• Qatar says hopeful for Gaza truce before month of Ramadan

    Doha, Qatar - Qatar is "hopeful" of a Gaza war ceasefire and is pushing for an agreement before Ramadan, its foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday. The gas-rich Gulf state, which hosts Hamas's political bureau, has been a key mediator in negotiations involving the Palestinian fighters, Israel, the United States and...
  • Kuwait’s never-ending political crisis hurts economy

    It suffers from constant stand-offs between elected lawmakers and cabinets installed by the ruling Al-Sabah family, despite a parliamentary system in place since 1962.
  • Time for Syria to return to Arab fold, Sheikh Mohamed tells Assad

    Abu Dhabi, which normalized relations with Assad's government in 2018, has led aid efforts in the aftermath of the February 6 earthquake that struck southeastern Turkey and northern Syria, killing tens of thousands. A diplomatic momentum generated by aid efforts in the quake's aftermath could bolster Damascus's relations with Middle...
  • ‘Bad governance, lack of solid regulation fuel blockchain violations’

    There is chaos in the crypto market and the dust rises with an episode of failure, but failures must not be generalized, says Don Tapscott of Blockchain Research Institute.
  • Cash-strapped Egypt offers citizenship to foreigners investors

    According to state newspaper Al-Ahram, a decision by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli published in the official gazette,  says the premier can now "grant Egyptian nationality" to applicants that meet one of four conditions. Foreigners can either buy at least $300,000 of real estate in Egypt, invest $350,000 in the country,...
  • Inter-Parliamentary Union urged to take up Bahrain rights issue

    BEIRUT, LEBANON - Lawmakers attending an inter-parliament gathering in Bahrain's capital this week should seize the "opportunity" to address the Gulf state's "dismal rights record", rights groups have said. Parliamentarians from around the world are planning to attend this year’s Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the oldest and largest organization of parliaments in...
  • Despite hurdles, women entrepreneurs thrive in MENA tech sector

    As the governments and private organizations in the region are taking measures to encourage and support women entrepreneurs in the tech industry, their prospects across the setor are improving, and there is a growing sense of optimism that more women will continue to break through the glass ceiling in this...
  • Gulf Common Market moves ahead with new tracks

    New tracks have been launched in the Gulf common market to supplement the 10 current tracks. The bloc also seeks collaboration with the private players in the region.
  • Syria’s Assad visits Oman after quake, in first since war

    Sultan Haitham and Assad "held official talks" at the royal palace in Muscat, Oman's foreign ministry said in a statement. The Omani ruler "extended anew his condolences and sincere sympathy to.... the president and to the brotherly Syrian people for the victims of the devastating earthquake", it added.
  • Amwaj merges with Shaqab, Atyab

    Qatar-based Gulf International Service has successfully accomplished the merger.
  • GCC gas stations expand as global oil demand surges

    The annual expansion of more than 100 fuel stations in the Gulf countries add around US$500,000 per day to companies' revenues in each country in the region, say experts.
  • UAE pledges $50 million more in assistance for quake-hit Syria

    Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan "has ordered the provision of an additional US$50 million as relief aid for quake-affected people in Syria", reports said.
  • Cash-strapped Egypt sells state assets to Gulf nations

    Experts say the deals could be a win-win for all sides, but unlike old Gulf largesse of unconditional aid, the new deals will require reforms. Cairo hopes the cash injection will plug what the IMF warns is "a financing gap of about $17 billion over the next four years".
  • Rayyana Barnawi first ever Saudi woman to join space mission

    Rayyana Barnawi will join fellow Saudi male astronaut Ali Al-Qarni on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) "during the second quarter of 2023".
  • Dams fulfill GCC’s water needs, boost economies

    More dams are being built in the region to shield the residents against floods, offer a lifeline during drought and work towards food sufficiency by enhancing agriculture output.
  • Kuwait budget deficit could surge to $16 bn, oil revenues fall by 19.5%

    Spending will rise by 11.7 percent to more than $86 billion, with 80 percent going on civil service wages and public subsidies.
  • Strong economies help GCC survive global chaos

    Robust monetary policies curtail the impact of geopolitical tensions, energy crisis, worsening inflation rates and market volatility on the region during 2022, a report highlights.
  • Iraq finalizes fresh air deals with Gulf countries

