ARABIALINK Daily News – SAUDI ARABIA – Excerpts from International Media Reports
[Links to full articles were active on the date posted here]
OIC to Expand Cooperation With China [Jun 23]
“Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary-general of the Jeddah-based Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), said on Tuesday that the OIC wanted to establish stronger relations with China. In a statement after his meetings with Chinese officials, he said the two sides would jointly organize an academic seminar on the historical relationship between China and the Muslim World.. ..Both sides explored different avenues for enhancing the consultation and cooperation between the OIC and China, particularly in the political, economic, trade and cultural fields. “The OIC and China share a common position on many international issues and this therefore highlights the importance of support provided to each other on issues of shared concern with particular reference to the Palestinian issue and the Middle East peace process,” the communiqué said. The Chinese side emphasized that it attaches importance to the role being played by the 57-member OIC as an influential organization. The OIC reciprocated by saying that it respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China..” [Complete Report]
Sir Tom Appointed Ambassador to Kingdom [Jun 23]
“Sir Tom Phillips KCMG has been appointed ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in succession to Sir William Patey KCMG, according to the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). Sir Tom will take up his appointment during September 2010. Sir Tom joined the FCO in 1983 having previously worked for the Department of Health and Social Security. His first overseas posting was as first secretary in the British High Commission in Harare, and he returned to Africa as high commissioner in Uganda in 2000. He has served as ambassador to Israel since 2006 and was previously the director responsible for Afghanistan and South Asia at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. After a posting to the British Embassy in Washington in the mid-1990s, he returned to London in 1997 to head the Foreign Office’s Eastern Adriatic Department including through the period of the Kosovo crisis. On his appointment as ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Sir Tom said: “I am delighted and honored to be given this opportunity to serve in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia..” [Complete Report]
Gulf Capital Targets Saudi Arabia in $370 Million Spending Plan [Jun 23]
“Gulf Capital, the United Arab Emirates-based private equity firm, plans to invest 1.4 billion riyals ($373 million) over the next three years as it seeks opportunities in Saudi Arabia. ‘We are sitting on a lot of liquidity,’ Karim El Solh, the Abu Dhabi-based company’s chief executive officer, said in an interview in Riyadh yesterday. ‘We hope that the bulk of that will end up in Saudi Arabia.’ Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil supplier, is attracting international investors as its economy expands due to higher oil prices. The Carlyle Group and Deutsche Bank AG announced Saudi investments this year, while Qatar First Investment Bank, founded in 2008 with $1 billion of capital, plans to open an office in the country by the end of the year. Gulf Capital, which was established in 2006 with 300 shareholders, plans to buy a Saudi food company this year..” [Complete Report]
