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Zawya
2 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Fitch affirms Saudi Arabia's A+ credit rating with stable outlook
RIYADH — Fitch Ratings has affirmed Saudi Arabia's long-term foreign currency issuer default rating at A+ with a stable outlook, highlighting the Kingdom's strong fiscal position and continued reform momentum. In its latest report, the international rating agency said Saudi Arabia's credit rating reflects the robustness of its financial fundamentals. It noted that key indicators —such as the sovereign net foreign asset position and the debt-to-GDP ratio— are significantly stronger than the averages for countries in the "A" and even "AA" rating categories. Fitch emphasized that the Kingdom holds substantial financial reserves in the form of public sector deposits and other assets, supporting its macroeconomic stability. Looking ahead, the agency projected that Saudi Arabia's sovereign net foreign assets will remain a cornerstone of its credit strength, reaching 35.3% of GDP by 2027. This figure stands well above the average for countries rated 'A,' which is just 3.1% of GDP. Fitch also pointed to the ongoing fiscal reforms undertaken by the Saudi government, aimed at improving budget flexibility and reducing dependence on oil revenues. The agency said these reforms, along with a sustained rise in non-oil revenues, continue to reinforce the Kingdom's credit profile. © Copyright 2022 The Saudi Gazette. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Time Business News
16-07-2025
- Business
- Time Business News
Nusuk App: Everything You Should Know about Umrah Booking Application
The Hajj and Umrah Ministry of Saudi Arabia have announced a major upgrade to the platform of Nusuk App which now includes AI oriented visa processing with concurrent calculation of crowd for managing it. With this exclusive upgradation in the system which marks advancement in the digital services have made Umrah more approachable. It has become even more secure with safety measures indulged in. With the help of this guide you will understand everything about the Umrah booking application. This informative guide will help you explore the initiatives that are made by the Saudi authorities for the betterment of travellers. With this you can also get an idea of the authorized companies who offer reliable Umrah packages to make your eternal pilgrimage unique. It is developed in collaboration with the leading advanced technology of the country. This app projects itself more as a comprehensive result for the pilgrims to explore great services and technology of the country. With the help of this application, pilgrims can experience the entire booking process on one platform, where you can plan, book, and manage your Umrah bookings with security. The best thing about this app is that it is available for both iOS and Android users. It modernizes the entire Umrah pilgrimage from allowance to booking accommodations with scheduling visits to the Holy sites of the country. It has replaced the disjoined system by bringing in the booking of visa, transportation, as well as accommodations together at one place. It is an authorized application that provides an exclusive experience of the booking process that even safes your time. This thoughtful application has developed as part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 optimization, which aims to uplift the religious exploration for pilgrims with high security measures. If you are someone who prefers affordability instead of luxury then Dua Travels have designed special Umrah packages for 2026 for their clients to experience the most comfortable Umrah practice without compromising over convenience. The launch of this ideal app was a tactical initiative by the Saudi Government to idealise modernism as well as advancement in Islamic practices to make them more accessible. With an increase in the demand of sacred pilgrimages every year, it became necessary to introduce an application like this which is user friendly and promotes security. Some key aspects to introduce this application are making the Umrah or Hajj more easier in terms of booking. Before this app was introduced, the process of these holy journeys revolved around various platforms and manual approvals. Because of which the process used to face major delays which often led to confusions. This efficient app incorporates services like visa processing, transportation, accommodation criteria, and access to sites. Experiencing every important detail at one platform makes it easy for pilgrims. Other than that, it reduced fraud and scam cases during the holy practice. One of the major inconveniences that occurred in the past was the high influence of fake or unauthorized operators that were unlicensed also. They used to mislead pilgrims with fake updates or policies with overpriced packages. But not anymore, as Nusuk offers pilgrims