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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

In this file photo taken on Oct. 22, 2019, boats are pictured along the riverbank and off the water of the Nile River.

Egypt venture capital firm for startups develops solutions to climate change

The Climate Resilience Fund targets nature-positive and sustainable projects that address mainly land and sea misuse.

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt restricts dollar withdrawals amid liquidity crunch

Egypt’s foreign reserves have fallen considerably amid the economic crisis and Russia-Ukraine war.

Workers hang their laundry out to dry on the railings of their labor accommodation, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, May 27, 2022.

UAE touts new domestic workers law

The UAE, like other Gulf countries, has faced criticism for its treatment of foreign workers.

United Arab Emirates

Inmates performing in a band are seen during a government-guided tour for the media,at the Correctional and Rehabilitation Center in Badr city, east of Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 22, 2022.

Egypt's released political prisoners get economic aid

A presidential initiative puts former political detainees on economic track after their release.

Russian tourism

Egypt freezes Russian MIR payments to avoid US sanctions

Acceptance of MIR bank cards would have eased Russian tourists’ payments inside Egyptian hotels and resorts.

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

Egypt claims wheat self-sufficiency despite Ukraine war

Over the past three months, Egypt has bought 3.5 million tons of wheat from local farmers as it works to achieve self-sufficiency and weather the effects of the global crisis caused by the Russian war on Ukraine.

Israel gas

More gas discovered off coast of Israel as Lebanon talks falter

Energean’s discovery follows a setback in the US-mediated negotiations between Israel and Lebanon over their maritime border.

MENA gas

The natural gas substitution: The Middle East's opportunity to replace Russian gas to the EU

Iranians walk past Sepah Bank in the capital Tehran, on June 15, 2022. - Iran has been wrestling with rampant price growth for years, exceeding 30 percent annually every year since 2018, according to the International Monetary Fund. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran's banking sector faces hurdles to reconnect to global financial system post-sanctions

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

Representatives of OPEC member countries attend a press conference after the 45th Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee and the 33rd OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting, Vienna, Austria, Oct. 5, 2022.

Iraq's commitment to OPEC oil reduction won't affect exports

Iraq's oil reduction per the recent OPEC+ agreement will not affect the country's revenues, according to Iraq's oil minister.

OPEC

Oil prices up after OPEC+ cut

Saudi Arabia has been pushing for production cuts due to fluctuations in global oil prices.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi (2nd right) and his Jordanian counterpart, Bisher al-Khasawneh (2nd left), are seen during the launching ceremony of the electrical grid connection project between the two countries, Anbar province, Iraq, Oct. 6, 2022.

Iraq, Jordan launch electrical grid connection project

Iraq and Jordan launched a project for an electrical grid connection between the two countries in order to improve Iraq's electricity situation and boost economic ties between the two countries.