DUBAI, UAE -  Art Dubai, the leading international art fair for the Middle East and Global South, on Sunday announced that the five-day event, held on March 1-5 2023, has provided a direct economic impact of US$39 million (AED143 million) to the city. New figures revealed in the Economic Impact...

Sultan Al Neyadi, the UAE astronaut, honors Bahrain and Qatar from his orbital viewpoint 400km above Earth, describing them as "two shining pearls".

The Bahraini decision comes the day after the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia against a backdrop of unexpected rapprochement between Riyadh and Tehran, brokered by Beijing. The warming of relations between the region's two great rivals has paved the way for a major diplomatic reshuffle in the Arab world.

ABU DHABI, UAE -  The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) has launched an ambitious program to develop and sustain beekeeping and honey production in the Emirate. The program is based on scientific, applied studies and research to develop the best methods and practices suitable for the UAE...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia--Namibia has voiced its support for Saudi Arabia's bid to host Expo 2030 in Riyadh. This was announced by Dr. Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari, the presidential press secretary to the President of Namibia Hage G. Geingob following his meeting with the Saudi advisor at the royal court Ahmed bin...

Geneva, Switzerland – The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) signed on Friday a $39 million multiyear contribution agreement with the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The grant will support the fight to end global pandemics and strengthen health and community systems. Announced during the Global Fund's 7th...

Abu Dhabi, UAE - Mubadala Investment Company invested AED 107 billion ($29 billion) in sectors that shape the future, including life sciences, renewable energy, and digital infrastructure, the company reported in its 2022 financial results, surpassing global benchmarks despite a challenging economic environment.  It participated in significant deals in the...

Dubai, UAE-- The UAE is keen to strengthen economic ties with the Central Asian states, which offer many investment opportunities. This was stated by Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, who is leading a UAE delegation of government officials to Kazan, the capital of...

Dubai, UAE – UAE Banks Federation (UBF), the representative of UAE banks, revealed on Friday that the rate of digital banking services use through a number of banking channels has risen 100 percent, reflecting the advancements made by the UAE in deploying the latest technologies. Delivering the Opening address at...

Dubai, UAE -- The International Monetary Fund expects Qatar's real GDP to grow by 2-2.5 percent in 2023-24 on robust domestic demand and the ongoing LNG expansion, with inflation moderating gradually to around 3 percent. It said that after very strong growth in 2022 boosted by the World Cup, the...

Dubai, UAE -- A total of 3,105 real estate transactions worth AED9.1 billion ($2.47 billion) were conducted in Dubai during the week ending 19 May 2023, according to figures released by the Dubai Land Department (DLD). The DLD report showed that 191 plots were sold for AED1.14 billion, and 2,284...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) has signed an agreement with Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy (MoE) and the Ministry of Investments, Industry and Trade (MIIT) to develop over 2 gigawatts of solar and wind projects and 500 megawatt-hours of battery energy storage at multiple sites across...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia’s Tourism Development Fund (TDF) has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with an affiliate of Hyatt Hotels Corporation to establish luxury hotels across the kingdom. The collaboration aims to develop several hospitality-led destinations which will enhance the tourism sector in the country....

Abu Dhabi, UAE - Bank investments in the UAE hit $147 billion by the end of February, the highest level in the country's history, a report by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates revealed. The report, issued on Thursday, showed a YoY growth of 15.2 percent in the...

DUBAI, UAE - Conflict-plagued countries in the Middle East are among the most vulnerable to climate change but are almost entirely excluded from meaningful financing to mitigate its effects, aid groups warned on Thursday. In a joint report focusing on Iraq, Syria and Yemen, the International Committee of the Red Cross...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- A team of Saudi and international archeologists has discovered ancient hand-made stone structures at Al-Dhulayat Mountain in Al-Jouf region in the north of the kingdom, dating back to about 8000-9000 years ago.The discovery was part of an archeological survey conducted by the Heritage Commission in cooperation...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The UAE has said that the second Make it in the Emirates Forum is an open invitation to investors from around the world to launch their businesses in the UAE. “The second Make it in the Emirates Forum will showcase unique opportunities, incentives, and enablers for...

