Following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, many experts believe that Washington is shifting its attention and resources to the "priority theatre" of the Indo-Pacific. But as the world recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic, the GCC countries are expected to play a more significant role in the ongoing Asianization of the global...

SEOUL, S. KOREA - South Korea and a group of Arab countries will hold another round of negotiations for their free trade deal next week, Seoul's trade ministry said Sunday. South Korea and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will begin the sixth round of official talks for a bilateral free...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia—The GCC has unveiled the Gulf Center for Disease Prevention and Control in Riyadh to enable the prevention of diseases, mitigate public health emergencies, and promote healthy communities across the Gulf. The GCC health ministers and GCC Secretary-General Dr. Nayef Al-Hajraf were present at the event. The ministers...

Traditionally, GCC trade was focused on the West. However, now it is moving to the East. This eastward shift is not too surprising given the continuing travails of many developed Western economies. With the sluggish recovery from the financial crisis in the EU and the US, Gulf economies have had...

Beyond oil and gas, Gulf companies have made some strategic investments in sectors with strong potential for growth, including fintech, e-commerce and logistics. For example, in 2020, Saudi fintech startup Tamara established operations in Vietnam, and the UAE's B2B e-commerce provider Distichain set up a base in Singapore.

Nearly 32 percent of respondents to a TRENDS poll saw metaverse as a good investment for GCC businesses, as two biggest economies in the region invest heavily in this sector.

The Gulf countries rely heavily on assistance from Asia, particularly China, to modernise their economies and diversify away from oil.

Chemical companies in the Gulf region are likely to cope relatively well with the current stresses of rising rates and higher energy costs, says a recent report.

Most of the respondents in the poll feel that GCC will weather the gathering economic storm and come out unscathed, a view corroborated by the IMF and the World Bank.

Here are the details of how GCC countries gained in past four years in terms of foreign assets held by each of the central banks of the region post-pandemic.

Current trends in the automotive sector such as zero-emission vehicles and carbon-neutral manufacturing demonstrate the growing importance of sustainability, says a key BMW Group Middle East official.

It is unusual for a woman to rise to the top, and in the conservative Arab monarchies of the Gulf, Reyadh's position is astounding.

High oil prices drove equities up on both the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market, but Saudi equities did not follow the trend, remaining subdued toward the close of the week.

It becomes first Saudi firm to enter plasma products' field in GCC region.

It will take $60-85 billion for the GCC to put in place a modern recycling system for waste management, according to a study carried out by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

The world's richest countries have the highest happiness scores, which probably explains why Lebanon, facing its worst-ever economic crisis, ranks low in the MENA region.

At the end of her two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, she hailed the kingdom's strong “economic performance and impressive progress in implementing their Vision 2030 reform agenda, notably the doubling of the share of women in the labor force in just four years”.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has renewed its commitment to continue having a strong partnership with China in order to serve common interests.

Saudi Arabia hosted a meeting of the GCC Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee to broaden economic cooperation among the GCC countries.

With the rise in demand for low-carbon investments, investors issued $517 billion in green bonds last year, a 50 percent increase over 2020.

GCC markets had a mixed week as Saudi stocks powered by the banking and commodities retail sectors posted gains, while the UAE stocks tanked, ending the weeks with losses.

A TRENDS poll on Twitter revealed that 43.9 percent of voters preferred real estate, followed by technology at 37.4 percent.

Major events such as Qatar World Cup 2022, Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, etc. will give Gulf tourism a boost in the last quarter of this year, according to a latest report.

Earnings of many Gulf banks may hit nearly pre-pandemic levels by the year end, owing to high oil prices and rising interest rates that will support their creditworthiness.

NEW YORK, US - UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed enhancing the prospects of women empowerment and gender equality with Sima Bahous, chief of UN Women. The two met at the Permanent Mission of the UAE to the United Nations in New York during the 77th...

