RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Palestine have agreed to form a business council to boost bilateral trade and promote investments between both nations. 

The agreement to form the first Saudi-Palestinian Business Council was made during a meeting between Hassan Al-Huwaizi, chairman of the Federation of Saudi Chambers, and Mazen Ghanem, Palestinian ambassador to the Kingdom, in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency reported. 

The formation of the Saudi-Palestinian Business Council represents a significant step in strengthening economic ties, particularly as trade between the two countries continues to grow. 

In the third quarter of 2024, the Kingdom’s overall exports to Palestine stood at SR118.3 million ($31.53 million), representing a 35 percent rise compared to the previous three months, according to data from the General Authority for Statistics. 

Saudi Arabia also imported Palestinian goods worth SR4 million in the third quarter of 2024.

During the meeting, Al-Huwaizi stressed the need to empower Palestinian business owners to invest in Saudi Arabia and market products from the West Asian nation in the Kingdom’s market. 

He also reaffirmed the federation’s support for holding exhibitions and conferences to introduce and market Palestinian products in the Kingdom. 

The new agreement comes just two after a ceasefire deal came into effect between Israel and Hamas, allowing some displaced residents to return to their homes. 

To stabilize the economy, the Palestine Monetary Authority issued new instructions to banks to ease the burden of accumulated installments on borrowers in Gaza and the West Bank during the war period. 

The authority also instructed banks to stop collecting installments in Gaza until the end of June, with the possibility of scheduling and postponing it further. 

Other instructions from the monetary authority include reducing interest rates on new loans and stopping the collection of commissions and late fees. 

Earlier this month, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Nayef bin Bandar Al-Sudairi, the Saudi ambassador to Palestine, and honored him with the Star of Al-Quds medal, a top-rated decoration provided by the state. 

During the meeting, Abbas extended his greetings to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and thanked Saudi Arabia for the support offered to the Palestinian people and their cause. 

Abbas also praised Al-Sudairi’s efforts to strengthen the friendly relations between Palestine and the Kingdom.

RIYADH: Education spending in Saudi Arabia surged by 91.5 percent to SR220.76 million ($58.8 million) between Jan. 12 and 18, fueled by students returning to school after the midyear break. 

According to the latest point-of-sale transactions bulletin, this sector was the only one to register positive growth during the week, with the number of transactions rising by 60 percent to 153,000. 

In contrast, overall POS transactions in Saudi Arabia declined by 12.1 percent, dropping to SR11.77 billion from SR13.4 billion the previous week, as spending in other sectors cooled, revealed the bulletin issued by the Saudi Central Bank. 

Spending on clothing and footwear saw the sharpest decline, falling 27.5 percent to SR663.16 million. Expenditure on hotels followed with a 19.9 percent dip to SR324.45 million, while recreation and culture recorded a 19.7 percent drop to SR221.8 million. 

Similarly, spending on food and beverages recorded a decrease of 9.2 percent to SR1.73 billion, claiming the biggest share of the total POS value. Expenditure in restaurants and cafes followed, recording an 18 percent decrease to SR1.73 billion. 

Miscellaneous goods and services accounted for the third biggest POS share with a 12.3 percent downstick, reaching SR1.42 billion. 

Spending in the leading three categories accounted for approximately 41.5 percent or SR4.8 billion of the week’s total value. 

At 2.1 percent, the smallest decrease occurred in spending on construction materials, leading total payments to reach SR340.1 million. 

Expenditures on transportation followed dipping by 2.6 percent to SR661.6 million, while public utilities recorded a 6 percent fall to SR48.1 million. 

Geographically, Riyadh dominated POS transactions, representing around 35.5 percent of the total, with expenses in the capital reaching SR4.18 billion — a 9 percent decrease from the previous week. 

Jeddah followed with a 12.5 percent dip to SR1.71 billion, and Dammam came in third at SR602.91 million, down 7.1 percent. 

Madinah experienced the most significant decrease in spending, dipping by 19.6 percent to SR471 million. 

Hail and Makkah followed recording decreases of 18.6 percent and 17 percent reaching SR171.87 million and SR497.28 million, respectively. 

Madinah and Makkah saw the largest decreases in terms of number of transactions, slipping 13.5 percent and 12.7 percent, respectively, to 7.98 million and 8.18 million transactions.