WEF25: Saudi Foreign Minister Says Middle East Has “Opportunity to Turn a Page” Following Gaza Ceasefire
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, today said the Middle East has an opportunity to shape a prosperous future following the Gaza ceasefire deal which came into effect at the start of the week.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250121797711/en/
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, addressed a panel session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025 in Davos on ‘Diplomacy amid Disorder’, where he spoke about an opportunity for the region “to turn a page” (Photo: AETOSWire)
“We are certainly in a region that is abundant with risk factors. But we are also in a region that has huge potential. Even with a very difficult year behind us, we have shown we can be resilient as a region and we can look to the future, whether it’s the Kingdom, the GCC countries and their ability to stay on track with their economic agendas. But also, as we see now with Syria, Lebanon, and possibly now in Gaza – there is positivity there.
“The opportunity to turn a page exists in the whole region. I choose to be optimistic,” the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs said.
His Excellency Ahmed A. Al-Khateeb, Minister of Tourism, in a session titled ‘Travel and Tourism’s Role in Building Trust,’ commented: “Since opening our doors back in 2019, we’ve been blessed to receive millions of international arrivals. We started with 10 million tourists in 2019, and last year hit almost 30 million. Travel and tourism is contributing to building a diversified and more resilient economy.”
During a Saudi House panel session on ‘New Approaches to Measuring Growth Beyond GDP’, His Excellency Mohammed A. Aljadaan, Minister of Finance, emphasized that growth should not be limited to GDP alone. He highlighted the importance of monitoring additional indicators to ensure that growth is both inclusive and sustainable across various dimensions.
Speaking in a panel on ‘The Future of Growth’, His Excellency Faisal F. Alibrahim, Minister of Economy and Planning, highlighted the Kingdom’s long-term approach to growth: “Saudi Vision 2030 is an example of bold leadership that has led us to plan with confidence, deliver with optimism, but also manage with prudence.”
The WEF released a briefing paper with expert input from HE Al-Khateeb, Minister of Tourism, on ‘The Future of Travel and Tourism: Embracing Sustainable and Inclusive Growth’ exploring trends in the sector and the importance of cross-sector collaboration. The Ministry of Tourism also released an Investor White Paper highlighting initiatives transforming the Kingdom's tourism sector under Vision 2030.
During a Saudi House session hosted by the Ministry of Investment and Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Salesforce announced plans to open a new regional headquarters in Riyadh, pledging to provide upskilling opportunities to 30,000 Saudi citizens by 2030. The firm also announced a partnership agreement with IBM to open an AI Innovation Center in the Kingdom.
Source: AETOSWire
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250121797711/en/
Contacts
Wooud Alquaied
walquaied@mep.gov.sa
(c) 2024 Business Wire, Inc., All rights reserved.
Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is the global leader in multiplatform press release distribution.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
IDWS 2025 Concludes with Focus on Global Knowledge Exchange, Financial Opportunities, and Scalable Water Solutions16.12.2025 20:03:00 CET | Press Release
The 4th Innovation Driven Water Sustainability Conference (IDWS) 2025 concluded on Wednesday in Jeddah, confirming its status as one of the world’s most influential platforms for shaping the future of water innovation, sustainability, and security. Gathering senior global policymakers and international industry leaders, this year’s edition has advanced critical dialogue on safeguarding the planet’s most vital resource, with Saudi Arabia at the forefront. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251216483490/en/ Investors, innovators, and global institutions gather in Saudi to outline how capital, collaboration, and governance can accelerate long term water sustainability (Photo: AETOSWire) Among the most consequential engagements were a series of meetings that brought together discussions powered by SWA, centred on shared challenges, knowledge exchange, and exploring opportunities within the global water ecosystem. Att
OAG Appoints ex-Skyscanner Executive Filip Filipov as New Chief Executive Officer16.12.2025 17:00:00 CET | Press Release
OAG announces today the appointment of Filip Filipov, ex-Skyscanner executive, as new Chief Executive Officer. Filip Filipov currently serves as the company’s Chief Operating Officer and takes over from Phil Callow who has chosen to step down having completed thirteen transformational years at the helm of OAG to pursue his many other interests. Since joining in 2024, Filipovhas played a leading role in the company’s ambitious next phase of growth and ongoing acceleration. He will now lead OAG into a new era defined by advanced data products and AI-driven intelligence. Before joining OAG, Filipov held senior roles in travel technology and big-data consulting, including on Skyscanner’s executive team. Filip Filipov said: “It’s a privilege to step into this role and lead a company with such a strong heritage and reputation. I’m excited for what’s ahead and committed to serving our customers with the reliability, service, and innovation they depend on.” Chairman of OAG, Gehan Talwatte, com
Xsolla Integrates SPENN in Rwanda and Zambia Giving Developers Access to a Strong Consumer-Merchant Ecosystem16.12.2025 16:49:00 CET | Press Release
Xsolla, a global video game commerce company that helps developers launch, grow, and monetize their games, today announced that it has added SPENN to its payments solution portfolio in Rwanda and Zambia. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251216303338/en/ Xsolla Integrates SPENN In Rwanda And Zambia Giving Developers Access To A Strong Consumer-Merchant Ecosystem Both Rwanda and Zambia are mobile-first, wallet-led economies where mobile money drives financial inclusion and rapid growth in digital transactions. Reports found that approximately 86% of Rwandan adults own or have used mobile money. As of mid-2024, mobile money transaction volumes in Zambia increased by 44% to 1.4 billion transactions from mid-2023. By adding SPENN as a payment method to its portfolio, Xsolla enables players to continue paying seamlessly in a way they are already familiar with. Key benefits of the SPENN integration include: Streamline
New Survey of Nearly 4,300 C-suite Leaders Reveals Intensifying Demand for Faster Innovation, Higher ROI and Stronger Business Resilience16.12.2025 15:00:00 CET | Press Release
Rimini Street, Inc. (Nasdaq: RMNI), a global provider of end-to-end enterprise software support, managed services and Agentic AI ERP innovation solutions, and the leading third-party support provider for Oracle, SAP and VMware software, today announced the findings of its new global survey, “C-suite Imperatives: Accelerating Innovation in a Shifting Landscape.” The research was conducted in partnership with Censuswide surveying nearly 4,300 CFOs, CIOs, CEOs and CISOs across the globe, examining the pressures influencing executive-level technology decisions and the priorities shaping their investment strategies. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251216456670/en/ New Survey of Nearly 4,300 C-suite Leaders Reveals Intensifying Demand for Faster Innovation, Higher ROI and Stronger Business Resilience The analysis shows executives are recalibrating their strategies around AI, automation and resilience as boards push
Enersense Selects Sitetracker as the Platform of Choice for 5G and Fiber Expansion Initiatives16.12.2025 15:00:00 CET | Press Release
Sitetracker, the global leader in complete Asset Lifecycle Management, announced that Enersense, a leading lifecycle partner for customers operating in energy transmission and production, industrial energy transition and telecommunications services across Finland and the Baltics, has selected Sitetracker to digitize and scale its operations. The implementation enabled Enersense to replace legacy systems, standardize workflows, and support their ability to deliver services with short lead times and high process precision. The first phase of implementation is already supporting Finland’s 5G and rapidly expanding fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) initiatives. Before Sitetracker, Enersense relied on spreadsheets and email to manage project execution, resulting in limited visibility into project milestones, asset tracking, and field performance. As 5G and FTTH deployment accelerated, these manual processes created operational bottlenecks, slowed invoicing, and hindered communication with customers a
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom