Navigating the Landscape of Esports and Gaming in Saudi Arabia

There is little doubt that Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 national development plan is a landmark initiative that will propel the Kingdom to a new era of socioeconomic development. Not only does this ambitious strategy seek to reduce the state’s dependence on oil revenues and create more jobs. Policy and decision makers in Riyadh are focusing on the potential of a creative economy that stimulates innovation and entrepreneurship that will drive economic growth in non-oil sectors. To this end, Vision 2030 emphasizes the importance of cultivating a vibrant and diverse cultural landscape that involves breaking down traditional barriers and fostering a more inclusive environment that will attract global talent, investments, and tourists, and enhance the quality of the life of its citizens. Therefore, by investing in the entertainment sector, such as encouraging concerts, film festivals, and other events, Saudi Arabia aims to grow a thriving cultural scene that resonates with both domestic and international audiences.

Saudi Arabia as a Regional and Global Esports Hub

Vision 2030’s emphasis on entertainment and cultural development also intersects with the growth of esports. Esports is not only viewed as a recreational activity, but as a viable avenue for cultural expression and economic growth. Saudi Arabia’s forays into the gaming world reflect an understanding of the global impact of esports, and the potential for the Kingdom to become a regional hub for gaming and esports innovation. HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud said of the gaming industry: “We are harnessing the untapped potential across the esports and games sector to diversify our economy, drive innovation in the sector, and further scale the entertainment and esports competition offerings across the Kingdom.”

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Remarks on Oman to the 31st Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

Remarks on Oman by Ambassador (Ret.) Dr. Richard Schmierer delivered at the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’ 31st Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference on November 3, 2022, in Washington, D.C.

I am pleased to have been invited by the National Council to contribute to this session on the Sultanate of Oman and am honored to follow two such impressive and accomplished Omani speakers. I had the privilege of serving as the U.S. ambassador to the Sultanate from 2009 through 2012, a period during which Oman played a pivotal role in support of key U.S. policy pursuits.

Oman is, in many respects, a unique country, and has been particularly fortunate in the leadership it has enjoyed over the past several decades. The almost 50-year rule of the late Sultan Qaboos must be seen as one of the most remarkable periods of governance in the modern era. During his reign Sultan Qaboos transformed a closed, almost entirely undeveloped society – little education, little medical care, little infrastructure – into a modern, stable, and prosperous nation. During my time as ambassador in Oman, in 2010, the UN Development Programme published a list of the countries of the world that had made the most development progress in the preceding 40 years. Oman was listed first; China was second.

Oman’s unique aspects are, in many cases, its strengths. It is the most ethnically diverse Arab country, deriving from its history as an Indian Ocean maritime empire, with outposts and trading partners from present day Iran, to Pakistan, to the East African coast. This gives Oman and its leaders an appreciation of the value of openness and diversity.

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Keynote Remarks to the 31st Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

Keynote speech by HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Saud delivered at the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’ 31st Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference on November 3, 2022, in Washington, D.C.

The esteemed Foreign Affairs Magazine has accurately described our time in its special centennial issue of September/October 2022 by: ” The age of Uncertainty”. Indeed, our world is in a state of uncertainty and therefore in a state of strategic vacuum and strategic confusion. Such international strategic confusion is caused by the conduct, policies, and hypocrisy of great powers at the helm of the supposedly Rule-Based International Order. The relative world peace and security that the world “enjoyed” since the end of the second World War, multilateralism, interdependent world economy, globalism, and human achievements during peace time are all seriously threatened by this state of uncertainty. Our world is by its nature a multipolar world as reflected in structuring the UN Security Council veto power. However, bipolar and unipolar worlds were reflections of the balance of power in all aspects of power at the time. Our world today is not the world of 1945, therefore, thinking of a new approach, free of the mentality of the Cold War, is needed to manage our transforming multipolar world in an orderly and peaceful fashion to escape what Graham Allison calls: “Thucydides’s Trap” in his book: “Destined for War” discussing the future of America and China relations.

I, as many in this world, have been, for many years, calling for the need to reform the UN System, particularly, restructuring the UN Security council to reflect the aspirations of the world community and to express the structural changes transforming our world. Many reform initiatives were presented and all calls for reforming the UN Security council to be fair, inclusive, and equitable fell on deaf ears of the five permanent members. For the first time, many world leaders, including President Biden in his latest speech at the UN General Assembly called for such reform. This call does reflect a change in mind by the United States to save what is regarded as a liberal rule-based international order. This “Liberal Order” cannot be sustained as liberal if it is not fair, inclusive, equitable and reflective of our international reality. Continued uncertainty is leading to uncertain behavior by irresponsible powers and leaders that may lead to catastrophic consequences.

