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17 July 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman said yesterday that since 2021, the kingdom has become the largest oil supplier to Japan, fulfilling 40 per cent of its total needs, Anadolu news agency reported.

Speaking to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) ahead of the arrival of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the kingdom yesterday, the minister said the kingdom will continue cooperating with Tokyo on clean hydrogen, ammonia and recycled carbon fuels.

14 July 2023; MEMO: Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Friday, voiced hope that the parties to the Black Sea grain deal will extend the agreement set to expire on Monday, Anadolu Agency reports.

"We are preparing to host (Russian President Vladimir) Putin in Turkiye in August. We are of the same mind on the extension of the Black Sea grain corridor.

14 July 2023; MEMO: Turkiye and Qatar will launch a joint investment for semiconductor production, the Turkish Industry and Technology Minister said on Friday, Anadolu Agency reports.

"Qatar decided to move its investment for producing 65-nanometer chips to Turkiye. It is projected to be worth over $60 million," Mehmet Fatih Kacir said at a news conference in the capital, Ankara.

13 July 2023; MEMO: Zimbabwe and Iran signed 12 Memoranda of Understanding on Thursday to strengthen bilateral ties, as Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi, wrapped up his three-nation African tour, Reuters reports.

Raisi, who visited Kenya and Uganda earlier in the week, met with Zimbabwean President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, in Harare.

12 July 2023; MEMO: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Nairobi today as the part of the first leg of his three-nation tour of Africa, which will cover Uganda and Zimbabwe as well as Kenya. The tour follows last month's three-nation Latin America trip by Raisi, and will be the first time that an Iranian president has visited Africa in 11 years.

12 July 2023; MEMO: Iraq is reportedly planning to buy JF-17 fighter aircraft from Pakistan, becoming the fifth country to do so, according to a report on Sunday by Pakistan's The News International, citing unnamed sources.

13 July 2023; MEMO: UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, sent a letter to Russian President, Vladimir Putin, in an effort to renew the Black Sea grain deal as the deadline is nearing, said a spokesperson on Wednesday, Anadolu Agency reports.

11 July 2023; MEMO: Pakistan has received $2 billion in financial assistance from Saudi Arabia, days after Islamabad and the IMF reached a $3 billion stand-by agreement, the country's Finance Minister announced on Tuesday, Anadolu Agency reports.

11 July 2023; MEMO: Washington will move ahead with the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Turkiye in consultation with Congress, US National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, said on Tuesday, a day after Ankara gave the green light for Sweden to join NATO, Reuters reports.

10 July 2023; MEMO: An increasing number of countries are repatriating gold reserves as protection against the sort of sanctions imposed by the West on Russia, according to an Invesco survey of Central Bank and sovereign wealth funds published on Monday, Reuters reports.

The financial market rout last year caused widespread losses for sovereign money managers who are "fundamentally" rethinking their strategies on the belief that higher inflation and geopolitical tensions are here to stay.