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RIYADH: Jeddah has been placed 74th globally in the Quality of Life Index for 2025, according to data from Numbeo that enables users to view, share, and compare information about cities worldwide.

It is the highest-ranked city in ������Ƶ and the second in the Arab world after Muscat, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.

The achievement is attributed to continuous improvements in safety, healthcare, infrastructure development, the provision of modern public facilities, and the city’s commitment to transforming developmental ambitions into tangible realities that serve both residents and visitors.

Under the umbrella of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, and in line with the Quality of Life Program within Saudi Vision 2030, Jeddah Municipality has completed landmark projects that have helped to reshape the city’s urban landscape.

Among the most prominent projects are the coastal developments, which include five integrated waterfronts.

These areas feature walking and cycling paths, public squares, children’s play areas, and artistic sculptures, making the sea a part of the city’s daily life. Along the waterfronts, service facilities such as restaurants, cafes, rest areas, and piers allow visitors to explore the coastline up close.

“Jeddah has become more pedestrian-friendly, in my opinion. Also, there are now huge spaces across the city for outdoor activities,” resident Hala Hussain told Arab News.

She added that these outdoor activities are ideal during the cooler months of the year.

Hussain added: “The sea is part of our identity as Jeddawis, and seeing all these changes to accommodate our life near the sea makes us feel connected to nature.”

These projects include continuous beach maintenance programs which ensure cleanliness, protect the marine environment, and raise community awareness about the importance of preserving these spaces.

The municipality has also opened more than 445 parks spread across different neighborhoods, including specialized areas like Al-Saja Park, which features pathways and interconnected gardens and serves as a model for green space planning.

Prince Majid Park, the largest of its kind, spans over 130,000 sq. meters and boasts shaded walkways and family-friendly play areas, making it a gathering point for all generations.

Jeddah Municipality’s projects also focus on enhancing pedestrian pathways, installing modern lighting systems, and expanding sidewalks to increase comfort and safety.

These initiatives have encouraged residents to engage in physical activities and improved their daily mobility, while the municipality has also enhanced cleaning and maintenance programs. These include sidewalk and highway cleaning, removal of large amounts of waste, including unwanted concrete barriers, as well as the regulation of street vendors to ensure a healthy and safe urban environment.

The municipality has also invested in developing central areas by improving neighborhood centers, upgrading commercial and service facilities, and creating spaces for community activities. 

Jeddah has adopted innovative waste management programs, including waste sorting at source, converting waste into resources, and monitoring pollution, which has positively impacted air quality and environmental comfort within the city.

With its balanced approach to coastal, public facility, and community service projects, Jeddah has shown itself to be both an economic and tourist hub, and stands as a living example of a good quality of life, in which natural environments seamlessly merge with infrastructure and services to offer a comprehensive urban experience that meets the needs of both residents and visitors.

RIYADH: Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the former Saudi ambassador to the US and the UK, on Sunday warned that the security of Gulf states is under threat from a “pariah state” following the recent Israeli attack on Qatar.

Prince Turki described Israel’s Sept. 9 aggression, when it targeted Hamas leaders in Qatar as they discussed a ceasefire agreement that would end the Israeli war on Gaza, as “treacherous” and called for Gulf states to rethink their approach to security as a result.

Speaking at the Dean of Ambassadors’ Gala Dinner marking the golden jubilee of Arab News at the Cultural Palace in Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter, Prince Turki said: “The Gulf region is witness nowadays to an aggressively treacherous attack by Israel on the sovereignty of Qatar. This attack is a reminder to all countries of the Gulf that their common security is under threat by a pariah state that gives no regard to any law or rule governing international relations.”

He added: “This attack is an eye-opener to question the credibility and reliability of alliances when threats come from Israel. This dictates our states to rethink the nature of threats and to rebuild their strategic policies to safeguard their security by all means to face such threats. Israel must not be allowed a free hand.”

While addressing Sunday’s event, Prince Turki reminisced about the establishment of Arab News, which he helped found back in 1975, and congratulated staff at the newspaper on its 50th anniversary.

In his speech, he also addressed the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the role of the international community, particularly the US.

“I believe that no region in our world has felt the impact of the state of international uncertainty more than the greater Middle East region,” he said. “Who is to blame for this continued situation is an open question. However, while countries and leaders of the region bear a responsibility, the US bears the biggest share of this responsibility.

“We see the US descending from the role of honest broker to the role of the staunch ally of Israel. The blatant double standard practiced by the US in dealing with the Israeli occupation of Palestine and its recent genocidal war on Gaza and the West Bank are plainly witnessed not only by Arabs but by all peoples around the world.

“In order for President (Donald) Trump to be the peacemaker, as he wants to be, he should correct the past mistakes committed by the US to the peace and security of its friends and allies.”

Prince Turki welcomed the recent progress made toward the realization of a two-state solution, as a diplomatic push by ������Ƶ and France yielded a series of recognitions of the Palestinian state by Western powers at last week’s UN General Assembly. And he hit back at accusations by the Israeli government and its supporters that recognition is a reward for Hamas and its Oct. 7 attacks.

“Among the many tropes faced by the Kingdom and France and all countries that recognized Palestine as a state is that this is a reward to Hamas. What a deceitful and evil assertion to deny Palestinian people their inalienable right to their own state,” he said.

“It is the 80 years old Israeli colonial occupation of Palestine and denial of the Palestinian people their right to self-determination that rewards Hamas and other similar groups. Without the occupation, there will not be resistance to it.”