hydrogen is an essential fuel to reach the shared objective of promoting a sustainable economic development while mitigating the impact of climate change,” it said.
Both countries agreed to enhance cooperation on all aspects of energy production, including generation from renewable energy resources, grid interconnection projects, as well as encouraging the participation of private sectors in power sector projects.
“Both countries have agreed to engage in joint efforts to enhance energy efficiency, enhance cooperation in the field of nuclear energy in a peaceful and safe framework, the management of radioactive waste and the nuclear applications, and the development of human capabilities,” the statement also said.
“Both countries agreed to cooperate on advancing climate technologies and solutions including carbon capture utilization and storage for hard-to-abate sectors such as cement, aviation, marine, and petrochemicals, among others,” the statement added.
Saudi Arabia aims to become the leading exporter of hydrogen and electricity produced from low emission resources globally, capitalizing on its ability to produce hydrogen and electricity produced from low emission resources at competitive cost.
The Kingdom has the necessary resources of renewable energy, natural gas and carbon sinks, to export hydrogen in addition to its strategic location with proximity to major global demand centers.
The French strategy for the development of decarbonized hydrogen aims at having a significant contribution to the decarbonization of industry and transport. The strategy includes a public investment program, France 2030, aimed at accelerating investment and innovative solutions in sectors of French excellence to decarbonize industry and to develop renewable energy with the goal to increase the renewable power installed capacity up to 100GW by 2050, with more than 40 GW coming from offshore wind farms.
RIYADH: As the Kingdom continues to transform both economically and socially, ushering in a host of new institutes, ministries and mega and giga-projects, a large segment in its change is growth in the private sector.
In February this year, the non-oil element of this witnessed its highest growth since 2015, with the Kingdom’s Purchasing Managers Index hitting 59.8, up from 58.2 in January.
At the helm of Saudi Arabia’s private sector growth are small and medium enterprises, with many increasingly led by the Kingdom’s women.
Saudi women ran their own businesses long before the social reforms of Vision 2030 were implemented. Yet the acceleration and growth in the sector — propelled by an increasing number of female entrepreneurs — can be largely attributed to the changes taking place in the Kingdom as it opens up to the world.
“I established my consultancy Niche Arabia over 13 years ago and now I am investing in female-owned start-ups,” Marriam Mossalli, a Saudi lifestyle editor, journalist and founder of communications agency Niche Arabia, told Arab News.
“I have been able to witness firsthand the difference in the entire process; from legal registration to even human resources and training support, through programs like Hadaf and Tamheer,” she added.
Mossalli emphasized how the Kingdom is witnessing an increase in women not just in the workforce — up from 17.4 percent to 33.6 percent in just the last five years, according to Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics — but also in the world of entrepreneurship.
“Whether it’s in tourism or technology, there are many sectors that are attractive to women and we are seeing more women take on the entrepreneurial role,” said Mossalli, adding: “Women-owned companies in the Kingdom have increased by 60 percent in the past two years.”
Mossalli says she’s focusing on the next wave of “conscious consumers coming out of Saudi Arabia from Gen Z,” and as such in September she will invest in two female-owned businesses that focus on clean beauty and fashion.
“I am investing in women,” states Mossalli. “What is exciting for me now is being able to invest in the next generation.”
According to the Brookings Institute, the female labor force participation rate in Saudi Arabia jumped 64 percent between 2018 and 2020.
This growth was of a magnitude rarely seen elsewhere in the world.
According to the report, between 2018 and 2020, the labor force participation rate of Saudi women, that is to say those working or looking for work, rose from 19.7 percent to 33 percent.
Historically, the labor female labor force participation rate for Saudi women has been low, but it increased substantially due to reforms providing more freedom and business incentives to women under Vision 2030, which is actively supporting female SMEs through various programs.
A report in 2022 by Monsha’at, the Kingdom’s official SME general authority in 2022, revealed that 45 percent of such businesses are now led by women in Saudi Arabia.
“This is concrete proof that women are leading the SME growth in Saudi Arabia and in multiple sectors from retail to the food industry and to tech,” Honayda Serafi, an esteemed Saudi fashion designer, told Arab News.
Serafi, who launched her eponymous fashion brand in 2016 and focuses on pret-a-porter and couture lines, sees her brand as a way to empower women both psychologically and also to start their own fashion businesses.
Serafi recently designed the gown worn by Saudi Rajwa Al Saif, Jordan’s future queen.
“My journey was definitely a challenging one,” Serafi said. “When I launched my brand in 2016, the Kingdom was still not yet on the line of growth of the Vision 2030. I struggled a lot because back then the Saudi fashion industry lacked everything — from raw materials, to technical information, guidance, support etc … so I started from scratch looking for external consultancy, for suppliers internationally.”
After a period of trial and error, Serafi began producing seasonal collections to exhibit in Paris, and raised an international name for the brand.
“From a marketing perspective, the public was very much interested in my story,” she said. “I am the first Saudi woman to have created an international ready-to-wear brand and to have dressed A-list celebrities in Hollywood. When I talk about the mission of the brand to empower women, I am one of those women.”
From all corners of the Kingdom, women are becoming the driving force behind Saudi Arabia’s growing SME sector.
In Baljurashi, a city in the Al-Baha region, Sharifa Algamdi has transformed her traditional home into a boutique hotel.
A retired mathematics professor, three years ago she set out to restore her family’s home, built around the turn of the century.
It was easier to refurbish it and build her business after the reforms of Vision 2030 began being implemented, as it allowed her to more freely interact with other men to buy fabrics and other goods for the home, as well as hotel guests.
Both Mossalli and Serafi emphasize that the government’s support for the growth of the private sector has led to the creation of a full accelerator body with incubators, accessible data, funding, and loan facilities to develop different sectors in the Kingdom.
Serafi is clear that the Saudi Fashion Commission — established in February 2020 — and the Ministry of Culture have led the growth of the sector.
“I have been myself part of that supporting system providing mentorship, guidance and practical assistance to the small and emerging brands,” says Serafi. “And now the announcement of the first Saudi fashion week that will not only showcase emerging Saudi brands, but also involve other industries in the Kingdom for the production of that big event.”
Ranyah Seraj, who is half-Saudi, half-Scottish, launched her platform 6th Dimension of the Arts in Riyadh in 2021, a consultancy focused on art advising, concept creation and design catering to businesses and individuals.
“Women in Saudi are super in charge, but they have been for ages,” Seraji tells Arab News.
Seraj had a previous company that she launched in 2009 before the reforms were made, but it was an entirely different process then.
“It was one of the first companies as soon as Saudi made it applicable for women to have their own registered commercial registration,” she explained, adding: “However, you still needed a male component with you in your company, even if it was registered as a sole trader.
“You needed your father, your brother, your son, your husband’s name on that — that has been abolished since then.
“Everything has changed significantly. There are hundreds of thousands of opportunities that are now available to Saudi women.
“It is really a fantastic time for Saudi women now to lead the way in entrepreneurship and business.”
How does the increasingly female driving force of SMEs in Saudi Arabia compare to its Gulf Cooperation Council neighbors?
The difference, state Saudi women, is the focus on investing and growing homegrown Saudi brands instead of relying on foreign direct investment.
As Serafi states: “Vision 2030 has set goals to achieve growth for and by the Saudi citizens, which means that the Kingdom’s economy is being constructed to rely on its local businesses, rather than depending solely on foreign investors in Saudi Arabia.
“SMEs are being pushed financially, technically and technologically, to grow beyond the Kingdom and be competitive internationally.”
It is a model that is not only empowering women, but empowering a newfound sense of Saudi pride and identity — one that works with foreign investment but seeks to identify itself for its Saudi authenticity. Women are a big part of this push.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have asserted exclusive ownership of the Al-Durra gas field in the maritime “Divided Area” after tensions with Iran rose once again in the long-running dispute over the lucrative site.
The Saudi minister of foreign affairs reaffirmed the joint ownership, calling on Iran to engage in negotiations to demarcate the eastern border of the area.
The Kuwaiti oil minister also rejected Iran’s claims over the field and urged Tehran to initiate discussions about the area.
In a statement released by the Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday, a Foreign Ministry source emphasized the natural resources in the “Divided Area” are solely owned by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
“We renew our previous calls for Iran to start negotiations to demarcate the eastern border of the submerged divided area between the Kingdom and Kuwait, as one negotiating party opposite the Iranian side,” the ministry stated.
Following Saudi Arabia’s declaration, Kuwait also asserted its exclusive rights over the Al-Durra gas field. According to state news agency KUNA, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Saad Al-Barrak expressed strong opposition to Iran’s planned activities in the area.
“We categorically and totally reject Iran’s planned activities around the premises of the Al-Durra offshore gas field,” Al-Barrak said,
In an interview with Asharq during the 8th Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’s International Seminar, he added: “Iran must first enter into the demarcation of international borders, and after that, whoever has a right will get it according to the rules of international law.”
