The Report Saudi Arabia 2018

Key initiatives include a privatisation programme which would see the divestment of a number of state-owned giants, such as the partial listing of Aramco, the creation of the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund and the increased participation of women in the job market. The Kingdom has played a key role too on the international stage in 2017, becoming the first country to host President Trump, a visit which resulted in renewed trade and investment commitments on both sides. Meanwhile the country’s importance as a trading hub continues to grow thanks to both the various infrastructural upgrades that are taking place to its ports and airports, as well as its its geographical advantage as a connector of three continents and its proximity to the Red Sea – through which 10% of world trade travels.

This 2018 Article IV Consultation highlights that Saudi Arabia’s real GDP growth is expected to increase to 1.9 percent in 2018, with non-oil growth strengthening to 2.3 percent. Growth is expected to pick-up further over the medium term as the reforms take hold and oil output increases. Risks are balanced in the near-term. The employment of Saudi nationals has increased, especially for women, but the unemployment rate among Saudi nationals rose to 12.8 percent in 2017. Credit and deposit growth remain weak, but both are expected to strengthen owing to higher government spending and non-oil growth. The fiscal deficit is projected to continue to narrow, from 9.3 percent of GDP in 2017 to 4.6 percent of GDP in 2018.

The MERI Reports on the Middle East quickly established themselves as the most authoritative and up-to-date information on the state of affairs in the region. This study, focusing on Saudi Arabia was fist published in 1985, provides vital analysis of the political and economic issues affecting the country. It combines a crisp and incisive survey of the politics and economy of the country, as well as providing statistical material on all the key data of the political economy. 1. Background 2. Political Analysis 3. Economic Analysis 4. Saudi Arabian Statistical Appendix

This is the 2018 report on Human Rights by the U.S. Department of State published on March 13, 2019The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a monarchy ruled by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who is both head of state and head of government. The 1992 Basic Law sets out the system of governance, rights of citizens, and powers and duties of the government, and it provides that the Quran and Sunna (the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad) serve as the country's constitution. It specifies that the rulers of the country shall be male descendants of the founder, King Abdulaziz (Ibn Saud). In 2015 the country held its most recent municipal elections on a nonparty basis for two-thirds of the 3,159 seats in the 284 municipal councils around the country. Independent polling station observers did not identify significant irregularities with the elections. For the first time, women were allowed to vote and run as candidates in these municipal elections.Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control over the security forces.Human rights issues included unlawful killings; executions for nonviolent offenses; forced renditions; forced disappearances; and torture of prisoners and detainees by government agents. There were also reports of arbitrary arrest and detention; political prisoners; arbitrary interference with privacy; criminalization of libel, censorship, and site blocking; restrictions on freedoms of peaceful assembly, association, and movement; severe restrictions of religious freedom; citizens' lack of ability and legal means to choose their government through free and fair elections; trafficking in persons; violence and official discrimination against women, although new women's rights initiatives were implemented; criminalization of consensual same-sex sexual activity; and prohibition of trade unions.

The peer review of the Action 13 Minimum Standard is proceeding in stages with three annual reviews in 2017, 2018 and 2019. The phased review process follows the phased implementation of CbC Reporting. Each annual peer review process will therefore focus on different aspects of the three key areas under review: the domestic legal and administrative framework, the exchange of information framework, and the confidentiality and appropriate use of CbC reports. This second annual peer review report reflects the outcome of the second review which considered all aspects of implementation. It contains the review of 116 jurisdictions which provided legislation or information pertaining to the implementation of CbC Reporting.

A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE • A gripping, behind-the-scenes portrait of the rise of Saudi Arabia’s secretive and mercurial new ruler “Revelatory . . . a vivid portrait of how MBS has altered the kingdom during his half-decade of rule.”—The Washington Post Finalist for the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, Kirkus Reviews MBS is the untold story of how a mysterious young prince emerged from Saudi Arabia’s sprawling royal family to overhaul the economy and society of the richest country in the Middle East—and gather as much power as possible into his own hands. Since his father, King Salman, ascended to the throne in 2015, Mohammed bin Salman has leveraged his influence to restructure the kingdom’s economy, loosen its strict Islamic social codes, and confront its enemies around the region, especially Iran. That vision won him fans at home and on Wall Street, in Silicon Valley, in Hollywood, and at the White House, where President Trump embraced the prince as a key player in his own vision for the Middle East. But over time, the sheen of the visionary young reformer has become tarnished, leaving many struggling to determine whether MBS is in fact a rising dictator whose inexperience and rash decisions are destabilizing the world’s most volatile region. Based on years of reporting and hundreds of interviews, MBS reveals the machinations behind the kingdom’s catastrophic military intervention in Yemen, the bizarre detention of princes and businessmen in the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton, and the shifting Saudi relationships with Israel and the United States. And finally, it sheds new light on the greatest scandal of the young autocrat’s rise: the brutal killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul, a crime that shook Saudi Arabia’s relationship with Washington and left the world wondering whether MBS could get away with murder. MBS is a riveting, eye-opening account of how the young prince has wielded vast powers to reshape his kingdom and the world around him. Praise for MBS “Saudi Arabia is testing the extremes of tradition and innovation, of half-baked visions and intensifying repression. Ben Hubbard’s authoritative reporting on the inner sanctums of its society offers a perfect synthesis of journalism and area expertise: the best description we have at the moment of why things happen as they do in the kingdom.”—Robert D. Kaplan, author of The Return of Marco Polo’s World