Saudi Arabia, UK to boost cooperation in mining sector

Saudi Arabia, UK to boost cooperation in mining sector
Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral resource Bandar Alkhorayef and UK Minister for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch. (SPA)
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Updated 26 May 2023

Saudi Arabia, UK to boost cooperation in mining sector

Saudi Arabia, UK to boost cooperation in mining sector
  • Agreement will focus on critical minerals, diversifying supply chains and helping transition to clean energy

RIYADH: Bandar Alkhorayef, Saudi Arabia’s minister of industry and mineral resources, signed a letter of intent with Kemi Badenoch, the UK secretary of state for business and trade, to enhance cooperation in the field of critical minerals.

Critical minerals, such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements, are essential components in many rapidly growing clean energy technologies.  

The two sides seek to commit to the joint development of supply chains of minerals essential to the worldwide transition to zero carbon neutrality, Saudi Press Agency reported.  

Alkhorayef said that this step comes within the framework of boosting bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and the UK in the industrial and mining sectors, and contributes to supporting global efforts to realize a green future. 

The Saudi minister said that the two countries want to ensure the availability of minerals required for the transition to sustainable energy. 

The letter of intent will enable both countries to diversify supply chains for critical minerals used in a variety of metal-intensive industries, such as vehicle manufacture, electricity, aviation, defense and renewable energy.

It will also enable them to coordinate through international forums, collaborate with  the private sector on mineral supply chains, and explore joint investment opportunities, as well as facilitate knowledge exchange on projects related to critical minerals.
 


US, Japan, South Korea aim to share North Korea missile warning data

US, Japan, South Korea aim to share North Korea missile warning data
Updated 5 min 5 sec ago

US, Japan, South Korea aim to share North Korea missile warning data

US, Japan, South Korea aim to share North Korea missile warning data
  • Three sides recognize ‘trilateral efforts to activate a data sharing mechanism to exchange real-time missile warning data before the end of the year’

SIINGAPORE: The United States, Japan and South Korea aim to share North Korean missile warning data before the end of 2023, the three countries said in a statement following a Saturday meeting of their defense chiefs in Singapore.
The three sides “recognized trilateral efforts to activate a data sharing mechanism to exchange real-time missile warning data before the end of the year in order to improve each country’s ability to detect and assess missiles launched” by North Korea, the statement said.


KSrelief distributes aid packages in Afghanistan, Syria and Sudan

KSrelief distributes aid packages in Afghanistan, Syria and Sudan
Updated 14 min 34 sec ago

KSrelief distributes aid packages in Afghanistan, Syria and Sudan

KSrelief distributes aid packages in Afghanistan, Syria and Sudan

RIYADH: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) has distributed food packages in Afghanistan, Syria and Sudan.
In Afghanistan, around 350 food packages were distributed to orphans and widows as well as needy residents in Kandahar Province, and benefited 350 families affected by the floods this year.
In Jindires of Syria’s Aleppo governorate, 1,580 food packages and 1,580 hygiene kits were given out to families affected by the earthquake in February.
The center has also sent its first aid shipment to Sudan via the Saudi relief sea bridge, comprising 50 tons of food products.
The KSrelief aid aims to alleviate the suffering of people affected by natural disasters of floods and earthquakes across the world in different cities, benefiting thousands of families in need.


UN agency for Palestinian refugees raises just a third of $300m needed to help millions

UN agency for Palestinian refugees raises just a third of $300m needed to help millions
Updated 03 June 2023

UN agency for Palestinian refugees raises just a third of $300m needed to help millions

UN agency for Palestinian refugees raises just a third of $300m needed to help millions
  • UNRWA chief grateful for the new pledges but they are below the funds needed to keep over 700 schools and 140 clinics open from September through December

UNITED NATIONS: Despite a dire warning from the UN chief that the UN agency for Palestinian refugees “is on the verge of financial collapse,” donors at a pledging conference on Friday provided just $107 million in new funds — significantly less than the $300 million it needs to keep helping millions of people.
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the agency known as UNRWA, said he was grateful for the new pledges but they are below the funds needed to keep over 700 schools and 140 clinics open from September through December.
“We will continue to work tirelessly with our partners, including host countries — the refugees’ top supporters — to raise the funds needed,” he said in a statement.
At the beginning of the year, UNRWA appealed for $1.6 billion for its programs, operations and emergency response across Syria, Lebanon, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and Jordan. That includes nearly $850 million for its core budget, which includes running schools and health clinics.
According to UNRWA, donors on Friday announced $812.3 million in pledges, but just $107.2 million were new contributions. The countries pledging new funds were not announced.
Lazzarini told a press conference Thursday that UNRWA needs $150 million to keep all services running until the end of the year, and an additional $50 million to start 2024 without liabilities. In addition, he said, the agency needs $75 million to keep the food pipeline in Gaza operating and about $30 million for its cash distribution program in Syria and Lebanon.
UNRWA was founded in the wake of the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 to provide hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled or were forced from their homes with education, health care, social services and in some cases jobs. Today, their numbers — with descendants — have grown to some 5.9 million people, most in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, as well as neighboring countries in the Middle East.
UNRWA has faced a financial crisis for 10 years, but Lazzarini said the current crisis is “massive,” calling it “our main existential threat.”
“It is deepening, and our ability to muddle through is slowly but surely coming to an end,” he said. “The situation is even more critical now that some of our committed donors have indicated that the will substantially decrease their contribution to the agency.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a speech read by his chief of staff at the start of the pledging conference that “when UNRWA’s future hangs in the balance so do the lives of millions of Palestine refugees relying on essential services.”
Those services include education for over half a million girls and boys, health care for around 2 million people, job opportunities for young people in Gaza and elsewhere, psycho-social support for hundreds of thousands of children, and a social safety net for nearly half a million of the poorest Palestinians, he said. More than 1.2 million Palestinians also receive humanitarian assistance.


