DUBAI: Mirek Dusek, the head of Middle East and North Africa affairs for the World Economic Forum, is anticipating a “historic” annual meeting in Davos this week — and not just because of the presence of President Donald Trump and his big US entourage.
The president’s late and surprising decision to attend the January gathering of the global elite has added extra spice to this year’s event, but Dusek, the epitome of the Davos diplomat, does not want to prejudge the reaction the WEF will give to his “America First” agenda.
“It is a global event, and I’m very happy he is coming. It is important for the international community to learn the views of the president first-hand. But I don’t want to speculate on what kind of reception he’ll get,” Dusek said in an exclusive interview with Arab News.
The American delegation is the most heavyweight since President Clinton was the last White House incumbent to make the snowy trip to Davos in 2000. In addition to Trump himself, virtually the entire US Cabinet is in attendance, including his senior adviser Jared Kushner who has taken an active interest in Middle East affairs.
Dusek did not know whether Kushner’s wife, the president’s daughter and occasional adviser, Ivanka, would be at Davos. Trump is among 70 heads of state or government attending the meeting, which will welcome the biggest ever involvement by politicians at Davos — some 340 political delegates among the 2,500 or so business leaders, economists, academics, intellectuals and media that attend the event.
That reflects the WEF’s recent relabelling as an “international organization for public-private cooperation,” Dusek explained. “It means we are paying even more attention to working with decision-makers across the world. We are living in an evolving global environment, and if you want to make a dent in the big issues, you have got to have a multi-stakeholder model. We’re building our capacity to work with governments and political leaders,” he said.
Does that mean the 47-year-old organization, which began as an Alpine forum for accountants who also liked to ski, is morphing into the World Political Forum? “We are fulfilling our mandate for public and private cooperation and beefing up the political aspect,” Dusek said.
His role is to handle the MENA region within WEF’s global agenda. An Arabist, he worked for a time at the US Embassy in Baghdad before he joined the WEF in 2007. Reflecting the increasing interest by the WEF in the Middle East’s complex affairs, he now sits on the WEF executive committee.
Davos 2018 will be historic in another aspect too, he said. “We are really seeing engagement deepen from the economies and countries of the Middle East. There is an even stronger delegation this year from Saudi Arabia,” he explained, reeling off a list of ministers, ambassadors and business leaders from the Kingdom.
That is not surprising, given the momentous events that have been taking place in Saudi Arabia under the Vision 2030 strategy, which is in the process of transforming economic, social and cultural life there.
“The WEF is here to support the reform program in Saudi Arabia. We believe we can help improve the Kingdom’s global economy competitiveness, especially in view of the changes underway in the ‘fourth industrial revolution’ (4IR — the WEF’s shorthand for the economic changes brought about by the digital and communications industries).
“We also support the strategy of closing the gender gap, which is an issue we’ve been involved with at WEF for many years. It’s a core issue for the Kingdom, which will require a lot of thought in implementation,” he added.
The anti-corruption campaign underway in the Kingdom, aimed at driving out graft and fraud that costs the economy billions of dollars, will also feature at the Davos meeting. The WEF has for several years been running its own anti-corruption campaign called PACI (Partnering Against Corruption Initiative) to encourage transparency in business and the public sector, especially in emerging markets.
The Saudi finance minister, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, will attend one of the PACI sessions, Dusek said. “We are looking at how we can be helpful to the anti-corruption efforts by Saudi Arabia, as we have been with other corruption cases around the world,” he added.
The WEF is keen to expend its involvement in the region as a whole, and with the Kingdom in particular. “We’ve made many consultations with our partners in Saudi Arabia, and we believe it would be an excellent milestone in our relationship if we were to help stage an event there. We would be very open to the idea of an impactful or high-level summit in Saudi Arabia.
One possibility would be a satellite office for the 4IR hub the WEF recently launched in San Francisco, California. Several global centers are being considered as offshoot offices for 4IR — in Bahrain, India, Japan and Rwanda among others. The Kingdom’s new project to create a fully automated mega-city, Neom, would appear to make it a natural site for one of them. “I would not discount that,” Dusek said.
Given the region’s critical role in world affairs, the Davos meeting is also an opportunity to discuss the foreign policy of Saudi Arabia and the rest of the region. The Kingdom’s foreign minister, Adel Al-Jubeir, is expected to attend, as is the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the US, Khalid bin Salman. “It is important to have a view from Saudi Arabia on how they see the world,” Dusek said.