The UAE delegation attended the fifth day of high-level meetings on the sidelines of the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Taking a cue from Federal Reserve, GCC central banks have raised interest rates, tracking a hike in the US Fed's benchmark rate. The US central bank announced its third consecutive interest rate increase of 0.75 percentage point, continuing the forceful action to tamp down inflation that has surged to the...

Hotels in Dubai are reporting an increase in room bookings ahead of the Qatar World Cup 2022, with many expecting to be fully booked during the international football event.

India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretariat on the "mechanism of consultations" between the two sides.

Iran is keen to broaden its relations with the UAE, six years after the diplomatic tussle between Iran and other Gulf states saw minimal diplomatic interactions. Iranian Foreign Minister was speaking while welcoming the new Emirati ambassador back to Tehran.

Abdulmohsen bin Khuthaila in his speech on the sidelines of an official debate on human rights in Geneva, said that the GCC backs all open and effective dialogue in Sri Lanka

Rising oil prices, which have proved to be a windfall for governments and companies in the upstream sector, has strengthened balance sheets of the region's banking sector.

Qatar’s private sector exports during the second quarter of 2022 amounted to QAR 8.92 billion ($2.44 billion), a 21 percent growth on annual basis compared to QAR 7.73 billion in Q2-2021, said Qatar Chamber in its quarterly report. On a quarterly basis, it also surged 15.4 percent compared to QR...

The Gulf countries assist loan defaulters by delaying payments or exempting those who can't pay to save emerging companies and prevent their accumulation of financial burdens.

The FIFA World Cup, which is likely to boost tourism across GCC, is all set to increase revenues for Gulf airlines, hotel and restaurant industries and domestic transportation.

The UAE ranks highest among GCC economies and 12th overall in the first edition of the Circular Carbon Economy Index that focuses on energy management of the countries.

Firms in the region are increasingly augmenting their focus on operational transformation with new approaches to manage and optimize energy consumption, says an expert.

The UAE leads the region with adoption of developed regulations as technologies such as AI and VR have revolutionized the diagnostics and treatments in the aesthetic sector.

'Eco-friendly travelers' are gradually putting pressure on hospitality businesses in the Gulf region to incorporate green concepts and sustainability practices into service delivery.

The only Gulf state with a fully elected legislature, the key oil producer has been hit by regular feuding between the ruling Al-Sabah family and the assembly. The current government was formed at the start of August after the previous cabinet resigned in April, just three months after being sworn...

Despite ease in the measures set to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, electronic payments in the Gulf countries surged more than cash transactions in several other Arab countries.

It's crucial to identify the right working model to fix the challenges of digital transitions in the GCC, Nick Curran, Business Development Manager at Endava, tell TRENDS.

Smaller banks may be left behind if they don't invest appropriately in digitalization, Redmond Ramsdale, Head of Middle East Bank Ratings at Fitch Ratings, tells TRENDS.

Dr. Nayef Al Hajraf, Secretary-General of the GCC, voiced hope that the talks would lead to an ambitious Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and open new horizons for joint investment.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said in an interview with Bloomberg that OPEC+ has the commitment, the flexibility, and the means within the existing mechanisms to deal with such challenges, including cutting production at any time. He said that the volatility and thin liquidity send erroneous signals to markets at times...

Market experts predict a hard summer for the GCC retail industry as rising costs keep shoppers away from malls and stores amid soaring inflation and high cost of fuel.

Post pandemic, the logistics sector is best placed to support e-commerce businesses in tapping the unlocked potential of the large and still untapped market. The Middle East, which is continuing to experience rapid growth in e-commerce, may get an additional push from the logistics sector, she adds.

GCC countries are accelerating economic integration by activating the financial links between companies, banks, and stores to make life smoother for citizens and residents.

Though GCC markets witnessed an IPOs rush in the first half of 2022 due to the rising investment interest, the future is not comforting for the rest of the year, says an expert.

The GCC region is now witnessing an increase in adoption of open banking system and implementation plans are being put in place as regulators set new market policies.