verified travel agencies like Dua Travels to make their journey authentic. If you are utilizing this app during your holy venture, you will be notified about the prayer times on spot. This advanced app fits in perfectly with Saudi Arabia Vision of 2030, which was an initiative aimed nationally by the country. The major purpose of this vision is to transform the city with improving booking criterias. It raises the possibility of managing larger crowds of pilgrims, making the holy pilgrimage easy to generate. This app is not just a booking platform, but it is more an informative tool that puts forward digitalized solutions designed to make Umrah a more handy practice for pilgrims to perform. There are multiple attributes within the app that meet pilgrims' needs. If you have downloaded your access to this app it is guaranteed that you will experience a well-organised tour. This system helps you connect with the immigration authorities of Saudi Arabia to make sure that you go through a quick processing with on time approval or updates. It helps you figure out verified and authentic accommodations along with the transportations. From budget stays to luxury accommodations, everything is available at a few clicks only. You can even get your schedule designed regarding the rituals like Tawaf and Sa'i. Nusuk makes sure that you avoid overcrowding and experience a peaceful Umrah. Keep yourself updated with timely updates, prayer times, weather concerns, crowd density, and important updates of the holy sites or policies from the Saudi government. This incredible application can be used to experience the modernised era of Saudi Arabia through their technological advancement of such apps. It is important to understand who can utilize or experience the handy features of this app. Muslims planning to perform Umrah Residents or citizens of Saudi Arabia First-time pilgrims and repeat visitors Authorized travel agents and agencies This app is not just a promotion of digital advancement of the country but also a perfect platform for pilgrims to use for a peaceful Umrah journey. With the user friendly advantages that it offers including numerous favors that makes your journey approachable. It offers a transparent pricing system. Also it helps pilgrims get connected with the licensed agencies like Dua Travels to seek this journey professionally with ease. It has reduced waiting time and increased security levels of the country for pilgrims to perform Umrah. There are several packages designed by them which also includes December Umrah packages ideal for pilgrims who wish to perform Umrah in a cooler environment. With technological features like digital allowance as well as smart scheduling tools the Nusuk app enhances your overall religious experience. This app is more than just a digital upgrade but also a major idea produced by the government to experience accessibility during the holy commitment. Saudi Arabia has developed a transparent pricing system, connecting you with authorised companies and making the journey ideal. Learn about the features of the app ideally in depth before planning for your spiritual pilgrimage. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Zawya
16-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Saudi Arabia completes July sukuk issuance with $1.33bln allocation
RIYADH — The National Debt Management Center (NDMC) announced the completion of the July 2025 issuance under the Saudi government's riyal-denominated sukuk program, with a total allocation of SR5.020 billion. According to the NDMC, the issuance was divided into four tranches. The first tranche amounted to SR776 million, maturing in 2029. The second tranche was SR1.340 billion, set to mature in 2032. The third tranche reached SR823 million, maturing in 2036, while the fourth tranche totaled SR2.081 billion, with maturity in 2039. This issuance is part of the Kingdom's ongoing efforts to strengthen the local debt market and support fiscal sustainability. © Copyright 2022 The Saudi Gazette. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Business Recorder
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Umrah or Hajj: Govt seeks CII's guidance on ‘Mehram requirement' for female pilgrims