Regional partners, and rivals, will also be represented at Davos. The UAE is sending a big delegation under Mohammad Al-Gergawi, minister for Cabinet affairs and the future, and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash, and there will be in total eight heads of state from regional governments, including King Abdullah II of Jordan.
A delegation from Qatar — still in deadlock with some of its Gulf neighbors over allegations of terrorism funding — will be led by senior ministerial figures, while Dusek said it was “unclear” who would be attending from Iran, also at loggerheads with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries over foreign policy.
The WEF has in the past attempted to help conflicting parties to find common ground in foreign disputes, most notably in Libya and Palestine. Dusek said there were a number of sessions relating to the international relations of the region, but nothing officially in the week-long program that amounts to a “peace conference” for Gulf rivals.
“It is important for the WEF to act as a platform to talk about important issues and help decision-makers with their diplomatic efforts. It is a goal and a duty of WEF to facilitate them in decreasing tensions on the political front,” he said.
WEF Mideast chief ponders Trump, Saudi Arabia and corruption at historic Davos
WEF Mideast chief ponders Trump, Saudi Arabia and corruption at historic Davos
Closing Bell: Saudi benchmark index edges higher to close at 10,974
- MSCI Tadawul 30 Index rose 0.06% to 1,407.47
- Parallel market Nomu lost 0.05% to close at 26,837.30
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s main stock index closed slightly higher on Wednesday, as gains in select industrial and infrastructure stocks offset broader market weakness.
The Tadawul All Share Index added 9.7 points, or 0.09 percent, finishing the session at 10,973.98. Total trading turnover was SR6.10 billion ($1.62 billion), with 180 stocks advancing while 66 declined.
The MSCI Tadawul 30 Index also recorded a modest gain, rising 0.06 percent to 1,407.47.
In contrast, the parallel market Nomu dipped slightly, losing 13.49 points, or 0.05 percent, to close at 26,837.30. A total of 35 stocks posted gains on Nomu, while 45 ended in the red.
Sustained Infrastructure Holding Co. led the market with a sharp 9.89 percent increase to SR30.55, followed by Saudi Printing and Packaging Co., which rose 9.83 percent to SR11.84. Saudi Arabia Refineries Co. also saw strong momentum, climbing 5.48 percent to a new yearly high of SR63.50.
Among the session’s notable losers, Specialized Medical Co. dropped 3.36 percent to SR24.16, Zamil Industrial Investment Co. slipped 2.29 percent to SR40.60, and Arabian Contracting Services Co. fell 2.12 percent to SR96.90.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabian Mining Co., known as Ma’aden, received shareholder approval to raise its capital from SR38.03 billion to SR38.89 billion during its extraordinary general assembly meeting held on June 24. The 2.26 percent increase will lift the number of issued ordinary shares from 3.80 billion to 3.89 billion.
According to a company disclosure on the Saudi Exchange, the capital hike will be carried out through the issuance of 85.98 million new ordinary shares at a par value of SR10. These shares will be allocated as part of an acquisition agreement to purchase full ownership of two subsidiaries: Ma’aden Bauxite and Alumina Co. and Ma’aden Aluminium Co.
Under the transaction, Ma’aden will acquire all 128.01 million shares held by AWA Saudi in the bauxite firm, representing 25.1 percent of its capital, along with 165 million shares held by Alcoa Saudi in the aluminum unit—also a 25.1 percent stake.
Shares of Ma’aden rose 0.2 percent to end the day at SR50.70.
Red Sea International Co. also announced plans to publicly list its subsidiary, Fundamental Installation for Electric Work Co. Ltd., subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. The decision was approved by the board in a resolution passed on June 23 and implemented the following day.
While Red Sea International will not offer any of its own shares in the IPO, the move is considered a significant transaction due to the subsidiary’s strategic role in the group’s operations. The company’s stock rose 0.12 percent to close at SR42.50.
Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports climb 24.6% in April: GASTAT
- National non-oil exports — excluding re-exports — grew 6.8%
- Machinery, electrical equipment, and parts accounted for 27.7% of total imports
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports saw an annual rise of 24.6 percent in April, reaching SR28.36 billion ($7.56 billion) thanks to a sharp increase in re-exports and a strong performance in chemicals and plastics.
