Iran proposes direct flights to Pakistan to facilitate trade, people-to-people contacts
Iran proposes direct flights to Pakistan to facilitate trade, people-to-people contacts/node/2301311
Iran proposes direct flights to Pakistan to facilitate trade, people-to-people contacts
This picture taken on July 17, 2020 shows an Emirates Boeing 777-31H aircraft disembarking passengers upon arrival at the Iranian capital Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport. (AFP/File)
ISLAMABAD: Vahid Jalalzadeh, chairman of the Commission of National Security and Foreign Policy of Iran, on Wednesday met Pakistani Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar in Islamabad and proposed direct flights between the two neighboring countries to enhance trade and people-to-people contacts.
A statement from the commerce ministry called the meeting “unprecedented” and said the two leaders underlined the need to strengthen economic ties and increase connectivity.
“Chairman Jalalzadeh proposed the initiation of direct flights between Iran and Pakistan to enhance travel and business opportunities,” the statement said. “Naveed Qamar acknowledged the significance of this proposal and expressed his support for establishing direct flights as a means to facilitate trade and promote people-to-people exchanges.”
Qamar also stressed the importance of expediting the long-delayed Pak-Iran Gas Pipeline, an under-construction 2,775-kilometer pipeline to deliver natural gas from Iran to Pakistan. Discussions to build the pipeline began in 1995 but it has not been completed yet mainly due to lack of funds in Pakistan and complications posed by US sanctions over Iran’s nuclear activities.
“The Minister stressed the importance of expediting the project, as it holds immense potential for energy cooperation between the two countries,” the statement said. “He pledged his commitment to resolve any obstacles and move forward with the pipeline, which would bring substantial benefits to both nations.”
Jalalzadeh said the current trade volume of approximately $2 billion with Pakistan was “insufficient” and called for solid steps to increase it to a multi-billion-dollar level.
“Federal Minister for Commerce echoed this sentiment and emphasized the importance of opening new border markets and implementing a barter trade system to facilitate greater commercial exchange,” the commerce ministry added. “These measures, he believed, would contribute to a significant surge in trade volume between Iran and Pakistan.”
The upcoming inauguration of the Pasheen Border on May 18 was also discussed during the meeting.
“This border crossing, to be inaugurated by the prime minister of Pakistan and the president of Iran, holds immense significance in promoting trade and connectivity between the two countries,” the commerce ministry statement said. “The opening of this border is expected to facilitate smoother movement of goods and people, further enhancing economic cooperation.”
Before the meeting concluded, Jalalzadeh extended an invitation to the Pakistani commerce minister to visit Iran.
Saudi Arabia’s non-oil GDP defying expectations, finance minister tells World Economic Forum
IMF downgrading of Kingdom’s growth projection for the year ahead did not paint the full picture, says Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan
KSA’s economic diversification was driving steady growth, with the Kingdom prioritizing its non-oil GDP over traditional oil revenues, he said
Updated 1 min 39 sec ago
DANIEL FOUNTAIN
DAVOS: Saudi Arabia’s finance minister on Wednesday said that the recent International Monetary Fund downgrading of its growth projection for the Kingdom’s economy for the year ahead did not paint the full picture.
Speaking on a panel at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mohammed Al-Jadaan said that it was important not to look just at gross domestic product but at other indicators as well.
The IMF revised Saudi Arabia’s 2025 GDP growth projection down to 3.3 percent, citing the impact of extended oil production cuts.
Saudi Arabia’s commitment to economic diversification under Vision 2030 was driving steady growth, with the Kingdom prioritizing its non-oil GDP over traditional oil revenues.
“The whole idea of Vision 2030 is to diversify our economy. So our focus is really the non-oil GDP, and non-oil GDP has been growing very healthily over the last few years,” he said.
Al-Jadaan underscored the significance of private-sector confidence, pointing to a sharp rise in private-sector investment as a percentage of GDP — from 16–17 percent a few years ago to 24 percent today.
