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19 Feb 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia said Saturday that its good relations with Russia would benefit all, Anadolu reports.

Speaking at a panel of the Munich Security Conference 2023 on the geostrategic role of Middle Eastern countries, Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan reiterated that his country maintains a dialogue with Kyiv and Moscow and sees a willingness in the two warring parties.

But issues between Ukraine and Russia are complex, he said.

19 Feb 2023; MEMO: Afghanistan's interim government has decided to take control of the bases of the US-led foreign forces across the country "with an intention" to convert them into special economic zones, Anadolu reports.

The decision was taken during a meeting of the country's Economic Commission with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund, the deputy premier for economic affairs, in the chair in Kabul, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce said in a series of tweets on Sunday.

19 Feb 2023; MEMO: An Israeli-linked tanker was lightly damaged in an attack last week by an airborne object while sailing through the Arabian Sea, the ship's manager confirmed on Saturday, Reuters reports.

Regional defence and security sources suspect the assault was carried out by Iran, which did not comment on the incident. Tehran has rejected accusations it was behind similar attacks in the past few years.

19 Feb 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said consensus was building in the Arab world that isolating Syria was not working and that dialogue with Damascus was needed "at some point" to at least address humanitarian issues, including a return of refugees, Reuters reports.

18 Feb 2023; MEMO: Russia is to propose a partnership with the Gulf States to produce its cutting-edge fighter jet Su-75, also referred to as Checkmate, Russian media reported on Thursday.

"Rosoboronexport is considering options for joint design and manufacture of cutting-edge high-tech products, including a fifth-generation fighter based on the Checkmate light tactical aircraft," shared Rosoboronexport's Director General Alexander Mikheev.

16 Feb 2023; MEMO: China's President, Xi Jinping, and his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi, called on Thursday for the lifting of sanctions on Iran as an integral part of a stalled international agreement on its nuclear programme, Reuters reports.

16 Feb 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) has increased its stake in Japanese gaming giant Nintendo for the second time in a month. The PIF now owns 7.08 per cent, up from 6.07 per cent in January, according to a report by Trading View.

16 Feb 2023; MEMO: The BRICS group of nations is to decide this year on whether to admit new member states into the bloc, as Saudi Arabia and Iran formally seek to join.

According to South Africa's ambassador to BRICS, Anil Sooklal, the proposal to expand the bloc will be one of its main focuses this year.

16 Feb 2023; MEMO: Catastrophe modelling firm, Karen Clark & Company (KCC), said on Thursday it expects insured losses of $2.4 billion from the devastating dual Kahramanmaras earthquakes that hit Turkiye earlier this month.

The number of people killed by the deadliest earthquake in Turkiye's modern history has risen to 36,187, authorities said, Reuters reports.

16 Feb 2023; MEMO: German power company, RWE, on Wednesday announced the delivery of the first shipment of liquefied natural gas from the UAE to Germany, the Abu Dhabi-based energy company, ADNOC, published on its official webpage.

A shipment of 137,000 cubic metres of the supercooled fuel was delivered to the Elbehafen floating LNG terminal in Brunsbuttel, and is the "first ever LNG cargo to be shipped to Germany from the Middle East", the company said.