According to data released by the General Authority for Statistics, national non-oil exports — excluding re-exports — grew 6.8 percent during the month, while the value of re-exported goods increased 72 percent.
Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports hit a record SR515 billion ($137 billion) in 2024, up 13 percent from 2023 and over 113 percent since the launch of Vision 2030 in 2016, which aims to diversify the Kingdom’s economy and reduce its dependence on oil by expanding industrial, mining, and service sectors.
The strong non-oil export performance comes as the World Bank projects Gulf economic growth to accelerate to 3.2 percent in 2025 and 4.5 percent in 2026, driven by the rollback of OPEC+ oil production cuts and continued momentum in non-oil sectors.
In its latest release, GASTAT stated: “Among the most important non-oil exports are plastics, rubber, and their products, which constituted 21.7 percent of total non-oil exports, recording a 4.0 percent increase compared to April 2024.” It added that chemical products followed at 21 percent of the total, with a 2.3 percent year-on-year increase.
The release stated that merchandise exports decreased by 10.9 percent in April compared to the same month of the previous year, as a result of a 21.2 percent decrease in oil exports.
“Consequently, the percentage of oil exports out of total exports decreased from 77.5 percent in April 2024 to 68.6 percent in April 2025,” said the report.
This led to a narrowing of the trade surplus by 61.7 percent compared to the same period last year
The ratio of non-oil exports, including re-exports, to imports rose to 37.2 percent in April, up from 35.4 percent a year earlier — largely due to the increases in non-oil exports and imports of 24.6 percent and 18.3 percent, respectively.
On the import side, machinery, electrical equipment, and parts accounted for 27.7 percent of total imports, rising 25.4 percent year on year. Transportation equipment and parts followed at 17.2 percent, with a 64.5 percent surge.
China remained Saudi Arabia’s top export destination, accounting for 12.6 percent of the total in April. Japan ranked second at 10.1 percent, followed by the UAE at 9.8 percent.
Other key destinations included India, South Korea, and the US, as well as Egypt, Malta, Poland, and Bahrain — with exports to these 10 markets comprising 67.5 percent of total exports.
On the import front, China was also the top origin, representing 25 percent of the total, followed by the US at 7.5 percent and the UAE at 6.8 percent.
Imports from India, Germany, and Japan, as well as Italy, Switzerland, the UK, and France, together made up 66.3 percent of the total.
In terms of customs points, the King Abdulaziz Sea Port in Dammam handled 26 percent of total imports in April, followed by Jeddah Islamic Sea Port at 20.4 percent, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh at 13.9 percent, King Abdulaziz International Airport at 12.6 percent, and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam at 5.7 percent.
These five ports together accounted for 78.6 percent of total merchandise imports.
The strong performance in non-oil exports comes after Fitch Ratings in February affirmed Saudi Arabia’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating at ‘A+’ with a stable outlook, citing the Kingdom’s robust fiscal and external balance sheets. The agency also noted that Vision 2030 has played a central role in diversifying one of the Middle East’s strongest economies.
Education sector leads weekly POS surge with 666% value spike despite overall drop
- Spending on transportation increased by 28.7%
- Construction and building materials saw a 25.6% uptick
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s point-of-sale spending in the education sector saw a weekly rise of 666 percent to reach SR193.26 million ($51.53 million) by June 21, according to official data.
The latest figures from the Saudi Central Bank, known as SAMA, also showed the number of POS transactions in the sector nearly doubled, climbing by 98.1 percent, indicating a significant rebound in consumer activity in this segment.
This sharp increase in educational spending came despite a 1.5 percent decline in the total value of POS transactions across the Kingdom, which dropped from SR11.1 billion to SR10.9 billion over the same period.
The weekly data further showed that transaction values rose in several other sectors, although none matched the scale of growth seen in the education division.
Spending on transportation increased by 28.7 percent, while construction and building materials saw a 25.6 percent uptick in value.
Telecommunication and health sectors both posted gains of 4.8 percent and 16.8 percent, respectively.
The electronics and electric devices segment recorded a 16.8 percent rise in spending value, and the furniture sector grew by 4.4 percent.
Slight increases were also observed in the public utilities and miscellaneous goods and services sectors, which grew by 3.5 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.
