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Ahmed Al Omran

Saudi Arabia correspondent

Ahmed Al Omran is FT’s Saudi Arabia correspondent, covering the political and economic developments in the kingdom and other countries in the Gulf region. He was a Knight-Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University in New York, and before that he worked as a correspondent for The Wall Street Journal in Riyadh. His work has also appeared in the New York Times, Foreign Policy, and Monocle.
Email Ahmed Al Omran @ahmed  on Twitter (link opens in a new browser window)
  • Monday, 22 June, 2020
    Coronavirus
    Saudi Arabia puts strict limit on number of hajj pilgrims

    Difficulty of maintaining social distancing severely curtails one of world’s largest religious rituals

  • Friday, 12 June, 2020
    Saudi Arabia
    Saudi Arabia considers cancelling hajj for first time in modern history

    Religious pilgrims were expected to generate $12bn for the kingdom before the pandemic struck

  • Friday, 29 May, 2020
    Sovereign wealth funds
    Saudis transfer $40bn to back wealth fund’s spending spree

    Finance minister confirms move as kingdom seeks to scoop up foreign assets at depressed prices

  • Monday, 11 May, 2020
    Saudi Arabia
    Twin shocks threaten Saudi crown prince’s reform plans

    Effects of coronavirus and oil collapse put some of kingdom’s biggest projects at risk

  • Saturday, 9 May, 2020
    Middle Eastern politics & society
    Saudi sitcom breaks taboos on homosexuality and Israel

    Popular programme is sparking debate about social change during holy month of Ramadan

  • Thursday, 7 May, 2020
    ObituaryAbdullah al-Hamid
    Abdullah al-Hamid, Saudi reformer, 1951-2020

    An activist who dug his own course in pursuit of reform

  • Friday, 1 May, 2020
    Special ReportConsulting in Emerging Markets
    Saudi women push to expand consulting leadership opportunities

    Tala al-Jabri is among a rising number of female professionals in the kingdom

    A Saudi woman drives her car on the first day after lifting the driving ban on women, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 24 June 2018. Women in Saudi Arabia got behind the wheel on Sunday after a decades-long ban was lifted as part of a liberalization drive in the conservative kingdom. Photo: Gehad Hamdy/dpa
  • Thursday, 16 April, 2020
    Coronavirus
    Saudi Arabia moves to control spread of virus among migrant workers

    Cases have doubled in kingdom where foreigners make up three-quarters of labour force

    Construction workers in Riyadh
  • Wednesday, 8 April, 2020
    Middle Eastern politics & society
    Yemen ceasefire announced by Saudi-led coalition

    Move in response to UN call to focus on preventing Covid-19 outbreak in war-torn country

  • Saturday, 28 March, 2020
    Saudi Arabia
    Saudis shoot down missile over Riyadh

    State-owned media accuse Iran-backed Houthi rebels of launching attack

  • Friday, 20 March, 2020
    Coronavirus
    Saudi Arabia to double debt in virus and low oil price fight

    Riyadh unveils $32bn emergency support package for businesses and banks

  • Thursday, 27 February, 2020
    Coronavirus
    Saudi Arabia bans Mecca pilgrimages over coronavirus fears

    Kingdom halts trips to holy cities performed by millions of Muslims every year

    FILE - In this Aug. 7, 2019, file photo, Muslim pilgrims circumambulate around the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, ahead of the Hajj pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020, halted travel to the holiest sites in Islam over fears of the global outbreak of the new coronavirus just months ahead of the annual hajj pilgrimage, a move coming as the Mideast has over 220 confirmed cases of the illness. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)
  • Tuesday, 25 February, 2020
    Middle Eastern politics & society
    Saudi Arabia’s former energy minister returns in cabinet reshuffle

    Khalid al-Falih to lead a new government ministry for investment

  • Monday, 10 February, 2020
    Middle Eastern politics & society
    Middle East’s demographic earthquake: the generation fuelling protests

    Voices from aspirant young people staking their claim for prosperity

    TOPPER IMAGE ALGERIA Algerian security forces contain protesters shouting slogans during an anti-government demonstration in the capital Algiers on December 9, 2019, ahead of the presidential vote scheduled for December 12. - Algeria's contentious presidential election campaign is highlighting the vast gap between youth at the heart of a reformist protest movement and an ageing elite they see as clinging to power. The poll will see five candidates, all linked to ex-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, compete for the top office. But protesters, whose mass mobilisation forced the ex-strongman to resign from his two-decade tenure in April, have rallied weekly to say sweeping reforms must come ahead of any vote. (Photo by RYAD KRAMDI / AFP) (Photo by RYAD KRAMDI/AFP via Getty Images)
  • Tuesday, 21 January, 2020
    News in-depthSaudi Arabia
    Saudi women embrace new freedoms as gradual reforms take hold

    Single female graduates are living and working away from their families for first time

    A woman walks on the esplanade in front of the Hasan Anani mosque in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah on January 10, 2020. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)
  • Wednesday, 11 December, 2019
    Saudi Aramco IPO
    Saudi Aramco shares jump 10% in oil group’s trading debut