Dubai, UAE: PROVEN Robotics, a robotic solutions provider, announced the successful integration of natural language artificial intelligence (AI) technology, ChatGPT, into its humanoid robot, Pepper.  The integration of ChatGPT in Pepper offers several significant benefits including improving Pepper’s natural language understanding, enabling the robot to understand a wide range of...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - A new Film Investment Fund was established  in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday with a $100m capital injection, aimed at boosting the development of the country’s growing film industry.  The fund is the first capital injection initiative under the Investment Track of Saudi Cultural Development Fund's recently...

Dubai, UAE-- The UAE has witnessed a 20 percent drop in nitrogen oxide emissions from power generation activities, according to a study undertaken by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE), in collaboration with entities involved in power generation. The study focused on measuring the intensity of nitrogen oxide...

"Tech is at the top of the global agenda, but the benefits of digital technology are still out of reach for too many people," ITU chief Doreen Bogdan-Martin said in a statement. "If we are serious about digitalizing the world in a way that is meaningful and sustainable, we must...

Tehran, Iran - Iran and Russia on Wednesday signed an agreement to construct the final part in the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) that connects Russia to the Gulf and India. The INSTC, a freight network of ship, rail and road routes, covers some 7,200 kilometers (4,475 miles) between Russia, Azerbaijan,...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia's National Center for Privatization (NCP) has signed a cooperation agreement with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world's largest bank with total assets of approximately $5 trillion, that will have a positive impact in attracting the bank's extensive client base looking...

M'hamid El Ghizlane, Morocco -- In a Moroccan oasis town on the edge of the Sahara, nomads in turbans and tunics are thwacking a camel-wool ball across the desert in a traditional pastime: sand hockey. Similar in many ways to field and ice hockey, but played barefoot and with palm wood...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The UAE has received a terrorist named Khalaf Abd Al Rahman Humaid Al Rumaithi from the Jordanian authorities.  The UAE's Federal Supreme Court in 2013 sentenced him in absentia to 15 years in prison on charges of establishing a secret organization affiliated with the terrorist Muslim...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Nearly SAR 133.3 billion ($35.54 billion) were spent in the first nine months of 2022 by about 73 million tourists -- both domestic and inbound -- who visited Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Tourism defines a tourist as every visitor (domestic, inbound or outbound) with...

Dubai, UAE--DEWA and Huawei are looking to develop new technologies and solutions to boost efficiency and sustainability in the electricity and water sectors, improve user experience and provide more efficient, safe and sustainable services. The strengthening of the partnership came up in a meeting between Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD...

Manama, Bahrain - Beyon has announced a major investment of more than $250 million in state-of-the-art digital infrastructure in Bahrain which will support the growth of the country’s digital economy.  Batelco, part of the Beyon group, has joined the SEA-ME-WE 6 (Southeast Asia - Middle East - Western Europe) consortium,...

Abu Dhabi, UAE--Gross banks’ assets, including bankers’ acceptances, rose by 2.2 percent, from $999 billion at the end of January 2023 to $1,020.55 billion at the end of February 2023, according to the Central Bank of the UAE's Monetary & Banking Developments for February 2023. Gross credit increased by 1.2...

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia--Saudi Arabia and Algeria have agreed to expand bilateral relations, boosting ties in all areas. In this regard, Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad Ahmed Attaf have signed an agreement to establish the...

The kingdom received about 7.8 million international tourists for all purposes during the first quarter of 2023, representing its highest quarterly performance.

PARIS, FRANCE -  Russia's oil exports rose in April to the highest level since its invasion of Ukraine, boosting revenues by US$1.7 billion despite Western sanctions, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday. The Paris-based organization said Russian exports increased by 50,000 barrels per day to 8.3 million bpd last month, estimating...

Beijing, China - China has set a growth target of approximately 5 percent for the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as announced in the 2023 Government Work Report (GWR). The report outlines the country's comprehensive economic and development tasks for the upcoming year, providing insights into the country's strategies to achieve...

Muscat, Oman - Moody's has upgraded Oman's credit rating from Ba3 to Ba2 while maintaining a positive outlook due to the reduction in public debt and the improvement in the Sultanate's ability to meet its financial obligations in 2022. This comes after S&P revised Oman's outlook from stable to positive...

