Inwook Kim Singapore Management University Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia’s bid for economic and social transformation, has been quietly gathering renewed interest in South Korea amid the unfolding drama with the nuclear program of its northern brethren. The latest sign of this engagement occurred when minister Khalid al-Falih of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy, Industry, and Mineral Resources (MOEIMR) met with president Moon Jae-In on May 4 of this year. Their 35-minute private reception was rare for a minister’s meeting, according to a Blue House official, signifying th

Dr. Mohammed Al-Sbitli Municipal elections in Tunisia took place in two phases. The first of which was on April 29, 2018 and was reserved for army and security officers, while the second phase – considered the main event – took place on May 6, 2018, with the participation of civilian voters. These local entitlements were the first voting experience since 2011. No municipal election has been held since then, and was, historically, the first experience for the country in the context of a multi-party political system. The significance of these

Othman Ali Al-Mazyad Japanese companies are widely known for their leading status in the global economy. However, in spite of the global popularity of their goods and services, there is still a large knowledge gap about them in the Arabic-speaking intellectual sphere. This Special Report analyzes the reasons for the continuity of long-standing Japanese companies (called “shinise” in Japanese) and the way they contribute to the Japanese economy. It also sheds light on what lessons the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia can learn from the Japanese experience in this field so as to realize the goals a

This report attempts to examine Moroccan elections held in 2016 where the Justice and Development Party (JDP) took the lead. This win, though, did not give the party the power to form a new government by itself and was forced to seek help from other party/parties. Moroccan parties were very versatile in hampering JDP’s attempts to form a new government, wasting 5 months of effort from Abdullah Bin Kiran and forcing the Monarchy institution to call on another person from the party (Saadeddine Othmani) who was able to form a government in 15 days. What did Othmani achieve and Bin Kiran fail in?; What were the alliances forged?; What are its effects on the political future of

There is much concern among the international humanitarian relief agencies – and thus international organisations and governments – about a planned attempt to attack/capture/besiege Hodeida by President Hadi’s forces supported by the coalition. This is widely seen as the main objective of Operation Golden Spear. It is expected that one force will attack from the south, coming from the direction of Mocha and possibly another from the north coming from Midi. In addition, there will be a seaborn landing, possibly using facilities in ports of Berbera, Assab, and Djibouti. The Huthi/Saleh forces are clearly aware of all this and planning counter-measures, including

Hussain Ibrahim Qutrib Associate Professor of Geomorphology In early 2016 Bashar Al-Assad coined the term "Useful Syria", referring to six governorates encompassing Damascus, Rif Dimashq, Homs, Hama, Latakia, and Tartus. He stated that he will defend them with all his might, and considered remaining governorates as less strategic. The study hopes to track qualitative (ethnic, religious, and doctrinal) demographic changes of inhabitants, performed by the Syrian regime and its allies in these Governorates through forced migration operations, “siege and starvation” tactics

The visit of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Tokyo in August and September 2016 resulted in the beginning of the reconfiguration of Saudi–Japanese economic cooperation into one that responds to the goals of Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program 2020. In recent years, the two states have been keen on transforming their energybased bilateral relationship into what they have referred to as a ‘strategic’ and ‘multi-layered’ relationship. Today, as Saudi Arabia accelerates its efforts to achieve a transition to a post-oil economy, they have begun to cooperate on the creation of more diverse economic ties between