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RIYADH: The first phase of the Riyadh Creative District is set to take shape after the King Abdullah Financial District Development and Management Co. signed a lease agreement with the Royal Commission for Riyadh City. 

Under the deal, RCRC will lease three landmark buildings within KAFD to host RCD’s initial operations, positioning the district as a hub for media, cultural, and creative technology enterprises. 

The initiative supports Vision 2030 objectives to transform Riyadh into a global center for innovation and culture. Launched under the patronage of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, RCD seeks to unite Saudi and international talent to drive content creation, cultural exchange, and economic diversification. 

Mohammed Al-Sudairy, acting CEO at KAFD DMC, said the agreement “highlights KAFD’s commitment to shaping the industries of tomorrow.”   

He added: “By bringing together creative thinkers, business leaders, and cultural institutions in a single destination, we are opening doors for emerging talent and advancing Riyadh’s status as a global hub for creative and cultural innovation.”  

Mazen Tammar, vice president of City Marketing and Investment Promotion at RCRC, noted that hosting RCD’s first phase in KAFD “reflects our shared vision of building Riyadh into a world-leading destination for creativity and innovation.”   

He emphasized that the initiative “will empower the creative community, nurture local creative talent, attract global partners, and advance Riyadh’s role as a cultural and economic hub in line with Vision 2030.”  

The RCD was launched in February by the RCRC board of directors and has already begun attracting international institutions.   

Earlier this year, Italian fashion school Instituto Marangoni inaugurated its Riyadh campus within the district, marking a key milestone in the project's development.  

RIYADH: ����ֱ�� has signed five agreements with Vietnamese firms spanning construction, tourism, and infrastructure, expanding its investment footprint in the Southeast Asian nation. 

The deals also included advanced furniture manufacturing and workforce training, aimed at strengthening the Kingdom’s industrial sector and attracting foreign investment, the Saudi Press Agency reported. 

They were signed in the presence of Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef during the Saudi-Vietnamese Business Forum in Hanoi, part of the minister’s official visit to deepen economic ties and attract quality investments in line with Vision 2030.

The forum was hosted at the Hanoi Chamber of Commerce and Industry and co-organized with the Federation of Saudi Chambers. 

It aligns with ����ֱ��’s National Industrial Development Program, launched in 2019, which aims to integrate strategic sectors and leverage local content alongside Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to build a diversified, value-driven economy. 

The development reflects the Kingdom’s growing focus on international partnerships, underpinned by its $1.92 billion investment in Vietnam across energy, industry, and technology sectors. 

Alkhorayef emphasized the strong bilateral economic relations and the Saudi-Vietnamese Business Council’s role in boosting cooperation, particularly in industry and mining, according to a statement by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources. 

In a post on his X account, Alkhorayef said: “I held bilateral meetings with several investors and leaders of Vietnamese companies to discuss the Kingdom’s competitive investment advantages, enabling mechanisms and incentives that facilitate foreign investment, and measures to streamline the investor journey.” 

He added that the talks explored promising opportunities for industrial and mining cooperation between the two countries. 

The minister emphasized the Kingdom’s keenness to attract quality foreign investments in industry and mining, outlining the most promising investment opportunities these sectors offer, as well as the enablers and incentives provided by the industrial and mineral resources system to facilitate the journey of international investors. 

These include, he added, financing solutions offered by the Saudi Industrial Development Fund and the Saudi Export–Import Bank. 

He also shed light on the Kingdom’s local content policies, which encourage industrial localization and give domestic manufacturers a competitive edge in government procurement, according to the press release. 

Regarding mining, he highlighted its transformation into a key pillar of the national industry under Vision 2030, with the Comprehensive Mining and Mineral Industries Strategy and the National Geological Survey Program increasing ����ֱ��’s estimated mineral wealth from $1.3 trillion to $2.5 trillion. 

The event was attended by Saudi Ambassador to Vietnam Mohammed Dahlawi, CEO of the National Industrial Development Center Saleh Al-Sulami, Chairman of the Saudi-Vietnamese Business Council Ahmed Al-Theeb, and senior government and private-sector representatives from both countries. 

The forum offered a platform to explore cooperation in advanced industries, research, innovation, and artificial intelligence.