A source close to Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry revealed to KUNA that the “maritime area where Al-Durra offshore field lies is part of the State of Kuwait’s sea territories, and the natural resources therein are shared between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia,” dismissing any claims by Iran.
The source added: “Only the state of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have exclusive rights to the natural resources of the Al-Durra field.”
This assertion solidifies Kuwait’s position and underscores the shared ownership between the two neighboring countries.
The dispute over the Al-Durra gas field has been ongoing for many years. In March, Kuwait and Iran held joint negotiations in Tehran, emphasizing the need to resolve the matter in accordance with international laws.
Iran’s persistence in pursuing activities in the area however adds to the complexity of the dispute and poses challenges to achieving a resolution.
The Al-Durra gas field is a common submerged area between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait located in the Arabian Gulf. It is situated within the Al-Hasa Governorate, which is a part of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
The discovery of this oil field dates back to the 1960s, which coincided with the commencement of the demarcation process for the maritime borders between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
• 1967 Al-Durra gas field discovered.
• 2013 Talks stall between Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran.
• 2019 Saudi Arabia and Kuwait resume production from Neutral Zone fields.
• 2022 Saudi Arabia and Kuwait sign MoU to invest in Al-Durra gas field.
• 2023 Resources in Neutral Zone confirmed to be fully owned by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
The ownership of the field was evenly divided between the two countries, becoming effective in 1970.
The gas field is one of the largest in the world with abundant natural gas reserves.
It is expected to produce 1 billion cubic feet of gas daily and 84,000 barrels per day of condensate, and plays a significant role in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait’s gas production.
The Al-Durra oil field’s strategic importance and the potential wealth it holds have attracted the attention of neighboring countries, particularly Iran.
The dispute over its ownership and exploitation rights arises from differing interpretations of maritime boundaries and conflicting claims by Tehran.
In 2001, Iran began granting contracts for its exploration, which prompted Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to finalize the demarcation of their maritime borders, which included the Al-Durra oil field.
Despite objections from Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait signed an agreement in 2022 to jointly develop and explore the field.
IN NUMBERS
• 1 billion cubic feet estimated daily gas production.
• 84,000 barrels estimated daily production of liquefied natural gas.
The controversies surrounding the operations escalated following Iran’s announcement in June that it was prepared to commence drilling in the Al-Durra gas field.
Mohsen Khojsteh Mehr, the managing director of the National Iranian Oil Co., indicated that Iran is allocating sizeable resources for exploring the site.
“Considerable resources have been allocated to the board of directors of the National Iranian Oil Co. for the implementation of the development plan for this field,” said Mehr, according to Iranian state media.
Despite attempts at negotiations and agreements between Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, a definitive resolution to the dispute has remained elusive, leading to ongoing tensions and disagreements in the region.
The competing claims and Iran’s readiness to begin drilling in the Al-Durra field further exacerbate the tensions in the region.
As the situation unfolds, it remains to be seen whether diplomatic negotiations or other means will be employed to reach a mutually agreeable resolution between the concerned parties.
KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank is all set to launch the pilot of the country’s first digital currency within two months following the completion of the required groundwork, the deputy governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said this week.
Increasingly seen as a potential replacement for physical cash, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are digital versions of cash that are issued and regulated by state-owned banks. In 2018, Pakistan’s central bank declared virtual currencies (VCs), including Bitcoin, Litecoin, Pakcoin, OneCoin, DasCoin, and Pay Diamond, as illegal and prohibited their use in trading.
CBDCs are more secure compared to cryptocurrencies and are designed to complement existing physical cash and traditional forms of electronic money. The currencies are built on blockchain technology (DLT) and are intended to provide a secure and efficient means of conducting digital transactions.
“The groundwork (of the digital currency) has been completed and [the SBP] will run a pilot that is called sandbox so that we could carefully examine it,” Sima Kamil, Deputy Governor of SBP, told Arab News early this week.
“The sandbox will be launched in a month or two,” she said, referring to a controlled environment provided for testing innovative products, services, or business models in a limited and supervised manner.
SBP officials said the central bank, which has been researching options for its own digital currency, is ready to launch its pilot or sandbox in a month or two.
Kamil added that the launch of the digital currency was “part of our five-year strategy.”
Under the strategic plan titled “SBP Vision 2028,” which was announced on Monday, Pakistan’s central bank said it plans to transform the SBP into a high-tech, people-centric institution.
The bank also plans to bring inflation to the target level (5-7%) in the medium term and promoting fairness in the banking system in next five years, as per the SBP Vision 2028.
