Saudi Arabia's economy is transforming. What's behind it? The Public Investment Fund, or PIF.

It's one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, creating 13 new sectors,

66 companies, and more than 500,000 direct and indirect jobs so far. PIF is also the first

sovereign wealth fund to issue a green bond supporting Saudi Arabia's 2016 Net Zero emissions target.

Find out more at pif.gov.sa.

Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio. I'm your host Jason Palmer.

Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

Wildfires are raging again in America's western states, a product of natural weather cycles

on top of relentless climate change. The Dirt of Rain has been widespread enough and long

lasting enough to call it a mega drought. And 175 years ago, today Britain repealed the

tariff known as the Corn laws. The barriers to free trade and to prosperity that the economist

found it to rail against, that victory still has lessons for today's free traders.

But first, ask Iraqis today about their voting intentions in October's elections and many will

answer with another question. What's the point? They believe the government they elect will struggle

to govern that politicians are useless and corrupt, but the country is really run by malicious

factions, tribal chiefs, and foreign powers. Iraq has lurched from crisis to civil war and back

again ever since its invasion in 2003. At this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early

stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people. By 2014, a third of its territory

was controlled by the brutal extremist group Islamic State. The so-called caliphate was crushed

in 2017 and a measure of calm has since returned. That calm and an economy set to recover from

the pandemic create an opportunity for the kinds of reform that voters are desperate to see.

So I went to Iraq because it's an important country and it's an important juncture.

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