However, several categories experienced downturns. The largest declines in transaction values were reported in the hotels and recreation and culture sectors, which fell by 9.1 percent and 14.7 percent, respectively.
Regionally, Riyadh remained the top city for POS spending, logging over SR3.91 billion in transactions, a 9.1 percent increase from the previous week. Dammam and Khobar also recorded gains, with spending in Dammam up by 8.4 percent and in Khobar by 5.1 percent.
Cities such as Makkah and Madinah recorded double-digit declines, down by 24.2 percent and 11.7 percent, respectively, in total POS transaction values.
Jeddah maintained a steady performance, with spending remaining flat at SR1.6 billion, while Tabuk saw a slight uptick of 3 percent in value.
Spending in restaurants and cafes dropped by 12.8 percent, while beverage and food transactions declined by 7.2 percent.
Jewelry purchases also contracted by 12.8 percent, and clothing and footwear fell by 7.2 percent. Other sectors, such as gas stations and the category, also saw declines of 5.1 percent.
Overall, the total number of POS transactions across all sectors dipped slightly by 0.6 percent week on week, totaling just over 202.5 million transactions during the reporting period.
Fitch affirms UAE’s ‘AA-’ rating on strong external buffers, fiscal prudence
- Outlook benefits from Abu Dhabi’s sovereign net foreign assets — amounting to 157% of GDP
- Fitch forecasts UAE GDP to grow by 5.2% in 2025
RIYADH: The UAE’s long-term foreign-currency rating has been affirmed at “AA-” with a stable outlook by Fitch, reflecting the country’s consolidated government debt, strong net external asset position, and high gross domestic product per capita.
The US-based rating agency noted that this outlook benefits from Abu Dhabi’s sovereign net foreign assets — amounting to 157 percent of the UAE’s gross domestic product in 2024 — which rank among the highest of all Fitch-rated sovereigns.
The agency noted the ongoing regional geopolitical risks, but it assumes the conflict involving Israel, the US, and Iran will be contained and short-lived.
The report comes as Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the US, which took effect on June 24, following 12 days of conflict that raised fears of a broader regional escalation.
In its commentary, Fitch Ratings stated: “A regional conflagration would pose a risk to Abu Dhabi’s hydrocarbon infrastructure and to Dubai as a trade, tourism and financial hub,”
It emphasized that “the UAE’s ratings could absorb some short-term disruptions given large fiscal and external buffers.”
Fitch’s assessment follows S&P Global’s recent assignment of “AA/A‑1+” with a stable outlook for its foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings to the UAE, citing the country’s strong fiscal and external positions.
The agency also noted that the UAE’s sizable asset cushion would help shield it from oil price volatility and regional geopolitical tensions.
Fitch estimated the UAE’s consolidated fiscal surplus stood at 7.1 percent of GDP in 2024, following a level of 8.6 percent in 2023, with surpluses in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and budget deficits in Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah.
It projected a fiscal breakeven oil price of $45–$50 per barrel in 2025 and 2026, excluding investment income, which Fitch attributed partly to “rising oil production volumes and the significant share of spending by GREs (government-related entities).”
“We forecast the consolidated surplus at 5.3 percent of GDP in 2025 and 5.9 percent in 2026. Narrower deficits in Sharjah and higher oil production levels in Abu Dhabi will mitigate the forecast drop in oil prices from $79.5 per barrel in 2024 to $65/bbl in 2025 and 2026,” Fitch said.
It added: “Dubai will retain a budget surplus.”
With regard to the federal government’s budget, Fitch stated that it remains below 4 percent of GDP and is primarily focused on core services.
The report emphasized that the federal budget must remain balanced by law, leaving limited scope for borrowing or adjustment. From 2026 onward, corporate tax revenue is expected to help offset reduced grants from Abu Dhabi.
Despite moderate direct debt, Fitch views the UAE’s economy as highly leveraged. “We estimate overall contingent liabilities from GREs of the emirates and the FG in 2023 at about 62 percent of UAE 2023 GDP,” the report said, though it acknowledged that many state-owned entities are financially sound.
Fitch forecasts UAE GDP to grow by 5.2 percent in 2025, supported by a 9 percent increase in oil production from Abu Dhabi and strong non-oil growth of over 4 percent, driven by investment and population expansion. However, it warned of risks from “lower oil prices and global growth uncertainties.”