The deputy governor said the CBDCs have been launched by a handful of countries so far while other countries and central banks are examining them.
According to Atlantic Council CBDC tracker, so far, only Nigeria, Jamaica, and Bahamas have launched their CBDCs whilr other countries including China, India, Saudi Arabia, France, Ghana, Canada, and Uruguay have launched their pilots.
Pakistan has been studying the options of launching digital currency since 2019 with the launch of laws for electronic money institutions (EMIs).
The regulations also cover other regulatory requirements including outsourcing activities, anti-money laundering and countering-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), consumer protection, complaint handling mechanism, oversight, and regulatory reporting.
Despite not getting recognized as legal tender, the interest in cryptocurrencies has been on the rise in Pakistan, which recorded around $20 billion of cryptocurrency value in 2020-21, according to a research report by the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI).
However, the deputy governor of SBP clarified that CBDCs are different from cryptocurrencies.
“People do mix [them] sometimes,” she said, adding that CBDCs were different from cryptocurrencies as they will be considered the central bank’s legal tender currency.
Meanwhile, cybersecurity experts termed the rollout of the sandbox by Pakistan’s central bank a “landmark step”.
“Financial services and business models have been revolutionized by technology, and among them, digital currencies are the manifestation of state-of-the-art breakthroughs,” Dr. Muhammad Khurram Khan, professor of cybersecurity at King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, and the founder of Global Foundation for Cyber Studies and Research (USA), told Arab News on Friday.
He said nations around the world have been stepping up their efforts to test and launch their own stable digital currencies.
“It would be a landmark step if Pakistan’s central bank laid the foundation and rolled out a sandbox to test and standardize the measures for local use cases and scenarios for the fintech industry.”
He, however, added that cybersecurity risks make the whole financial ecosystem vulnerable to security and privacy risks.
“The central bank of Pakistan should give paramount importance to their digital currency sandbox and comply with personal data protection and global cybersecurity standards,” Khan advised.
LONDON: Major improvements in Saudi cybersecurity are increasing the Kingdom’s attractiveness to investors and seeing it develop a reputation as a specialist in the field, the BMG Economic Forum was told on Wednesday.
Faisal Hameed, vice president for innovation enablement at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, said Saudi Arabia had climbed from 46th to second place in the Global Cyber Security Index since the 2017 launch of the Vision 2030 reform plan.
“The Cyber Security Authority and Cyber Security Act have both been big changes that leave us only second to the US,” he told the forum, which was held at the London Stock Exchange and attended by Arab News.
“We’ve come a long way since a 2012 attack against Aramco turned thousands of computers into bricks.
“We have training camps and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in cybersecurity, which is building domestic expertise in the field and transforming investment opportunities.”
Hameed said improvements in cybersecurity are attracting startups from fields including artificial intelligence, quantum and post-quantum computing as the Kingdom pushes to diversify its economy.
David Webb, managing director of security risk management firm Valkyrie, said confidence in Saudi Arabia as an investment destination is increasing, and this can be seen in a change in the queries the company is receiving.
“Saudi was always bound up in the misconstrued notion that there were physical threats to investing there — tied to what one might term its ‘noisy neighbours’,” said Webb.
“But what we’re seeing more of now, especially in recent years, is a move from questions of physical security and whether it’s strong on cybersecurity, and we always say ‘yes’ as now is a great time to invest in the country.”
Gurpreet Thathy, Valkyrie’s director of cybersecurity, said when advising on cybersecurity the company always tells clients they must build it in and future-proof it.
He added: “There must be cybersecurity embedded in the design, not a bolt on, and employees need to be told about the cyber threats out there.
“In Saudi, we see that this is the mindset from the outset, rather than a bolt on, and it’s very good to see this.”
Both Thathy and Webb said no cybersecurity system will ever be impenetrable, and what is also needed is the expertise to react swiftly to breaches.
Webb added: “We also see a lot of companies not building this reactive expertise in, and it leads to the system come crashing down.
“But with what Saudi has done in terms of training and education, if ever there was a sector for youth employment, it’s cybersecurity.”
KARACHI: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board meeting on Pakistan has been scheduled for July 12, the lender confirmed in an email on Wednesday.
Pakistan secured a badly needed $3 billion stand-by arrangement (SBA) from the International Monetary Fund on Friday, giving the South Asian economy a much-awaited respite as it teeters on the brink of default.
The staff-level agreement on the SBA is subject to approval by the IMF Executive board.
The previous Extended Fund Facility expired on June 30, with the 9th, 10th, and 11th reviews pending.