Makkah’s Grand Mosque, which contains the Kaaba, is the holiest site in Islam and a place of pilgrimage for millions of Muslims worldwide. As pilgrim numbers continue to rise, the region’s hospitality and infrastructure services are witnessing significant expansion. Makkah currently has a total of 107,000 hotel rooms, with the wider Makkah region accounting for two-thirds of the Kingdom’s...
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The Kingdom’s second-largest city and its most significant seaport, Jeddah is one of Saudi Arabia’s key economic engines. While rapid population growth has placed a strain on both housing and public infrastructure, economic growth remains strong, with GDP per capita increasing by 2.4% in 2014 while employment rose by 3.4%. Expansion plans for Jeddah Islamic Port, which is key to the region’s...
Chapter | Security, Aerospace & Defence from The Report: Saudi Arabia 2015
In 2014 Saudi Arabia spent 35% of its budget on defence, equivalent to roughly $80.7bn. The coming years are likely to see increased emphasis on homeland security in three areas: securing the Kingdom’s northern and southern borders, cybersecurity and counter-terrorism. The Kingdom remains focused on developing a sophisticated domestic defence industry, investing heavily to this end in research...
Articles & Analysis | Drivers and change in GCC-Africa investment from The Report: Saudi Arabia 2015
The push amongst GCC states to invest in Africa came about in earnest following the 2007-08 global food price crisis, and in those days targeted agricultural land and strategic commodity production. Agribusiness, sovereign wealth funds and other agri-investment vehicles were the main players at the time. Primarily state-led, the investments at...
Interviews & Viewpoints | King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, on security, development and social responsibility: Viewpoint from The Report: Saudi Arabia 2015
I have committed myself to continuing the work on the immutable foundations upon which this blessed country has stood since its unification: adherence to Islamic law, or “sharia”; preservation of the unity, security and stability of this country; and continuance of constructions and completions of the foundations laid out by the late kings of...
Articles & Analysis | Saudi Arabia's low debt and ample fiscal reserves provide insulation from market forces from The Report: Saudi Arabia 2015
The drop in oil prices that began in the second half of 2014 has raised questions about how oil-dependent economies like Russia, Nigeria and Venezuela would cope. However, in the case of Saudi Arabia, large fiscal reserves and low levels of debt have enabled the Kingdom to avert the sort of crisis triggered by oil shocks in the past. The Saudi...