In most key performance areas, targets are being met, but there is still work to do over the next few years to move the Saudi economy away from oil toward a more sustainable future.
Pipelines have a chequered history in the Middle East, but the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has led US Tom Barrack to conclude that a new route through Syria could solve some problems.
With Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, alternatives for Gulf energy transit are being sought. Could the Saudi landmass straddling two seas be bridged for the benefit of all?
As a route for Gulf energy exports, nothing can fully replace the Strait of Hormuz, which remains closed by Iran, but a Saudi port city on the Red Sea could hold some of the answers.
As support for Israel weakens across the US political spectrum, once-taboo questions about military aid, lobbying influence, and US backing are moving into the mainstream
Algeria is one of Africa's largest producers of hydrocarbons, and its proximity to customers in Europe makes it of growing interest as importers fret over a prolonged supply crisis from countries
Through extravagant processions led by palace women, the Mamluk state projected a message of power and prestige at home and abroad, turning the Hajj obligation into a soft-power tool