Turkiye: Erdogan to be sworn in for third term as president

Turkiye: Erdogan to be sworn in for third term as president
Updated 03 June 2023

Turkiye: Erdogan to be sworn in for third term as president

Turkiye: Erdogan to be sworn in for third term as president
  • Erdogan’s inauguration in parliament will be followed by a lavish ceremony at his palace in Ankara

ANKARA: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to be sworn in on Saturday as head of state after winning a historic runoff election to extend his two-decade rule for another five years as Turkiye’s economic woes worsen.
The inauguration in parliament will be followed by a lavish ceremony at his palace in the capital Ankara attended by dozens of world leaders.
Turkiye’s transformative but divisive leader won the May 28 runoff against a powerful opposition coalition, and despite an economic crisis and severe criticism following a devastating February earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people.
Erdogan won 52.18 percent of the vote while his secular rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu 47.82 percent, official results show.
Turkiye’s longest-serving leader faces immediate and major challenges in his third term driven by a decelerating economy and foreign policy tensions with the West.
“From a geopolitical point of view, the election will reinforce Turkiye’s recent pursuit of an independent foreign policy,” said Matt Gertken, chief geopolitical strategist at BCA Research.
“This policy aims to extract maximum economic and strategic benefits from eastern and autocratic states while still preventing a permanent rupture in relations with western democracies,” he said.
“Tensions with the West will likely increase again, within that framework, now that Erdogan has a new mandate.”
Addressing the country’s economic troubles will be Erdogan’s first priority with inflation running at 43.70 percent, partly due to his unorthodox policy of cutting interest rates to stimulate growth.
Late on Saturday the president is due to unveil his new cabinet with media speculating that former finance minister Mehmet Simsek, a reassuring figure with international stature, could play a part.
A former Merrill Lynch economist, Simsek is known to oppose Erdogan’s unconventional policies.
He served as finance minister between 2009 and 2015 and deputy prime minister in charge of the economy until 2018, before stepping down ahead of a series of lira crashes that year.
“Erdogan’s government looks like it will pursue an orthodox stabilization program,” said Alp Erinc Yeldan, professor of economics at Istanbul’s Kadir Has University.
“What we see now is that the news about Mehmet Simsek and his team is greeted with enthusiasm by the markets,” he said.
Turkiye’s new members of parliament started being sworn in on Friday in a first session after the May 14 election, also attended by Erdogan.
His alliance holds a majority in the 600-seat parliament.
Erdogan’s victory came against a unified opposition coalition led by Kilicdaroglu, whose future as leader of the CHP party remains in doubt following the defeat.


Saudi foreign minister urges developing cooperation with BRICS to achieve prosperity

Saudi foreign minister urges developing cooperation with BRICS to achieve prosperity
Updated 03 June 2023

Saudi foreign minister urges developing cooperation with BRICS to achieve prosperity

Saudi foreign minister urges developing cooperation with BRICS to achieve prosperity

CAPE TOWN: Saudi Arabia is keen to develop future cooperation with the BRICS group to achieve collective prosperity, Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah said on Friday.

The BRICS group consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The Saudi foreign minister participated on Friday in the ministerial meeting of Friends of BRICS in Cape Town, South Africa, held under the theme, “Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism.”

In his speech at the meeting, Prince Faisal bin Farhan said that the Kingdom was keen to advance its future cooperation with BRICS by benefiting from the potential and capabilities possessed by both sides.

This aimed to fulfill joint interests and achieve prosperity for all, the foreign minister said.

Saudi Arabia was the BRICS group’s largest commercial partner in the Middle East, Prince Faisal said, affirming that trade relations with the BRICS countries had witnessed great growth.

“This reflects the growing and developed relations with the countries of the group,” he said.

The total value of bilateral trade with the countries of the BRICS group increased from $81 billion in 2017 and $128 billion in 2021 to surpass $160 billion last year, the foreign minister said.

The Kingdom shared basic values with the BRICS countries, represented in the belief that relations between countries were based on the principles of respect for sovereignty, non-interference and adherence to international law, Prince Faisal said.

These principles also included the existence of multilateral frameworks and collective action as reference points in the face of mutual challenges.

Saudi Arabia, along with BRICS countries, also believed in the importance of peace, security and stability in order to refocus efforts toward national development and common prosperity, Prince Faisal said.

The Kingdom maintained its commitment to working with international partners to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, he said.

He added that Saudi Arabia also worked on intensifying global efforts to enhance food and energy security amid recurring crises and supply-chain issues.

The Kingdom was a pioneering country worldwide in humanitarian and development aid and was among the top 10 donors to low- and middle-income countries, Prince Faisal said.

Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Rassi, undersecretary of the foreign affairs ministry for international multilateral affairs, and Saudi Ambassador to South Africa Sultan Al-Liwiahan Al-Anqary were also part of the Saudi delegation at the meeting.