    BAGHDAD, IRAQ - The Civil Aviation Authority announced the work to conclude new air agreements with the Gulf states. A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority, Jihad Al-Diwan, told local media agency: "We have agreements with all Gulf countries and all Gulf national carriers that land in Iraqi airports, except for...
  • Middle Eastern SWFs eye Europe, US for cheap assets

    The region's SWFs more than doubled their investments in Western economies to $51.6 billion in 2022 from $21.8 billion a year earlier, says the latest Global SWF report.
  • Gulf markets, except Kuwait and Qatar, end higher

    The Saudi market's general index, TASI, rose 1.19%, Dubai Financial Market 0.47%, Abu Dhabi Stock Market Vadax 15 index 0.133% by the end of the trading session.
  • UAE to roll over $2 billion Pakistan’s debt, loan $1 billion more

    The agreement comes as Pakistan grapples with a major foreign exchange crisis, holding enough reserves to pay for just three weeks of imports.
  • UAE remains the most innovative Arab economy

    The Global Innovation Index ranks the countries on 81 indicators across seven categories, including Business Sophistication, Infrastructure and Technology Outputs among others.
  • Roadmap for startups on agenda of MENA’s only IPO-focused summit

    The summit, which will be held from 23-25 Jan, 2023, ""will shed light on the strong impetus and promising prospects of the IPO sector in Dubai". The emirate's media office said the summit comes on the back of a record IPO activity in 2022.
  • Iraq football body launches ticket sales for Gulf Cup

    The Gulf Cup brings together the hosts as well as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Yemen, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. It will be held in Iraq's southern city of Basra from January 6-19.
  • Arab leaders adopt plan for 2023-2027 to push GCC-China partnership

    "China will continue to firmly support the GCC countries in maintaining their own security... and build a collective security framework for the Gulf," Chinese President Xi said at the start of the China-GCC summit.
  • GCC IPOs resilient to volatility hurting other markets

    Various IPOs raised nearly $4.8 billion in the GCC in the first five months of 2022 alone, which was higher than in Europe.
  • Herzog becomes first Israeli president to visit Bahrain

    Israeli President Isaac Herzog arrived in Bahrain, the first visit by an Israeli head of state to the small Gulf kingdom since the two countries normalized relations in 2020. Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial, was greeted at the airport by Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani, according to pictures posted...
  • Asian federation chief dismisses criticism of Qatar’s rights record

    The AFC chief lavished praise on the Gulf country's organisation of the tournament."The organisation is luminous, the environment is positive," he said. "Our (Qatari) brothers didn't fail in delivering the facilities and stadiums." Qatar has repeatedly accused its critics of "double standards" and even "racism", pointing to their recent reforms...
  • Saudi football academies eye boost from World Cup

    The kingdom has long been obsessed with football, but interest in playing -- not just watching -- has surged in recent years amid a government push to promote physical activity.
  • GCC adopts tourism strategy, launches new platform

    The Gulf ministers review projects aimed at strengthening joint Gulf action in tourism as well as strategic partnerships between the GCC and other countries and stakeholders.
  • UAE won’t choose sides between global powers, says Anwar Gargash

    The UAE is a key player in the 13-nation OPEC oil cartel which, with its 10 allies headed by Russia, angered Washington by cutting production by two million barrels a day from November, adding renewed upward pressure on crude prices.
  • Qatar World Cup countdown enters final week as teams arrive

    The countdown to the World Cup in Qatar has begun as the first such tournament held on the Arab soil will kick off on Sunday when the host country face Ecuador. The event marks the culmination of Qatar's campaign first to host the tournament and then to build infrastructure worth...
  • Gulf nations secure future with Asian investments

    GCC, which has been investing heavily in Asia with an eye on protecting its petrochemicals and oil exports, is engaging in growth industries like fintech and logistics.
  • Saudi Arabia, UAE say global investments required for oil production

    Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates said the world needs to keep investing in oil production, just days before the COP27 climate summit aimed at curbing global warming. Sultan Al Jaber, the head of UAE oil giant ADNOC, warned that under-investment could cause a shock to the world economy.
  • Most non-oil economies in MENA region seeing ‘gradual slowdown’: IMF

