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Morocco, France Prepare Treaty to Foster Ties

Moroccan and French foreign ministers said on Wednesday the two countries are preparing to sign a treaty to strengthen ties during an upcoming state visit by King Mohammed VI to France.

The treaty will be the first Morocco signs with a European country, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser ‌Bourita told reporters after ‌talks with his French counterpart, ‌Jean-Noel ⁠Barrot.

The two ministers ⁠did not specify when the King’s visit will take place. Relations between the two countries have improved since Paris recognized Rabat’s sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara territory in 2024.

“Moroccan-French partnership is living its best era at all levels,” Bourita said, citing defense industry, ⁠security, aeronautic cooperation.

Barrot also said that “this will be ‌the first treaty of ‌its kind with a non-European country,” adding that the goal ‌is to lay the basis for long-term relations ‌between the two countries.

Neither party specified what the treaty implies and its details.

France backs the resumption of direct talks between parties involved in the Western Sahara conflict on the ‌basis of autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty and in line with the most recent UN Security ⁠Council ⁠resolution 2797, Barrot said.

This position led to worsening ties with Algeria which hosts and backs the Polisario Front, an armed group seeking Western Sahara’s independence.

Morocco is France’s top economic partner in Africa, and a logistical and financial hub between France and part of the continent, Barrot said, adding that it was “natural” for the two countries to work together in Africa.

Original Post

May 20, 2026
Int’l Outrage over Israeli Minister’s Treatment of Gaza Flotilla Activists

Türkiye on Wednesday slammed the Israeli government after its National Security Minister, Itamar ‌Ben-Gvir, posted a video showing activists on an intercepted Gaza-bound flotilla kneeling and with their hands tied.

The foreign ministry in Ankara said far-right minister Ben-Gvir “has once again openly demonstrated to the world the violent and barbaric mentality of the Netanyahu government”.

Nations condemned ‌Ben-Gvir’s treatment of the activists.

France said it had summoned the Israeli ambassador over Ben-Gvir’s “unacceptable actions”.

“I have requested that the Israeli ambassador to France be summoned to express our indignation and obtain an explanation,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on X.

The Netherlands will also summon Israel’s ambassador to address the “unacceptable” treatment, Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said ⁠on Wednesday.

“The images ‌shared ‌by extremist Minister ‌Ben-Gvir of detained ‌flotilla activists are shocking and unacceptable,” Berendsen said in a ‌post on X.

“This treatment of ⁠detainees ⁠violates basic human dignity. I raised this directly with my Israeli colleague Gideon Saar and will summon the Israeli ambassador.”

The activists were aboard a flotilla that was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters on Tuesday and later taken to an Israeli port.

Canada will summon the Israeli ambassador to protest the treatment of the activists, Foreign Minister Anita ‌Anand said ‌on Wednesday.

“What ‌we’ve ⁠seen, including the ⁠video shared by Itamar Ben-Gvir, is deeply troubling and absolutely unacceptable,” she told reporters ⁠on a conference ‌call. “This ‌is a matter ‌we take very, very ‌seriously. It’s a matter of humane treatment of civilians, and I ‌can assure you that we are ⁠acting ⁠with absolute urgency.”

Irish foreign minister Helen McEntee said she was “appalled and shocked” by the video of the activists, who include 15 Irish citizens.

McEntee demanded the immediate release of the “illegally detained” activists. Among the detainees is the sister of Irish President Catherine Connolly.

Spain’s top diplomat condemned Israel’s “monstrous” treatment of the activists.

“That treatment is monstrous, disgraceful and inhumane,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said in Berlin in a recording shared with the media, adding that Israel’s charge d’affaires in Madrid had been summoned in protest.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni slammed Ben-Gvir’s behavior as “unacceptable” and called for the immediate release of any detained Italian citizens and demanded an apology from Israel.

“It is intolerable that these protesters, among whom there are many Italian citizens, are subjected to this treatment, which violates human dignity,” Meloni said in a statement.

“It is good to hear many Israeli voices — including the foreign minister — call out in all clarity Minister Ben Gvir’s treatment of the detainees for what it is: wholly unacceptable and incompatible with the basic values of our countries,” Germany’s ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert wrote on X.

“The conduct of the Israeli Minister of National Security, which targeted citizens participating in the “Global Sumud Flotilla,” is unacceptable and absolutely condemnable,” Greece’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

The statement called on Israel to “immediately release” detained Greek citizens and said a formal protest had been lodged at the instruction of Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis.

British foreign minister Yvette Cooper said she was “truly appalled” by Ben-Gvir’s video.

In ‌a statement ‌on ⁠X, Cooper said ⁠Britain was in contact with the families of several British nationals involved and was providing consular support.

“We ⁠have demanded an ‌explanation ‌from the Israeli authorities and ‌made clear their ‌obligations to protect the rights of our citizens and all those involved,” Cooper ‌said.

– ‘Welcome to Israel’ –

The video, shared on X by Ben-Gvir, was published after Israeli forces intercepted the flotilla’s vessels at sea and began detaining hundreds of foreign activists at the southern port of Ashdod.

The video drew swift condemnation, while Ben-Gvir himself was criticized by Israel’s own foreign minister and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Captioned “Welcome to Israel”, the footage shows dozens of activists on the deck of a military boat kneeling with their hands tied and foreheads on the ground with the Israeli national anthem playing in the background.

The footage also shows Ben-Gvir heckling and waving an Israeli flag amongst the detained activists.

Ben-Gvir also drew the ire of PM Netanyahu, who said the minister’s dealing with the activists was “not in line with Israel’s values and norms.”

“I have instructed the relevant authorities to deport the provocateurs (activists) as soon as possible,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

FM Saar also criticized Ben-Gvir on X, saying he had “knowingly caused harm to our State in this disgraceful display — and not for the first time.”

– ‘Abuse and humiliation’ –

But Ben-Gvir hit back at Saar.

“I am proud to be the minister in charge of the organizations that operated today against those supporters of terror,” he said in parliament.

“Yes, there will be all sorts of pictures that Gideon Saar does not like, but I think they are a great source of pride.”

Around 50 vessels under the Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Türkiye last week in the latest attempt by activists to breach Israel’s blockade of Gaza, after Israeli forces intercepted a previous convoy last month.

The Israeli authorities had said 430 activists aboard the flotilla were en route to Israel, while the Adalah rights group said some had already arrived at Ashdod port and were being held there.

Hamas, which controls under half of Gaza and whose attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 sparked the war in the Palestinian territory, said the footage was evidence of Israeli leaders’ “moral depravity and sadism”.

Adalah also criticized Israeli authorities over the video.

“Israel is employing a criminal policy of abuse and humiliation against activists seeking to confront Israel’s ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people,” Adalah, whose lawyers went to the detention center to meet the detainees, said in a statement.

“Having set sail toward Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid and challenge the unlawful blockade, these civilian participants were forcefully abducted from international waters and taken into Israeli territory entirely against their will,” Adalah said.

Israel’s foreign ministry had dismissed the flotilla as a publicity stunt serving Hamas.

“Another PR flotilla has come to an end. All 430 activists have been transferred to Israeli vessels and are making their way to Israel, where they will be able to meet with their consular representatives,” a spokesman from the foreign ministry said late on Tuesday.

“This flotilla has once again proved to be nothing more than a PR stunt at the service of Hamas,” the spokesman added.

– ‘Malicious scheme’ –

Netanyahu had earlier denounced the flotilla as “a malicious scheme designed to break the blockade we have imposed on Hamas terrorists in Gaza”.

Türkiye and Spain have condemned the interception, while Indonesia has called for the release of all vessels and crew.

Israel controls all entry points into Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007.

During the Gaza war, the territory has suffered severe shortages of food, medicine and other essential supplies, with Israel at times halting aid deliveries entirely.

A previous flotilla attempt was intercepted last month in international waters off Greece, with most activists expelled to Europe.

Two were brought to Israel, detained for several days and then deported.

Original Post

May 20, 2026
Iran Chief Negotiator Ghalibaf Says US ‘Seeks to Start New War’

Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Wednesday said the United States was seeking to restart the war and hoping Tehran would surrender.

“The enemy’s movements, both overt and clandestine, show that despite economic and political pressure, it has not abandoned its military objectives and is seeking to start a new war,” Ghalibaf said in an audio message on his official website.

Ghalibaf’s remarks came as Tehran and Washington escalated threats while swapping proposals to end the war, which broke out on February 28. A ceasefire has been in place since April 8.

On Wednesday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that the war would expand beyond the region if the US and Israel resume attacks after President Donald Trump said he would strike again unless Tehran agreed a peace deal.

Ghalibaf said the US was still hoping Iran would surrender and respond favorably to Washington’s “excessive demands”, by maintaining economic pressure and a naval blockade in place since April 13.

“We must strengthen our preparations for an effective and forceful response to any potential attacks,” he said, adding that “Iran will never give in to intimidation, under any circumstances”.

Ghalibaf acknowledged the economic pressure on Iranians, while appealing for “national unity”.

“Today it is clearer than ever that we are engaged in a war of wills. Whoever wins this war will write Iran’s history and determine its future,” he said.

Original Post

May 20, 2026
Israel Army Chief Says Military on ‘Highest Alert’ as Threats Over Iran War Escalate

Israel’s army chief Lieutenant Colonel Eyal Zamir on Wednesday said the military was at its highest alert level, as Tehran and Washington traded threats of war.

“At this moment, the military is on the highest level of alert and prepared for any development,” Zamir said at a meeting of all division commanders, according to a statement issued by the military.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had earlier warned that the war would expand beyond the region if the US and Israel resumed attacks, after President Donald Trump said he would strike again unless Tehran agreed a peace deal.

Original Post

May 20, 2026
Netanyahu’s Coalition Alliances with Religious Parties Put His Reelection at Risk

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has remained in power for most of the past 17 years due in part to a tight alliance with ultra-Orthodox religious parties.

But that alliance is tearing apart his governing coalition and proving to be another major liability for the long-serving Israeli leader as the country heads to elections later this year. The Oct. 7, 2023, attack — and the inconclusive wars that have followed — are also weighing on him.

After 2 1/2 years of active fighting in multiple countries, much of it involving reservists, many Israelis are tired of a longstanding system that has allowed ultra-Orthodox men to skip military service. That anger has spread to Netanyahu’s own base.

The ultra-Orthodox are meanwhile furious at his failure to legalize their exemptions. They withdrew their support for the coalition two weeks ago, leading to an initial vote to dissolve parliament, known as the Knesset, on Wednesday.

That set in motion a process that could move elections up from October to September.

Here’s a closer look.

The clock is ticking

Netanyahu is still trying to pass a bill that would legalize the exemptions and fulfill a promise to his religious partners, but that appears to be a long shot given the strident opposition of many within his own coalition.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel, who served for three years in a combat unit and is a vocal supporter of Netanyahu, said she was among at least seven members of the coalition who will not support the draft bill, rendering it impassable.

“The ultra-Orthodox are trying to extort us. It’s immoral. It’s not fair,” said Haskel, who wore her military uniform at the dissolution vote on Wednesday to highlight her opposition and highlight her own service.

Two major ultra-Orthodox parties deserted Netanyahu earlier this month after he told them he did not expect to be able to pass the exemptions bill. That left his coalition without a parliamentary majority, and is one of the main reasons for the bill to dissolve the Knesset.

“He made a promise to his most loyal allies in the coalition, and he could not deliver, he kept postponing,” said Shmuel Rosner, a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank.

Yitzhak Pindrus, a lawmaker from one of the factions, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that it has no plans to return to the coalition.

“We need the draft bill,” he said.

The ultra-Orthodox can make or break Netanyahu’s coalition

Israel’s political landscape is highly fragmented, and no one party has ever won a majority in the 120-member Knesset.

Instead, parties must build alliances to cobble together a majority, which often involves bargaining that gives smaller parties outsized influence.

The ultra-Orthodox currently have 18 seats in the Knesset, a similar number to previous years, but have long been indispensable to Netanyahu. In exchange for his support for government subsidies and the draft exemptions, they have stood by him through regional crises and longstanding corruption allegations.

Netanyahu has long relied on “automatic support” from the ultra-Orthodox, said Gilad Malach, an expert on the ultra-Orthodox at the Israel Democracy Institute, a research group in Jerusalem.

That support helped Netanyahu remain in power through the worst attack in Israel’s history.

The coalition, which also includes ultra-nationalist parties, “was much more stable than I ever imagined,” said Rosner. “Maybe it’s because they realized in a new election, they’re going to get defeated, and that’s why they stuck together.”

Imploding the coalition from within If

Netanyahu somehow passes some form of the draft exemption bill, it could dramatically alter the electoral map. It would push large sectors of the population, who have previously supported Netanyahu but are buckling under hundreds of days of reserve duty, to vote for rival parties that promise equal service, Malach said.

Netanyahu appears to stand little chance of remaining prime minister after October’s elections without ultra-Orthodox support. And he is probably their only hope of a bill that would avoid mandatory enlistment coming up for discussion in the next government.

But sticking with the ultra-Orthodox risks harming Netanyahu’s standing with the broader public, leaving him in a bind as the country heads toward elections.