    Stock climbs by maximum amount after world’s biggest IPO

    A handout picture provided by Saudi Aramco shows the energey giant's President and CEO Amin Nasser (2nd L) ringing the bell during the official ceremony launching the debut of Saudi Aramco's initial public offering (IPO) on the Riyadh's stock market, in the Saudi capital Riyadh on December 11, 2019. - Saudi Aramco's shares soared on their debut on the domestic stock exchange today, becoming the world's biggest listed company worth $1.88 trillion after a record-breaking IPO. Aramco had priced the initial public offering at 32 riyals ($8.53) per share, raising $25.6 billion and eclipsing Alibaba's $25 billion IPO of 2014 to become the world's largest. (Photo by - / Saudi Aramco / AFP) / == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HO / ARAMCO" - NO MARKETING, NO RESALE, NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS == (Photo by -/Saudi Aramco/AFP via Getty Images)
  • Wednesday, 13 November, 2019
    Middle Eastern politics & society
    Gulf states’ participation in football tournament signals thaw in Qatar relations

    Decision by Saudi Arabia and UAE to send teams follows two-year boycott of gas-rich state

    DOHA, QATAR - April 03: A general view of the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar. It is a venue that has been renovated for the FIFA World Cup Final Qatar 2022 on April 03, 2019 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images)
  • Friday, 1 November, 2019
    News in-depthSaudi Arabia
    Saudi Arabia reins in spending as it puts faith in reform

    Businessmen point to domestic growth but bankers warn that the recovery is fragile

    (FILES) In this file photo taken on September 18, 2019 Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends a meeting with the US secretary of state in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. - Saudi Arabia's crown prince said in an interview aired on September 29, 2019 that war with Iran would devastate the global economy and he prefers a non-military solution to tensions with his regional rival. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / POOL / AFP)MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
  • Wednesday, 30 October, 2019
    US economy
    Mnuchin says global economic slowdown weighs on US

    Treasury secretary describes ‘modest drag’ on country’s economy at Saudi investment forum

    U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is seen on a screen during his speech at the Future Investment Initiative forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
  • Tuesday, 29 October, 2019
    Saudi Aramco IPO
    Saudi Aramco to launch its IPO on November 3

    Long-awaited partial privatisation is core to Prince Mohammed’s push to reshape kingdom’s economy

    Employees work on a spheroid under reconstruction at Saudi Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia October 12, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
  • Wednesday, 23 October, 2019
    Middle Eastern politics & society
    Saudi Arabia appoints Prince Faisal bin Farhan as foreign minister

    Limited reshuffle as Riyadh tries to ease Houthi tensions in Yemen conflict

    FILE PHOTO: New ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Germany Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud poses for the media after his diplomatic accreditation at Bellevue Palace in Berlin, Germany, March 27, 2019. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo
  • Friday, 18 October, 2019
    Special ReportArab World: Banking and Finance
    Saudi Arabia’s privatisation goals fall short on progress

    Most business remains tied to the government, despite the kingdom’s push to diversify

    Visitors walks past the General Electric Co. GE90 jet engine of a Boeing Co. 777-368(ER) aircraft, operated by Saudi Arabian Airlines, on static display at the Saudi Air Show at Al Thumamah airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, March 12, 2019. Saudi Airshow is the first Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition of its kind in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Photographer: Ryan Olson/Bloomberg
  • Sunday, 29 September, 2019
    Saudi Arabia
    Riyadh replaces Khalid al-Falih as chair of mining company

    Yasir al-Rumayyan takes over at Ma’aden as former energy minister’s fall from grace continues

    epa07569548 Khalid A. Al Falih Chairman of the JMMC and Minister of Energy Industry and Mineral Resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia talks to media during the Opec and non-Opec Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 11 November 2018 (issued 14 May 2019). According to the Saudi Press Agency (SAP), al-Falih said two pump stations on the East-West pipeline were attacked by armed drones on 14 May. A fire was contained and the pipeline, transporting Saudi oil from the Eastern Province to Yanbu port, was temporarily shut down until inspection of the resulted damage before resuming operations. The attack occurred one day after the UAE Foreign Office reported on 13 May 2019 that four commercial vessels, including two Saudi oil tankers, have been targeted by sabotage operations near UAE territorial waters. EPA-EFE/ALI HAIDER
  • Saturday, 28 September, 2019
    Saudi Arabia
    Saudi Arabia set to launch tourist visas

    Riyadh hopes travellers will help it replace oil dollars

    Visitors walk through the ancient rock heritage site at Al Ula, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman officially launched his vision of the mega tourism project at the ancient site of Al Ula. Photographer: Mohammed Al-Nemer/Bloomberg
  • Friday, 20 September, 2019
    FT CollectionsThe Saudi oil attack
    Why Saudi attacks changed the calculations on regional security

    The drone and missile strikes wrought huge disruption on the kingdom’s oil industry and exposed its vulnerability to the US-Iran row

    TOPSHOT - A satellite image provided by NASA Worldview on September 14, 2019, shows fires following drone strikes on two major oil installation owned by the state giant Aramco, in eastern Saudi Arabia, and claimed by the Tehran-backed Huthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is bogged down in a five-year war. - Saudi Arabia raced on September 15, 2019 to restart operations at oil plants hit by drone attacks which slashed its production by half, as Iran dismissed US claims it was behind the assault. The peninsula in the image is Qatar and the island (top) is Bahrain. (Photo by Handout / NASA Worldview / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / NASA Worldview " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTSHANDOUT/AFP/Getty Images
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