    Despite soaring inflation and murky economic prospects worldwide, the IMF maintained its projection of 5.0 percent growth for the region in 2022, dropping to 3.6 percent in 2023. But the figures, although higher than elsewhere in the world, don't reflect the region's "challenges", Middle East and Central Asia director Jihad...
  • Dubai’s talks to join basketball Euroleague evoke ‘positive’ response

    "Negotiations with the European league began eight months ago, and its goal is to involve a club from Dubai in the prestigious tournament, in addition to hosting some matches in the city," said Al Naboodah, the former president of Dubai's Al-Shabab Al-Ahli football club.
  • UAE, Saudi pension systems improve performance on 2022 Mercer CFA Index

    The 2022 Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index compares 44 retirement income systems against more than 50 indicators and benchmarks.
  • 60% houses in Iraq lose access to drinking water, says survey

    BAGHDAD, IRAQ - In drought-hit Iraq, six out of 10 households have had their access to drinking water disrupted and a quarter of farmers have seen crop yields drastically fall this year, said a survey published Monday. Iraq has been battered by three years of drought, low rainfall and reduced...
  • New technologies bolster GCC-Asia trade relations

    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.
  • Poll: Most MENA users consider metaverse a fad

    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.
  • UAE president Sheikh Mohamed Zayed to visit Putin in Moscow

    Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan "will discuss with President Putin the friendly relations between the UAE and Russia along with a number of regional and international issues and developments of common interest," sate news agency WAM said.
  • IMF, GCC agree Middle East reforms dialogue must continue: Georgieva

    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”.
  • Fossil fuels make up 90 percent of Middle East air pollution: Study

    In 2017, an international team of researchers set off on an epic voyage across the eastern Mediterranean, through the Suez Canal and around the Gulf. They found that the vast majority of small particles -- which can penetrate deep into the lungs -- came mainly from the production and use...
  • German chancellor to visit Saudi seeking energy support

    Scholz, whose two-day trip next weekend will also take him to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, becomes the latest Western leader to meet with the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In July, French President Emmanuel Macron held talks with the crown prince in Paris, and US President Joe Biden...
  • Away game: Qatar World Cup looms as money-spinner for Dubai

    With little investment the UAE, and in particular Dubai, stands to gain if, as expected, supporters opt to stay in the tourism hotspot instead of tiny Gulf neighbor Qatar during the November-December tournament. High accommodation prices in the Qatari capital Doha and Dubai's more permissive environment including a wider availability...
  • UAE earns $5bn from tourism in H1, expects more from World Cup

    A strong performance is expected this winter when neighboring Qatar hosts football's World Cup. Hotel occupancy was up more than 40 percent in Covid-hit 2021, UAE prime minister and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said after a cabinet meeting.
  • Pentagon combines sea drones, AI to police Gulf region

    The year-old program operates numerous unmanned surface vessels, or USVs, in the waters around the Arabian peninsula, gathering data and images to be beamed back to collection centers in the Gulf. The program operated without incident until Iranian forces tried to grab three seven-meter Saildrone Explorer USVs in two incidents,...
  • Egypt to set up framework to regulate streaming platform content

    Egypt is to establish a licensing framework for digital entertainment platforms like Netflix that will require them to conform to the majority-Muslim country's "social values," the regulatory body said. The announcement late Wednesday comes just days after Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbours asked Netflix to drop content that conflicted...
  • Gulf states warn Netflix over content that ‘contradicts’ societal values

    Riyadh--Saudi Arabia and neighbouring Gulf countries on Tuesday accused streaming giant Netflix of broadcasting content that "contradicts Islamic and societal values" and threatened legal action if it was not removed. A statement issued jointly by the Saudi media regulator and the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, headquartered in Riyadh, did not...
  • Gulf Navigation repays loan

    The $2.7m loan was financed by "Rasmala" for a vessel.
  • Pentagon says Iran seized, and later released, US navy vessel

    The US Central Command's 5th Fleet said a support ship from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, the Shahid Baziar, was spotted towing the seven-meter (23-foot) Saildrone Explorer unmanned surface vessel (USV) late Monday.