Manama, Bahrain--The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) announces that the monthly issue of the Sukuk Al-Salam Islamic securities has been oversubscribed by 197%. Subscriptions worth BD 84.706 million were received for the BD 43 million issue, which carries a maturity of 91 days. The expected return on the issue, which...

Dubai, UAE – The UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) has called on eligible employees to subscribe to the Unemployment Insurance Scheme, which aims to provide a low-cost job security net that supports the career path of employees in the UAE at no additional cost to employers. The...

Dubai, UAE-- Qatar and Bahrain have agreed to restart flights toward the end of the month, in a sign of warming relations between the estranged countries. According to Bahrain News Agency, the resumption of flights between Bahrain and Qatar “comes within the framework of the brotherly relations between the two...

Dead Sea, Jordan -- Almost 2 million people visited Jordan in first quarter of 2023, an 87.2 percent increase compared to the first third of 2022, the Tourism Minister of Jordan, Makram Qaisi said Monday. He said that the "tourism sector has begun to recover and grow at a high...

Dubai, UAE-- The UAE's Ministry of Climate Change and Environment has issued a decree on the use and distribution of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in order to control their circulation and emission into the air. The decree aligns with the UAE's preparations to host the 28th Conference of the Parties to the...

BERLIN, GERMANY -  The European Central Bank (ECB) has fined US financial giant Goldman Sachs US$7.2 million (6.63 million euros) for misreporting its capital needs, it said on Monday. Goldman Sachs Bank Europe was found to have "breached credit risk reporting rules" in 2019, 2020 and 2021, the ECB said in...

Dubai, UAE -- Dubai real estate market has recorded deals worth AED 2 billion ($544 million) on Monday, Dubai Land Department said. The deals include 638 sales transactions worth AED 1.79 billion, in addition to 116 mortgage deals of AED188.46 million, and 17 gift deals amounting to AED 29.45 million....

ABU DHABI, UAE - First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) is hosting a one-day summit that brings together aviation thought leaders and industry stakeholders to explore economic development opportunities as the sector transitions to net-zero. The Aviation Sector Summit, held in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), consist of talks, panel...

ARBIL, IRAQ- Officials in Iraqi Kurdistan say Baghdad is still waiting to reach a "final agreement" with Ankara to resume oil exports to Turkey, where the results of tightly-contested presidential elections hang in the balance. After defying Baghdad and independently exporting crude through Turkey for nearly a decade, Iraq's autonomous...

DUBAI, UAE -  Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum chaired the 76th meeting of DSCE which was held virtually in the presence of Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the Council. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, also the MD and CEO Dubai...

Dubai, UAE -- Dubai luxury real estate market transactions hit a new high in May, with a four-bedroom penthouse in Bulgari Resort and Residences selling for a record AED122 million ($33 million), making it the most expensive ready penthouse to ever be sold in the emirate. The 12,113-square-feet property boasts...

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM -  The European Commission boosted its 2023 economic growth outlook for the eurozone on Monday but it also raised the inflation forecast for the single currency area. The EU executive's spring forecast is more optimistic than that issued late last year, despite inflation proving "stickier than expected" in its...

Kuwait City, Kuwait – Mitsubishi Power, a power solutions brand of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, announced on Monday that it had been awarded a long-term contract by the Kuwait Ministry of Electricity & Water & Renewable Energy to optimize the performance of the Sabiya power and water distillation station and boost...

Abu Dhabi, UAE-- The recent partnership signed between Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) and Meydan Free Zone is expected to promote SMEs and sustainability in the economy. Through this partnership, trade licence holders within the Meydan Free Zone will have access to ADIB's diverse range of business banking products and...

Dubai, UAE-- Oman and Etihad Rail Company, the operator of the UAE-Oman Rail Network, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Vale, the Brazilian mining giant, to look at the possibility of using the rail network in the transportation of iron ore. The MoU was signed by Ahmed al...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia's insurance sector grew by 26.9 percent in 2022, bringing gross written premiums to SAR 53 billion ($14.13 billion), Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) said in a report. SAMA said in the 16th Saudi insurance market annual report that health, protection and savings, and motor insurance...