Why the ultra-Orthodox reject military service

Most Jewish men are required to serve nearly three years of military service, followed by years of reserve duty. Jewish women serve two mandatory years.

Each year, roughly 13,000 ultra-Orthodox men reach the conscription age of 18, but less than 10% enlist, according to a parliamentary committee.

Faced with a severe shortages of soldiers, the military is looking to extend the period of mandatory service.

The ultra-Orthodox, who make up roughly 13% of Israeli society and are the fastest growing sector, have traditionally received exemptions if they are studying full-time in religious seminaries. The exemptions date back to the birth of the state in 1948, when a small number of students sought to revive the Jewish scholarship system after it was decimated by the Holocaust.

Those exemptions — and the government stipends many seminary students receive up to the age of 26 — have infuriated many Israelis.

Israel is currently maintaining a simultaneous military presence in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, in addition to fighting a war with Iran, which has stretched its robust military to the breaking point.

The Supreme Court said the exemptions were illegal in 2017, but repeated extensions and government delay tactics have left them in place.

Among Israel’s Jewish majority, mandatory military service is largely seen as a melting pot and rite of passage. Many in the insular ultra-Orthodox community fear that military service would expose young people to secular influences.

Original Post

May 20, 2026
Rubio Offers Cubans ‘New Path’ in Special Video Address

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered Cubans a “new path” in a special video address Wednesday hours before Washington was expected to criminally indict the island’s influential former leader Raul Castro.

Addressing the Cuban people directly in Spanish, Rubio accused the country’s communist leadership of theft, corruption and oppression.

“President (Donald) Trump is offering a new path between the US and a new Cuba,” said Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants.

“A new Cuba where you have a real opportunity to choose who governs your country and vote to replace them if they are not doing a good job.”

Tensions between Washington and Havana have spiked in recent months since US forces ousted Cuba’s regional ally Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in a military raid and then imposed a painful energy blockade on the already economically struggling island nation.

Trump has repeatedly signaled that the Cuban government could be next to fall, and earlier this month even said Washington would be “taking over” the Caribbean island, about 90 miles (145 km) from Florida, “almost immediately.”

“In the US, we are ready to open a new chapter in the relationship between our people and our countries,” Rubio said, according to an official English translation of his speech released by the State Department. “And, currently, the only thing standing in the way of a better future are those who control your country.”

In his speech on the day when the Cuban community in the United States marks the island’s independence, Rubio accused Gaesa, the military-backed conglomerate estimated to control 70 percent of the Cuban economy, of enriching the elites at the expense of ordinary citizens.

“A ‘state within the state’ that is accountable to no one and hoards the profits from its businesses for the benefit of a small elite,” Rubio charged. “And the only role played by the so-called ‘government’ is to demand that you continue making ‘sacrifices’ and repressing anyone who dares to complain.”

The US Justice Department was expected on Wednesday to announce criminal charges against 94-year-old Raul Castro, who succeeded his brother Fidel as president of Cuba and oversaw a historic 2015 rapprochement with the United States under Barack Obama that Trump later reversed.

According to US media reports, the indictment would focus on the 1996 downing of two civilian planes manned by anti-Castro pilots, that killed four people, and sent bilateral relations plummeting.

Four US Congress members expressed hope that the indictments will see justice served.

“We have a different President now, a president who is not willing to look the other way,” Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida told reporters during a press conference. “We expect that today justice has finally arrived.”

Representative Nicole Malliotakis of New York added: “This a Communist regime that has brutally killed, tortured its people, and much of it was work of Raul Castro himself.”

“We hope this will be a turning point for the Cuban people,” she said.

While Cuban Americans on Wednesday marked Cuba’s independence, the Cuban government emphasizes different dates in its historical narrative, particularly the victory of Fidel Castro’s revolution on January 1, 1959.

“Intervention, interference, dispossession, frustration: that is what May 20th signifies in Cuba’s history,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in a post on X, referring to the Platt Amendment, an addendum to Cuba’s pre-communist constitution that allowed Washington to intervene militarily in Cuba.

Original Post

May 20, 2026
Saudi FM: We Welcome Trump’s Decision to Allow More Time for Diplomacy to End the War

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah expressed on Wednesday the Kingdom’s appreciation for US President Donald Trump’s granting negotiations more opportunity to reach an agreement that ends the war on Iran and restores security and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz

In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Minister underlined the Kingdom’s appreciation for diplomatic efforts aimed at containing the escalation.

