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Economy & Business

A picture taken from a station of Dubai's Palm Monorail shows traffic on a road in Palm Jumeirah on Aug. 28, 2025.

Feature

Cheap oil, tighter finances, wars constrained Mid East economies in 2025

Low oil prices, tighter financial conditions and elevated geopolitical risk hampered growth across much of the Middle East and North Africa this year.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

View of Damietta Segas LNG Terminal, in Damietta, Egypt, which is an export terminal belong to Spanish Egyptian Gas Company.

Analysis

Egypt’s $35B Israel gas deal buys time, tests fragile energy partnership

The agreement is a critical stopgap as Cairo grapples with domestic power demands, but the last two years have tested Egypt-Israel energy cooperation in unprecedented ways.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Employees install new solar panels at the Kalyon Energy's Karapinar Solar Power Plant on December 02, 2021 in Karapinar, Turkey.

Turkey hits renewable milestone as solar surpasses gas in power capacity

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said in a statement that wind and solar capacity combined had risen to 39,215 megawatts by the end of November.

Latest News

Analysis

Gulf finance hubs race to expand as hedge funds flock to Dubai, Abu Dhabi

Traffic moves on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai on March 24, 2025.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Maersk resumes Red Sea passage after two-year halt amid easing Houthi threat

A ship sails along Egypt's Suez Canal near Ismailia, April 16, 2025.

Egypt lands $572M UAE-backed solar deal, expanding Gulf's clean-energy footprint

Solar panels in a Sinai desert, Egypt.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

Jennifer Gnana

Gulf Correspondent

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

Cancer drugs are seen at a pharmacy, Beirut, Lebanon, Oct. 7, 2022.

Lebanon’s worsening health sector leaves patients suffering

Lebanon's health-care sector is fighting for survival amid an economic collapse, with the lives of patients at risk as critical care facilities have been falling apart and for the majority of the population affording essential medicine has become a luxury.

The Egyptian pound, British pound sterling and US dollar banknotes are seen in this photo, Aug. 25, 2022.

Egyptian pound plummets after interest rate hike, exchange rate change

Egypt is contending with high inflation as the central bank continues to look for a way out of the current crisis.

Mobileye Global, Inc. founder and CEO Amnon Shashua and Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger clap.

Israeli autonomous driving firm goes public

Mobileye’s stock rose on its first day trading on Nasdaq.

Egyptian farmers harvest wheat in Bamha village near al-Ayyat town, Giza province, Egypt, May 17, 2022.

Egypt seeks new agriculture, food security cooperation with Africa

The Russian war on Ukraine opened a new door for cooperation between Egypt and African countries, especially in the field of agriculture and food security.

Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy Abdulaziz bin Salman.

Saudi Arabia criticizes Biden over oil reserve release

The US president recently announced that he would sell some emergency oil reserves in response to the Saudi-backed oil supply cut.

Vehicles queue to refuel at a petrol station in Dubai on June 30, 2022. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Inflation in the GCC not going away soon

Robert Mogielnicki

Robert Mogielnicki

Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Tarek el-Molla (C) speaks during the opening session of the 24th ministerial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, Cairo, Egypt, Oct. 25, 2022.

Gas forum kicks off in Cairo

Qatar and Russia may be looking to cooperate more on energy matters.

MIKE NELSON/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi sovereign wealth fund to create decarbonization company

Saudi entities have also announced green hydrogen projects in recent weeks.

An Egyptian woman walks past an exchange store in Cairo on Jan. 6, 2013.

Egyptian Central Bank plans to establish new index of gold, foreign currencies

The Egyptian pound is performing poorly against the US dollar but faring better compared to other currencies.

This aerial photograph shows high-rise buildings in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, on Sept. 16, 2022.

How startups are contributing to Libya’s economic recovery

Digital business in the war-torn country is slowly starting to take seed.

Egypt cotton

Egypt seeks to produce cotton that resists drought better

Ahead of the COP27, Egypt and Uzbekistan hope to cooperate in producing cotton varieties resistant to unfavorable climate conditions.

Iraq slum

How can Iraq help 3.5 million citizens living in urban slums?

The government and parliament in Iraq are working to address the slum housing crisis, facing obstacles and wide social and political opposition.