“That 50 percent increase is not easy. Ask any economist, and they will tell you it requires significant structural change, and it is happening in Saudi Arabia,” he said.
Saudi Arabia had also made strategic decisions to contain oil production despite having significant spare capacity. “We can produce 1,000,000 barrels more per day and we will have the highest-growing GDP in the world, but how is this helpful? It isn’t, actually,” Al-Jadaan said.
“We need to be very careful when we look at GDP as a measure for growth because you need to look at other indicators,” he added.
With unemployment rates at historic lows and the private-sector thriving, Saudi Arabia continued to make “tough, difficult decisions” to sustain long-term growth. “If you want to see it, you will need to make tough decisions,” Al-Jadaan said.
Al-Jadaan also highlighted the role artificial intelligence could play in this diversification of the economy, saying in the future that the Kingdom could be exporting data instead of oil.
“I think AI is a trendy term, but if we are not careful we could be left behind,” he said. “We need to think: Where is our competitive advantage within the value chain of AI?”
To build the necessary infrastructure for AI, significant amounts of energy, particularly clean and renewable energy, were required, he said. This effort also demanded substantial land for renewable projects, robust fiber-optic networks and a skilled workforce.
According to Al-Jadaan, Saudi Arabia’s competitive edge lies in its ability to produce the world’s cheapest solar power, its government’s agile and supportive policies allowing quick licensing and approvals, and the Kingdom’s plans to implement regulatory measures that treat data centers with the same protections as embassies, ensuring robust security and compliance with international standards.
He also highlighted that Saudi Arabia was a world leader in government cybersecurity, adding that it was “handled, operated, managed, programmed and coded 100 percent by Saudi talent.”
Discussing the broader Middle East and North Africa region, which is projected to rebound from a growth rate of 2 percent in 2024 to 3.5 percent in 2025, according to IMF projections, Al-Jadaan said that he was optimistic about the region’s prospects.
He acknowledged its significant challenges, including high youth unemployment and geopolitical crises.
“MENA has possibly the highest youth unemployment in the world, at I think 27, 28 percent. MENA needs to create, according to the IMF, about 30 million new jobs by 2030,” he said.
Despite these challenges, Al-Jadaan highlighted the region’s strengths, including a young, tech-savvy population and abundant natural resources. “If we focus on human capital, if we focus on skilling our people in MENA, I think the potential is absolutely high,” he said.
He also called for regional stability and reform to unlock long-term potential, adding: “With the right ingredients of reforming governments, reforming governance and utilizing technology to our own competitive advantage, I think we’d see a new region.”
Powerboat racers look forward to start of 2025 UIM E1 World Championship in Jeddah on Friday
Opening round of the competition is taking place in Saudi Arabia for a second year in a row, following the inaugural season last year
9 international teams with superstar owners will compete, each featuring one male and one female pilot in control of electric boats capable of speeds of more than 80 kph
Updated 3 min 47 sec ago
SALEH FAREED
JEDDAH: Rafael Nadal, Will Smith, Sergio Perez, Tom Brady, Steve Aoki, Virat Kohli, Mark Anthony and Didier Drogba are among the superstar electric-powerboat team owners hoping to make waves on Jeddah’s corniche this weekend as the 2025 UIM E1 World Championship gets underway on Jan. 24 and 25.
The first round of the competition is taking place in the Kingdom for a second year in a row, following its inaugural season last year. Nine international teams will compete, each featuring one male and one female pilot in control of RaceBird electric boats that use cutting-edge hydrofoil technology and can reach speeds of more than 80 kph.
“It’s so great to return to Jeddah for the 2025 UIM E1 World Championship as we kick off our first racing of the year,” said Rody Passo, the CEO and co-founder of the E1 series.
“The success of the last edition met our expectations and the preparations are at their best thanks to the combined efforts.”