He commended Pakistan’s continuous mediation efforts to advance the negotiation and bridge the gap between the concerned parties.

Prince Faisal stressed the importance of leveraging this opportunity to avoid further tensions, saying Saudi Arabia is awaiting Iran’s response to the efforts that aim to reach an agreement that achieves lasting peace and boosts regional and international security and stability.

Trump announced on Monday that he had postponed an attack on Iran set for Tuesday in response to a request from Gulf leaders.

Original Post

May 20, 2026
UAE Demands that Iraq Halt Attacks Launched from its Territories

The United Arab Emirates strongly condemned on Wednesday “the unprovoked terrorist drone attacks launched from Iraqi territory, including an attack targeting the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant on Sunday, which struck an electricity generator located outside the inner perimeter of the plant.”

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed the UAE’s “strong condemnation and categorical rejection of the heinous terrorist attacks launched from Iraqi territory against critical civilian institutions across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, in flagrant violation of their sovereignty, airspace, and in clear breach of the principles of international law, international humanitarian law, and the Charter of the United Nations.”

The Ministry underscored the importance of the Iraqi government’s commitment “to immediately and unconditionally halt and prevent all acts of aggression launched from its territory,” stressing the need to address these threats in an immediate and responsible manner, in accordance with relevant international and regional laws and charters.

Furthermore, the Ministry underscored “the importance of Iraq fulfilling its role in strengthening security and stability in the region, thereby preserving its sovereignty and boosting its position as an active and responsible partner within the region.”

Original Post

May 20, 2026
Lebanon in the Lens of Structural Theory

The current state of affairs in Lebanon is sad and deeply alarming. A dense cloud obscures the reality of profound and sharp divisions amid a chasm that seems impossible to bridge. Two fundamental and irreconcilable views are pulling against one another with great intensity. As for the advocates of a “third path,” their only virtue is their relatively nonviolent rhetoric. At the level of substance, they are riddled with contradictions, ambiguities, and dead-ends in a concealed, exhausting, and futile search for a “half-Lebanese, half-Iranian” solution that cannot be formulated without divine intervention.

What lies behind this thick cloud of dust?

There is no doubt that structural theory presents a pivotal tool for understanding sociological and anthropological realities. Every social structure is formed, lives, and then declines, only to be replaced by a new structure that follows the same path in turn. No social structure is eternal. The constant is perpetual transformation.

The vitality of a structure stems from its contradictions, generated by numerous inherent and external factors around two major opposite views – a thesis and its antithesis, which together drive the structure forward. As long as the structure can absorb the transformations unfolding within it over time, through a dynamic struggle between the thesis and antithesis, it remains capable of regulating itself and endures.

But once the structure can no longer absorb these transformations, it begins to disintegrate, making way for the emergence of a new structure. And so the cycle continues. How, then, can structural theory help us understand the Lebanese situation, its past, present, and future?

If we view the Lebanese entity established in 1861 as a social, political, economic, and cultural structure – and it is indeed such a structure – we find that its contradictions revolved around the permanent conflict between the thesis of a Lebanese project aspiring to a trajectory and its antithesis, a regional project in Lebanon aimed at reintegrating the country into a wider regional framework.

The Lebanese structure was sufficiently solid and dynamic to absorb the immense internal and external transformations it witnessed over the course of 114 years, from 1861 to 1975. Since then, it has been in turmoil. For over half a century, from 1975 to 2026, it has witnessed a fierce battle between the Lebanese project and successive regional projects, whose final outcome has yet to be determined.

Will the Lebanese structure ultimately save itself and survive? Or will it collapse, giving rise to another structure upon its ruins? This is the major question.

Since its establishment in 1861, the Lebanese structure has succeeded in absorbing numerous transformations. Among the most significant of the shifts was the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 and the horrors that followed when Türkiye entered the war in 1915 alongside Germany and Austria. The Ottomans suspended autonomous rule, imposed martial law, and erected gallows. Then came the terrible blockade that annihilated one-third of the population of Mount Lebanon between 1915 and 1918. However, the Great War ended with the defeat of the German-Austrian-Ottoman axis, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and the disappearance of the Ottoman regional project in Lebanon in favor of the Lebanese project.

Then, in 1920, the Lebanese structure succeeded in absorbing the creation of “Greater Lebanon,” which expanded the entity to its present borders and brought with it major geographic, demographic, and social transformations under the French Mandate. It absorbed the new regional project represented by Faisal’s Kingdom of Syria, with the conflict once again resolved in favor of the Lebanese project. It also absorbed the transition from mandate to independence, the 1948 war and the establishment of Israel and their repercussions on Lebanon, as well as the successive Arab-Israeli wars that followed.

Likewise, it absorbed the regional unification projects- Baathist, Nasserist, and Syrian nationalist. It also absorbed the arrival of the armed Palestinian resistance faction and the establishment of “Fatahland” in southern Lebanese territory, from which these factions began launching operations against Israel in 1969, with the help of strong sectarian and Marxist-socialist popular pressure internally and the efforts led by Gamal Abdel Nasser and Yasser Arafat.

With the slogan “the road to Jerusalem passes through Jounieh” and the clashes of 1975, however, the Lebanese structure was no longer capable of truly absorbing the emerging regional projects. It became home to a sea of death, migration, destruction, bloody internal conflicts, Israeli occupations and resistance operations, and the long period of Assadist hegemony.

Although the Lebanese structure eventually outlasted the Assadist regional project, it found itself confronting a Khomeinist regional project that took the mantle and raised the slogan of liberating Palestine from Lebanon. All of this was accompanied by unprecedented economic and financial collapse, devastating wars, mass migration and displacement, culminating in the ongoing conflict between the Lebanese state and the Iranian Hezbollah over direct negotiations with Israel.

So, what fate awaits the Lebanese structure amid this storm? Is it fated to survive after 165 years, or will it collapse and give rise to a new structure? And what structure would replace it?

Original Post

May 20, 2026
Foreign Investors Consolidate their Bets on Saudi Arabia as Economic Reforms Gather Pace

Saudi Arabia is no longer just an oil-price bet for global investors. It is becoming a core emerging-market play. That is the view of Emmanuel Laurina, head of Middle East, Africa, and official institutions at State Street, one of the world’s major financial services and asset management firms.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Laurina said a structural shift is reshaping how global institutions view the Kingdom, and why State Street is placing a major bet on its market.

Laurina explained that Saudi Arabia has moved from an oil-linked allocation to a central component of emerging-market portfolios.

The shift is being driven by a broader range of investable sectors, particularly finance, energy, and raw materials, giving investors real diversification in a world where many emerging markets are dominated by technology, he stressed.

Saudi Arabia’s inclusion in major global equity and bond indexes has helped anchor foreign inflows and strengthen the market’s role in international allocations, he said. Vision 2030 reforms have also widened opportunities beyond oil.

What is drawing investors now?

Laurina said market liberalization and the opening of share trading to foreign investors through the development of the Saudi Exchange, Tadawul, have helped attract liquidity and deepen international participation.

He also pointed to Saudi Arabia’s push into artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure as the Kingdom seeks strategic partnerships with major global technology companies.

In fixed income, Laurina said Saudi government bonds carry a strong A+ credit rating and offer a positive yield spread over US Treasuries, making them attractive for investors seeking dollar-denominated diversification.

Access has also improved sharply, he said. The abolition of the qualified foreign investor regime and the shift toward direct ownership of listed securities mark a major step forward.

Still, some structural limits remain. These include foreign ownership caps at individual and aggregate levels, and the need to trade through local brokers. Laurina said the listing of foreign exchange-traded funds in the Kingdom remains only partly developed because Saudi Arabia’s domestic market-making ecosystem is still limited.

New fund targets Saudi equities

Laurina said State Street recently launched an exchange-traded fund in partnership with the Saudi Public Investment Fund, giving international investors access to Saudi equities through a systematic active strategy that seeks to beat the benchmark across full market cycles.

The launch reflects rising client demand and a clear shift in the Saudi market’s composition, away from oil stocks and toward sectors such as healthcare, utilities and technology, he went to say.

ETFs, he said, are only one part of a wider ecosystem that includes institutional mandates, strategic partnerships, index-driven flows and growing activity in private markets, especially in Vision 2030 priority sectors.

Laurina said the Middle East and Africa are central to State Street’s future growth strategy.

The strategy rests on three pillars: building institutional asset classes in the Middle East and North Africa, internationalizing Sharia-compliant portfolios, and meeting growing demand for regionally focused investment solutions.

Riyadh became State Street’s 11th global investment center in 2024, he said, as the company continues to expand its local investment and research team.

Laurina said Saudi Arabia is now a pivotal market and a key growth engine in State Street’s Middle East and Africa strategy.

Original Post

May 20, 2026