Earlier this month, the UAE Central Bank’s Quarterly Economic Review for December 2024 reported that the country’s GDP reached 1.77 trillion dirhams ($481.4 billion) in 2024, growing 4 percent. Non-oil sectors contributed 75.5 percent of the total — highlighting continued economic diversification.
The central bank maintained its real GDP growth forecast at 4 percent for 2024, with an anticipated acceleration to 4.5 percent in 2025 and 5.5 percent in 2026.
On governance, Fitch said the UAE maintains an ESG Relevance Score of “5[+]” for political stability, rule of law, and institutional quality.
The agency credited the UAE’s “record of domestic political stability, strong institutional capacity, effective rule of law and a low level of corruption,” referencing World Bank Governance Indicators, where the country ranks in the 70th percentile.
Lebanon’s economy to benefit from World Bank’s $250m recovery boost
JEDDAH: Lebanon’s battered infrastructure and strained public services are set for a boost, as the World Bank has approved $250 million to launch a broader $1 billion recovery and reconstruction initiative.
In a statement on Wednesday, the World Bank announced that its board of executive directors had approved the funding a day earlier under the Lebanon Emergency Assistance Project.
The project follows a phased approach to address response, recovery, and reconstruction, focusing on prioritizing and sequencing interventions to achieve maximum economic and social impact in the shortest possible time.
“The Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment of the impact of the conflict in Lebanon between Oct. 8, 2023, and Dec. 20, 2024, estimated total direct damages across 10 sectors at $7.2 billion, and reconstruction and recovery needs at $11 billion,” the bank said in its press release.
It added that around $1.1 billion in damage had been sustained by key infrastructure and facilities vital to public well-being and economic activity. Affected sectors include transportation, energy, water, healthcare, education, and municipal services.
“Considering the scale of needs, the LEAP was designed to support restoration of public infrastructure and buildings, given this is a precondition to economic and social recovery,” the release explained.
According to a separate World Bank report released earlier this month, Lebanon’s cumulative gross domestic product had contracted by nearly 40 percent since 2019. Meanwhile, the Lebanese pound has lost more than 98 percent of its value, driving triple-digit inflation through 2023.
The study highlighted how the collapse of the banking sector and the currency’s crash turned Lebanon into a dollarized, cash-based economy worth $9.8 billion — about 45.7 percent of GDP in 2022.
“The conflict has introduced another shock to Lebanon’s already crisis-ridden economy. While the economic contraction was anticipated to bottom out in 2023, following five years of sustained sharp contraction, the conflict and its spillovers have had negative knock-on effects on economic growth in 2023, continuing into 2024,” the report said.
It further noted that since July 2023, the Lebanese pound has stabilized at 89,500 to the US dollar, which helped bring inflation down to double digits in 2024 for the first time since March 2020, following three consecutive years of triple-digit inflation.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed the news on social media, writing on his X account: “I welcome the World Bank Board’s approval of the $250 million Lebanon Emergency Assistance Project, which represents a key step toward reconstruction by addressing damage to critical infrastructure and essential services in areas affected by the conflict.”
He added that the assistance reinforces national recovery efforts within a government-led implementation framework and paves the way for attracting further much-needed financing.
Jean-Christophe Carret, the World Bank’s Middle East division director, said: “Given Lebanon’s large reconstruction needs, the LEAP is structured as a $1 billion scalable framework with an initial $250 million contribution from the World Bank and the ability to efficiently absorb additional financing — whether grants or loans — under a unified, government-led implementation structure that emphasizes transparency, accountability, and results.”
Carret noted that the framework offers a credible platform for development partners to align their support with Lebanon’s reform agenda and amplify the impact of long-term recovery efforts.
According to the statement, the financing will enable immediate interventions to fast-track recovery and return to normalcy. This includes the safe and efficient handling of rubble to maximize recycling and reuse.
To ensure timely implementation, the government has undertaken key reforms within the project’s implementing body, the Council for Development and Reconstruction, the statement said.
It added that LEAP will be carried out under the strategic guidance of the prime minister’s office, with coordination across relevant ministries through the Council of Ministers. The Ministry of Public Works and Transport will oversee project implementation, while the Ministry of Environment will monitor environmental and social compliance, including rubble management.