ISLAMABAD: The government has sought Council of Islamic Ideology (CII)'s guidance to decide that whether Mehram requirement for female pilgrims intending to perform Umrah or Hajj can be withdrawn or not. In the Standing Committee on Religious Affairs and Inter-Faith Harmony's meeting held under the chairmanship of Malik Muhammad Aamir Dogar, Minister for Religious Affairs and Inter-Faith Harmony Sardar Muhammad Yousaf Zaman apprised the committee that on the prime minister's instructions, the Religious Affairs Ministry is drafting a new Hajj policy as per requirements of the Saudi Government. He apprised the committee that according to new Saudi policy requirement for female pilgrims to accompany Mehram (male relative/husband) is no more required. On which, Senator Mujahid Ali said that Meharm is a religious requirement so how come Saudi Government can exempt it. On which, the minister said the government has asked the CII to guide it on this matter. The minister said this year, Hajj operation remained one of the finest. He said even in Mushahir and Arafat, air condition facility was provided to the pilgrims. 'During the Hajj whoever lodged the complaint the ministry addressed it on the spot and that's why the prime minister congratulated our ministry for the successful operation,' he said. Sardar Yousaf admitted that 63,000 intended pilgrims couldn't perform Hajj because of some technical problems and miscommunication. He said the amount 365 million Riyals is lying with Saudi Government. He said private Hajj operators want the government to give priority to those intending pilgrimage next year who have already deposited the amount and the prime minister also asked the ministry to give them priority. He said because of the rising cost of Hajj, the government is considering allowing pilgrims to pay in instalments. The members of the committee asked the ministry that due to higher cost of travel, the government should explore the option to start travelling through sea because travelling through ships is much cheaper. The officials of the ministry told the committee that they already on the feasibility of this option. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
The Guardian
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘We live on bread and tea. I've wished for death': Yemen's forgotten refugees
The pain of going to bed hungry is becoming familiar for Jamila Rabea. It's hard to sleep. The meagre rations of bread, tomato paste and tea she spends much of her day trying to gather, she gives to her children. Five of them live with her in a shelter built from tarpaulin, cloth and scraps of wood. Like many of the refugee families living here in a makeshift camp to the east of the Yemen port city of Al-Mukalla, she has had to leave home because of the bombs and fighting. 'Life is extremely difficult. At times, it pushes us to the brink of despair,' she says. Al-Mukalla is under the control of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government. Though US drone strikes have previously hit the area, the city is currently safe from the Saudi, Israeli and US bombing raids on Houthi forces in the country's north and east. Al-Mukalla has long been a place of refuge, including for people fleeing conflict in Somalia, just across the Gulf of Aden, and now for some of Yemen's own 4.8 million internally displaced people. After more than a decade of civil war, with the involvement of well-armed neighbours and their allies, poverty and hunger have worsened sharply in Yemen just as aid cuts have started to bite and humanitarian assistance is drying up. The roots of Yemen's civil war lie in the Arab spring in 2011 when pro-democracy protests broke out against the 33-year rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. He responded with economic concessions but refused to resign. After about 50 people died in clashes in the capital, Sana'a, power was transferred to the vice-president, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, in an internationally brokered deal. Hadi's government was considered weak and corrupt, and his attempts at reforms were rejected by Houthis in the north. In 2014 they captured the capital and Hadi fled to Riyadh. In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition intervened militarily against the Houthi rebels on behalf of Hadi's government. With the Saudis involved, and Yemen in a key position on global shipping routes, other states became drawn into what a multilateral conflict, part of the regional power struggle between Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia and Iran, the leading Shia state. In 2019, the Saudi oilfields of Abqaiq and Khurais were attacked by air. The Houthis claimed credit, but Saudi Arabia and the US blamed Iran. The conflict became ever more complex as power vacuums allowed local militants – affiliated to al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and to Islamic State – to seize territory in Yemen. Initially seen as a UAE-backed ally, the Southern Transitional Council tried to secede, sparking clashes with Saudi forces. The UAE now claims to have withdrawn from the conflict. The Saudis expected that its overwhelming air power, backed by the regional coalition and with intelligence and logistical support from the UK, US and France, could rapidly defeat the Houthi insurgency. Instead it has seen strong resistance and a humanitarian disaster unfolded in Yemen, leaving hundreds of thousands dead, about 20 million people – more than half of Yemen's population – requiring aid, and displacing nearly 5 million people. Medical facilities, infrastructure and schools are devastated by years of war and Yemen has faced persistent cholera outbreaks. Many families like Rabea's are now surviving on mostly bread and water, sometimes rice and onions. Some people the Guardian talked to in this settlement camp, one of several around the city, were frank in admitting they had considered taking their own lives because they could not feed their children. 