He thanked the Saudi Water Sports and Diving Federation and the Ministry of Sport, which are organizing the Jeddah event in partnership with powerboat governing body Union Internationale Motonautique, for their help and added: “The fans will have a thrilling race, a wonderful atmosphere and great experience, and we look forward to the launch of the event.”
Saudi racer Mashael Al-Obaidan, of Aoki Racing, said: “I am proud to represent the Kingdom in this sporting event, which is part of a series of global events on our home soil.
“I am so grateful for this opportunity to compete in front of my family and the local community here, which would not have been possible without the great support we receive as athletes under the vision of our wise leadership.”
Emma Kimilainen from Finland and Sam Coleman from the UK, pilots with reigning champions Team Brady, said they hope to repeat last year’s success to win the trophy for a second year in a row.
“It is important to implement the strategy that will be developed and exploit the data and statistics provided by advanced technologies in cooperation with the team’s partners,” said Coleman.
Kimilainen added: “I’m excited to kick off season two with Team Brady after an incredible first season together. Being on top will take hard work but we’re a competitive team and we’re ready for the challenge.”
This year’s championship will feature seven rounds, compared with five last year, each taking place in a different city around the world
Dinner with strangers — the cure to loneliness in Riyadh?
As the city grows, people are turning to novel ways to connect
Online platforms offer new opportunities to make friends
Updated 21 min 34 sec ago
Nada Alturki
RIYADH: Every Wednesday, in one of Riyadh’s many restaurants, groups of strangers from all walks of life meet over dinner for the first time.
In an increasingly disconnected world, people are looking for new ways to cope with isolation and forge genuine relationships.
“I kept seeing Timeleft’s ads on social media and I thought expanding my social circle would be a great idea, as it never hurts to try new things from time to time,” Muhannad Zahra, an engineering student and freelance filmmaker and designer from Saint Kitts & Nevis, told Arab News.
He is referring to the app through which you book dinner with strangers who are selected via a personality quiz and criteria such as budget.
This new platform has gained popularity around the world as a way of linking like-minded individuals, either in their home city or while traveling.
Taiwanese tourist TaoFang Chang, who goes by the name Jessie and works remotely, decided to take a long trip to visit Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Poland for the first time.
Landing at King Khalid International Airport, she was intrigued by the country in which she found herself.
“I was interested in all the countries in the Middle East, the culture and the religion, and what the people here think about marriage and relationships. On these trips, I’m not planning to go to a lot of attractions; I’m more interested to meet with the people,” she explained.
Timeleft is popular in Taiwan, she said, but she had never tried it.
“When I saw this was in Riyadh, I was so surprised. So for me it was good, because I downloaded Bumble and set my location to Riyadh, but I couldn’t find interesting people. I thought maybe Timeleft can give me an interesting surprise to meet some new people.”
On her first night in Riyadh, she dove headfirst into an event and met 10 people from six countries, including Saudi Arabia, India, Morocco, Yemen and St. Kitts & Nevis.
She said: “Everyone around the world is dealing with this issue of loneliness because humans are social beings. In Taiwan, we have a lot of these kinds of applications, not just Timeleft … we don’t have time to make friends.
“In Asia, because we use Instagram where a lot of information comes to us and every day we see thousands of pieces of information from the internet, we think ‘everyone is different and happy, so why is it only me (who feels) unhappy or not good enough or not successful or (without) achievement?’ but of course it’s a mask. Everyone’s the same, just posting positive things. Everyone feels lonely.”
While the platform offers the chance to meet new people in a rapidly growing city, not everyone is convinced this novel concept is a cure for loneliness.
Muhannad Zahra said: “I don’t think it’s the best idea to make new friends online or through social media. I like old school, whether from work, relatives or coffee shops. Timeleft isn’t a guaranteed friend-making platform, nor is it a dating app. It just gives you a kickstart to meet people, then the rest of the effort is on you and your personality. It’s a bit more hectic this way as people are still opening up and not used to it.”