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The Energy Transition in the Middle East: The Outlook for 2040

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Published in partnership with the King Faisal Center on Research and Islamic Studies.

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The views and opinions presented here are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of the United States Government, the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, or the King Faisal Center on Research and Islamic Studies.

Summary

Discussions about post-oil planning in the Middle East were rather common around fifteen years ago, when experts sought to focus attention on the need for economic diversification and consultancies aimed to help clients prepare long-term strategic visions.  Governments that had the foresight to recognize the scope of the problem and the political will to commit real resources to it, have already begun the lengthy, arduous process of changing public mind-sets, bureaucratic cultures, and regulatory regimes.  Some will succeed, gaining a competitive advantage over regional neighbors in terms of technology, efficiency, and productivity, making them valued partners for the international community in terms of maintaining peace and security in the Middle East.  Others will survive, but their growth will be stunted and they will struggle to explain to the international community how they are contributing to global efforts at climate change and why Western countries should continue to lend them political, military, and financial support.  Those governments that have not yet begun to address the problem probably do not have the time that will be required to accomplish all the necessary steps before peak demand arrives, their oil exports lose value and/or market share, and they can no longer maintain the patronage networks that are the backbone of regime survival.  In a sense, we can already see the outlines of the post-oil future taking shape around us and we can start to assess its impact on industry, governance, and society, even if oil itself will continue to have value for decades to come and energy companies transform to meet the needs of the global economy.

The Future is Now

One thing that we must keep in mind is that for most people who are currently reading this article, these fundamental transformations in the region will occur in our lifetimes.  This story begins in Canada, far away from the date palms and camel races of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.  Jason Kenney, the provincial premier of Alberta province, ran in 2019 on a conservative platform of deregulation of the oil industry, in support of the profits from oil sands that it generates for Alberta’s residents.  He now finds himself shifting tack, as Alberta’s government seeks to develop investment in renewables and forms of energy with lower CO2 footprints, while at the same time proposing a fund that taxes carbon emitters to help pay for carbon capture and storage.  Investors and insurance companies have signaled that they are wary of projects that do not meet certain basic environmental criteria, and the Keystone XL pipeline will likely face serious obstacles from the new administration in Washington.[1]  The politics are not simple.  Oil sands from Alberta comprise the largest single source of U.S. oil imports and support for the oil industry is a mainstay of the Conservative Party’s platform.[2]  Even as the Alberta government explores energy diversification, it has also funded the Canadian Energy Centre to rebrand the image of Canada’s oil industries and backed indigenous groups that are willing to support energy projects through legal action.[3]  Kenney and the Conservatives in Edmonton are caught between the oil politics of the present and the climate activism of the future.[4]  This is what the energy transition looks like – oil producers and politicians having to reposition themselves to account for changing public, corporate, and governmental tastes.  It is a story that will play out throughout the Middle East over the next ten to twenty years.

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A Summit Amidst Uncertainties

Today, the 40th summit gathering of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s Supreme Council is taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Founding President and CEO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, Dr. John Duke Anthony, is attending as an observer. He is doing so as The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, presides over the meeting of Gulf leaders and/or their chief representatives.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was formally established in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi on 25 May 1981, at a summit that this writer was privileged to attend, as he has attended every GCC Summit since. An Arab sub-regional organization that represents some of the world’s wealthiest per capita countries in a geographical swath lining the length of the western coast of the Gulf, the GCC region encompasses what is arguably the most strategically vital area on the planet. The GCC’s six member-states are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. In addition to all five of the member-states being a landward neighbor to Saudi Arabia, all six share maritime borders with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Location of the Summit

This 40th GCC Heads of State Summit is the first time the summit has been held in the same location (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) in two consecutive years. Observers differ regarding the reason. Some believe it is a testament to the effectiveness and importance of the GCC Secretariat that, from the organization’s inception in 1981, has been headquartered in Riyadh. Others hold to the view that the repeated focus on having Riyadh host the annual summits is but an echo of the United Nations, whose annual General Assembly Meetings are held in New York.

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