'We endure, out of patience and for our children's sake – because without us, they'd have no one to care for them. Some nights, I sleep hungry just so my children can eat. Things are only getting worse,' says Rabea, as she sits surrounded by her children and nieces. International aid agencies operating in Yemen say that nearly half the population, more than 17 million people, are estimated to be suffering acute malnutrition. Severe levels of food deprivation increased from 21% in March 2024 to 33% in March 2025, according to the World Food Programme (WFP). In a joint statement last month, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, WFP and Unicef said about 4.95 million people in the south were experiencing 'crisis-level' food insecurity or worse. The WFP says demand in Yemen has outpaced the available money, and that humanitarian efforts are badly underfunded, 'with only a quarter of what WFP needs to operate in 2025 received to date'. 'As a result, WFP has been forced to reduce ration sizes, prioritising the most vulnerable in the most food-insecure areas,' says a WFP spokesperson. 'Without urgent new funding, millions risk losing assistance in Yemen in the coming months.' Rabea and her daughter collect firewood to sell, while her husband and son scavenge for plastic bottles and scrap metal. Together, they earn about 5,000 Yemeni riyals a day – less than $2 at current exchange rates. 'With that, we manage to buy a kilo of flour, a bit of rice, a can of tomato paste and some oil – just enough to cook a basic meal,' she says. 'If we're lucky, sometimes we might afford a small, cheap fish. 'In the past, the World Food Programme provided us with monthly food baskets. That used to feed us for a whole month, and we spent what little we earned on buying meat. 'Now that support has stopped, and we can no longer afford proper meals. As adults, we can bear the hunger, but our children can't,' she says. 'We can't even afford beans any more – a single can costs 1,000 riyals. So for dinner, it's just bread and rice cooked with tomato paste and onions.' Sign up to Global Dispatch Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team after newsletter promotion Aid agencies say the worsening food crisis in Yemen's south is largely driven by war, escalating again after a 2022 ceasefire, with ongoing strikes contributing to one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, along with an economic meltdown and devaluation of the riyal and severe weather events. The Iran-aligned Houthi movement continues to control the country's most densely populated areas in the north and west, including the capital, Sana'a. Meanwhile, the internationally recognised Presidential Leadership Council – backed by the Gulf states and western governments – governs the southern and eastern provinces from its base in Aden. Saleh Yahia, a 62-year-old father of seven, lives in the same settlement as the Rabea family. He says the situation has become unbearable. According to Yahia, assistance from the WFP ceased two years ago. Since then, families have been receiving modest cash payments, which are intended to be monthly but often arrive only once every three months. Three of his sons work as day labourers, while Yahia collects empty plastic and metal containers to sell to scrap dealers. 'People are hungry. We are barely getting by. My children are suffering from malnutrition because we can't afford to buy meat, chicken or fish,' he says. According to Unicef, half of all children under five in Yemen are malnourished. Yasen al-Khulaidi is a schoolteacher in the southern city of Taiz, also controlled by the presidential council. He says his salary of 80,000 riyals a month, when it arrives, barely covers a week's worth of basic staples. 'We survive on bread and tea most days. Sometimes I skip meals or stop eating halfway through just so my children have enough,' he says. 'There are moments when I've wished for death out of sheer despair. Some of my colleagues have divorced their wives or abandoned their homes because they can't provide for their families.' The father of four also supports his elderly parents. After not receiving his salary in two months, he asked his wife to move in with her family while he stays in a makeshift room that was initially a shop to avoid paying rent. He also has gallbladder, kidney and colon problems, which he believes are the result of surviving on nothing but bread and water for so long. 'We are living in misery – struggling every day to get food, clean water, cooking gas, school supplies and healthcare,' he says. 'Only our faith in God keeps us going.'