On signing up, users complete a personality quiz that is supposed to match you with other people who have compatible traits and interests. Some users said the results seemed to be based on age, rather than personality.
Other platforms, like Bumble BFF and BeFriend, allow users to swipe left or right on profiles that do or do not appeal to them based on images. But platforms like Timeleft purport to focus solely on personality. Users have no way of knowing who their dining companions will be aside from their nationality, revealed a day prior.
Zahra’s first experience was at an Italian restaurant in Riyadh. He said: “There are some significant differences in personality from one person to another. For me, it wasn’t difficult to get along with them.
“As I joined multiple dinners, I noticed a pattern where 30 percent of users are introverts, 50 percent just moved to Riyadh and want to make new connections, and 20 percent join for no reason and no goal, and they don’t seem interested during the dinner as well.”
Ali Bin Salman met Zahra at his second Timeleft experience. The two found they connected on several levels and ended up on the same table at their next booking.
“I never have high hopes when meeting new people so as to not get disappointed later. But out of the 20 people that I met, I feel like three friendships will live on for a while,” Zahra said.
Bin Salman was born in Saudi Arabia but lived in Yemen and Egypt for six years. He was keen to re-explore the social scene on his return, leading him to check out Timeleft.
Describing the difficulty of moving to Riyadh, he said: “It’s not completely lonely, but it’s hard to meet people, especially in reality. It feels so artificial and the people are distant in a way. The ads were everywhere in Egypt, and when I came back here I tried it for the first time.”
Each Wednesday usually sees two dinner tables hosted at the chosen restaurant. At 8pm, when guests are expected to arrive, a game is unlocked consisting of ice-breaker questions such as “What is your secret talent?” or “Where is the strangest place you have visited?” It gives those attending a chance to get to know each other on a deeper level.
But the thrill of dining with strangers has its downside as well. It is up to users to build on the initial connection themselves.
Bin Salman said: “It does take effort, potentially, and you might feel like you’re not building into something. With friendships, you start as strangers, and then you build something, and then you become close friends. But if you keep going a lot (to different dinners), you will not build friendships. You will just build acquaintances at best.”
Trump tells Putin to make Ukraine deal ‘now’ or face tougher sanctions
“If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions,” Trump said
Trump said he was “not looking to hurt Russia” and had “always had a very good relationship with President Putin“
Updated 22 min 59 sec ago
AFP
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump stepped up the pressure on Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to make a peace deal with Ukraine Wednesday, threatening tougher economic measures if Moscow does not agree to end the war.
Trump’s warning in a Truth Social post came as the Republican seeks a quick solution to a grinding conflict that he had promised to end before even starting his second term.
“If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries,” Trump said.
Trump said he was “not looking to hurt Russia” and had “always had a very good relationship with President Putin,” a leader for whom he has expressed admiration in the past.
“All of that being said, I’m going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR. Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE.”
He added: “Let’s get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with! We can do it the easy way, or the hard way — and the easy way is always better. It’s time to ‘MAKE A DEAL.’“
Russia already faces crushing US sanctions over the war since invading Ukraine in 2022 and trade has slowed to a trickle. Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden’s administration imposed sweeping sanctions against Moscow’s energy sector earlier this month.
But Trump — a billionaire tycoon famed for his book “The Art of the Deal” — and his administration reportedly believe there are ways of toughening measures to press Putin.
The United States imported $2.9 billion in goods from Russia from January to November 2024 — down sharply from $4.3 billion over the same period in 2023, according to the US Department of Commerce.
Top US imports from Russia include fertilizers and precious metals.
It was Trump’s toughest line on Putin since he returned to the White House this week, and comes despite fears that it was Kyiv rather than Moscow that he would strongarm into making a peace deal.
