RIYADH: Arab News’ founding brothers Mohammad and the late Hisham Ali Hafez were honored at a gala held by the Saudi Arabia’s Dean of Diplomatic Corps marking the Golden Jubilee of Arab News on Sunday.
In celebration for the landmark anniversary, a trophy was presented to renowned economist and columnist Talaat Hafiz by HRH Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Assistant Minister of Media Abdullah Al Maghlouth, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps Dya-Eddine Said Bamakhrama, the Ambassador of Djibouti and the paper’s current Editor-in-Chief Faisal Abbas.
Prince Turki recalled the establishment of the newspaper during the reign of his father, the late King Faisal, who recognized the importance of the idea and approved before his death in 1975. He told the story of the newspaper’s creation, which he himself, alongside the late Sheikh Kamal Adham and the Hafiz Brothers worked on at the time.
“It has been, for the last fifty years, the moderate voice and the shining image of Saudi Arabia in the English language. This long march of this newspaper was not possible without the dedication of all individuals working to make it a success story,” he added.
During the evening, Abbas announced a major development that the newspaper — which was established in 1975 as the first Saudi newspaper published in English — will be available in 50 languages in cooperation with leading AI-driven speech and translation tech company CAMB.AI.
“This means that our news, views and analysis will be available to over 6.5 billion people, or eighty percent of the world’s population,” said Abbas.
“Stay tuned for the official announcement at the FIPP World Media Congress in Madrid, where Arab News will have a special session marking its anniversary on 22 October,” he added while thanking owning group SRMG’s senior management, previous Arab News Editors in Chief and current team members for their outstanding contributions to get Arab News to where it is today.
CAMB.AI, headed by Avneesh Prakesh, marks another regional success story that has gone global, with its latest presence at the renowned IBM conference in 2025 gaining traction.
For his part, Abbas lauded the partnership as “one that will make the voice of a changing region, everyones voice for their changing regions,” adding thanks to support from the SRMG — Arab News’ mother company — and its leadership.
The event was held at the Cultural Palace in Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter. During his remarks, Ambassador Bamakhrama — who hosted the evening — commended Arab News for successfully keeping pace with the digital and media transformation trends.
“Arab News has invested in news, information, and events in multiple languages—not only to report them, but to transform them into a powerful diplomatic tool, thus creating a unique synergy between journalism and public diplomacy. Indeed, in our ever-changing digital world, media and diplomacy have become inseparable,” he said.
“Today’s astute journalist understands that diplomacy is no longer the exclusive domain of ambassadors, it has become one of their daily tools, skillfully used to craft a responsible and impactful media narrative aimed at building bridges and fostering mutual understanding between nations,” he added.
Ambassador Dya also extended his thanks for Amsa Hospitality, Teeb Made and the Cultural Palace for their support in making the gala a memorable occasion.
The event was attended by several notable ambassadors to Saudi Arabis, as well as big wigs within the regional media scene —including Princess Lamia bint Majeed Al Saud, CEO of the Rotana Media Group and the Secretary General of AlWaleed Philanthropies, CNN VP and Arabic Editor-in-Chief Caroline Faraj, SRMG Chief Operating Officer Saleh Al Dowais, among many others, with Arab News’ Deputy Editor Noor Nugali as the Master of Ceremonies for the evening.
The evening’s guests were also greeted with a special performance by Sawsan Bahiti — Saudi Arabia’s first opera singer.