During a White House press conference on Tuesday Trump said only that it “sounds likely” that he would apply additional sanctions if Putin did not come to the table.
The US president however declined to say whether he would continue Biden’s policy of sending billions of dollars in weaponry to help Ukraine.
“We’re looking at that,” he said at the press conference. “We’re talking to (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky, we’re going to be talking to President Putin very soon.”
Trump has also said he expects to meet Putin — with whom he had a summit in his first term in Helsinki — soon.
Prior to beginning his new inauguration on Monday, Trump had vowed to end Ukraine war “within 24 hours” and before even taking office, raising expectations he would leverage aid to force Kyiv to make territorial concessions to Moscow.
But his promised breakthrough has proved elusive.
In unusually critical remarks of Putin on Monday, Trump said the Russian president was “destroying Russia by not making a deal.”
Trump added that Zelensky had told him he wanted a peace agreement to end the war.
Putin congratulated Trump on his inauguration for a second term on Monday.
The Russian leader added that he was “open to dialogue” on Ukraine conflict with Trump’s incoming US administration, adding he hoped any settlement would ensure “lasting peace.”
Trump has repeatedly praised Putin, whose hyper-masculine style and professed attachment to traditional values has increasingly found favor among some US Christian conservatives.
US special counsel Robert Mueller and the FBI both investigated alleged collusion between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign — which Trump in his post on Wednesday dubbed once again the “Russia hoax.”
Mueller won convictions of six members of the Trump campaign but said he found no evidence of criminal cooperation with Russia by the Trump campaign.
‘We need Syria to be a place of peace and development,’ Foreign Minister Al-Shibani tells WEF
Syrian FM Al-Shibani calls for sanctions relief and new Gulf partnerships to help aid recovery
Cites Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 as an inspiration for rebuilding Syria after gruelling civil war
Updated 8 min 42 sec ago
DANIEL FOUNTAIN & ZAYNAB KHOJJI
DAVOS: Saudi Vision 2030 is an inspiration for Syria, which needs to become a place of peace and development, Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shibani told the World Economic Forum on Wednesday.
“Where do we see inspiration for the new Syria? We have the Vision 2030 of Saudi Arabia,” Al-Shaibani said during a conversation with former UK prime minister Tony Blair at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
“We need Syria to be a place of peace, to be a place of development, a place free of war.”
Having become foreign minister following the overthrow of the Bashar Assad regime on Dec. 8 last year, Al-Shaibani said the lifting of economic sanctions imposed on the former regime would be “key” to establishing stability in his country.
“Removing economic sanctions is the key for the stability of Syria,” he said, adding that they were imposed for the benefit of Syrians, but are now “against the Syrian people.”
Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shibani looks on during the 55th annual WEF meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2025. (Reuters)
“The reason for these sanctions is now in Moscow,” he said, referring to Assad, who fled to the Russian capital. A new government led by the victorious Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham has since taken Assad’s place, but still does not have full control over the nation’s territory.
“The Syrian people shouldn’t be punished” now that the deposed ruler was no longer in power, said Al-Shaibani. “We inherited a collapsed state from the Assad regime, there is no economic system,” he added, saying he hoped “the economy in the future will be open.”
Al-Shaibani said a committee had been formed to study economic conditions and infrastructure in Syria and would focus on privatization efforts, including of oil, cotton, and factories, while exploring “public-private partnerships to encourage investment into airports, railways and roads.”
Al-Shibani also confirmed that the country will open its economy to foreign investments, adding that Damascus was working on partnerships with Gulf states in the energy sector.
The new Syrian government has been especially keen to reach out to the Gulf states to reestablish ties, which have long suffered as a result of the Assad regime’s support for the narcotics trade.
“We chose to visit the Gulf countries, because we wanted to fix the relations with these countries, where Assad had made a lot of problems for them,” Al-Shibani said.
Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani speaks at a session during the WEF annual meeting in Davos on January 22, 2025. (AFP)
“(The Assad regime) used harsh language against them, exported Captagon there, these are important countries to the region. But Syria should also take its role in the region, and they can help us with that.”
Al-Shibani was not the only Middle Eastern voice at Davos on Wednesday. Iran’s vice-president for strategic affairs, Javad Zarif, also shared his reflections on the regional situation in the wake of Israel’s ceasefires with Hamas and Hezbollah.
Speaking to CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Zarif said: “The resistance will stay as long as the occupation stays, as long as repression stays. Resistance to Israel, to Israeli occupation, to apartheid, to genocide, existed before the Iranian revolution.”
Zarif said Hamas still exists in Gaza and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not achieve his goal of destroying the Palestinian militant group during the 15-month war in the enclave.
“Hamas is still there. Israel had to come to a temporary ceasefire. I hope it will be permanent, for the sake of 50,000 people who were massacred by Israel, so that there won’t be another 50,000, but resistance is not dead,” said Zarif.
“I can tell you that the wish for the resistance to go away has been based on a misrepresentation, a framing by Israel, that this is not an Israeli-Palestinian issue, but an Israeli-Iranian issue.”
Zarif said the decades-old conflict can only be ended by resolving the Palestinian question.
Palestinians sit in a ruined neighbourhood of Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, on January 22, 2025. (AFP)
“If you want to resolve the problem of Palestine, you should not look at Iran,” he said. “You should look at the Palestinian issue.
“As long as the Palestinian issue is there, the struggle will be there, the resistance will be there, and there will be support from the international community, including from Arab allies of the US.”
Speaking about US President Donald Trump, Zarif said he hoped “a ‘Trump 2’ will be more serious, more focused, more realistic” when dealing with Iran.
In 2018, during his first term, Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by his predecessor Barack Obama, and re-imposed sanctions on Tehran as part of his “maximum pressure” policy against the regime.
Tehran responded by breaching the deal in several ways, including by accelerating its uranium enrichment program.
Trump has vowed to return to the policy he pursued in his previous term that sought to use economic pressure to force Iran to negotiate a deal on its nuclear program, ballistic missiles, and regional activities, including its support for proxy militias.
Iran’s Vice-President for strategic affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif gestures as he addresses the audience during the WEF annual meeting in Davos on January 22, 2025. (AFP)
Zarif added that Iran has good relations with Saudi Arabia and the UAE and that he has proposed a new arrangement in the region that is based on amity.
“I have proposed in an article I recently wrote in The Economist, after my Foreign Affairs article, that we should have a new arrangement in this region,” he said.
“I call it MWADA: Muslim, West Asia Dialog Association. In Arabic, ‘mwada’ means ‘amity,’ and the title in The Economist was ‘Amity instead of enmity.’ Let’s do that.”
In his own address earlier in the day, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lamented the recent rash of conflicts in the Middle East.
“We see a multiplication of conflicts, some of which are leading to a reshaping of different regions of the world — not least the Middle East,” he told the annual meeting.
He did, however, highlight recent progress, including the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, which has already resulted in the exchange of several prisoners and hostages.
“There is, finally, a measure of hope when the ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza takes place — and we are working to surge up desperately needed humanitarian aid,” Guterres said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses a speech during the WEF annual meeting in Davos on January 22, 2025. (AFP)
He also lauded the recent ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon and the election of a new Lebanese president and prime minister, potentially ending years of political deadlock.
“I was also just in Lebanon where a cessation of hostilities is holding, and a new government is taking shape after two years of stalemate,” he said.
In relation to Syria, Guterres said there was still a danger of further disorder unless the victorious HTS formed an inclusive administration that could work with the international community.
“We still have a strong risk of fragmentation and of extremism in at least parts of the Syrian territory,” he said.
“It is in the interest of us all to engage to make things move in the direction of an inclusive form of governance and I think some gesture must be made in relation to the sanctions.”
