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Economy & Business

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

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

A ceasefire reached between Israel and Hamas in October has prompted some shipping companies to consider resuming services, but security concerns persist.

Solar panels in a Sinai desert, Egypt.

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

Gulf companies have been increasing their investments in North African renewable energy.

CASABLANCA, MOROCCO - AUGUST 20: In this handout image from Populous, digital renderings of the proposed Stade Hassan II stadium in Morocco, projected to be the largest football stadium in the world with 115,000 capacity are depicted on August 20, 2024 in Casablanca, Morocco. The stadium design is by Populous and Oulalou + Choi (Photo by Populous via Handout/Getty Images)

Morocco’s markets rise as World Cup spending fuels largest IPO in decades

Shares in SGTM jumped by 10% on Dec. 16 after the construction firm raised roughly $550 million from its IPO, underscoring demand in a market that has featured few new listings in recent years.

Latest News

India’s Modi eyes closer ties with Jordan, Oman during visits

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al-Hussein bin Abdullah II (R) meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jordan, on Dec. 16, 2025.

Egypt secures Qatari investment boost, launches first SCZONE industrial deal

Egypt’s Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Hassan El Khatib speaking at the Egyptian-Qatari Investment Forum in Cairo, Egypt on Dec. 14, 2025 (State Information Service)

Analysis

Yemen’s oil heartland fuels new conflict as STC seeks new political power

Yemeni employees walk at the Aden oil refinery company in Yemen's port city of Aden on Sept. 29, 2015.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Turkey, US push toward $100B trade goal as Bolat heads to Washington

U.S. President Donald Trump (R) shakes hands with President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Oval Office at the White House on September 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump has signaled that the U.S. might lift a ban on F-35 sales to Turkey during Erdogan's first visit to the White House since 2019. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

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

Tourists ride in a horse-drawn carriage near the art installation "Temple" by French artist Stephan Breuer and the Pyramid of Menkaure or Menkheres (front) and the Pyramd of Khafre or Chephren (behind) during the third edition of the "Forever is Now" art exhibition by Art d'Egypte at the Giza pyramids necropolis on October 28, 2023. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION (Photo by

Analysis

Egypt's tourism boom offers respite from foreign currency woes, Gaza war

Egyptian tourism revenues and the number of holidaymakers visiting reached record highs in 2023 but will unlikely be enough to cure Cairo’s financial problems.

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

PORTLAND, OREGON - JANUARY 9: An Alaska Airlines Embraer aircraft is seen taking off at Portland International Airport on January 9, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. NTSB investigators are continuing their inspection on the Alaska Airlines N704AL Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft following a midair fuselage blowout on Friday, January 5. None of the 171 passengers and six crew members were seriously injured. (Photo by Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images)

Boeing crisis opens door for Airbus to win new Middle East deals

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Photo illustration of a selection of front pages from UK daily national newspaper coverage, London, Jan. 18, 2024.

Analysis

UAE-backed fund's planned Telegraph takeover raises press freedom fears

Members of parliament and former state security figures have raised concerns about what it would mean for an entity with close ties to a foreign government to own one of the United Kingdom’s most influential newspapers.

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

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt to give Cairo's historic downtown major facelift

The project is part of a wider plan to develop Cairo’s downtown area to boost tourism and the economy.

Turkey inflation 1

Turkey’s Central Bank raises interest rates to 45%

A pause in hikes will follow, ahead of upcoming local elections in March, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is looking to regain control of key cities.

GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/AFP via Getty Images

What does Sisi-Putin latest nuclear plant deal mean for Egypt, Russia?

Egypt is hoping nuclear energy will help meet its substantial power needs as Russia eyes a greater nuclear foothold in the region.

Lebanese bartender Hadi Ghassan prepares a drink behind the counter at "Meraki Riyadh", a pop-up bar offering non-alcoholic bellinis and spritzes, served in chilled cocktail glasses, in Riyadh on January 23, 2024. The bar's success highlights widening acceptance of more daring non-alcoholic fare even as booze itself remains strictly off-limits in the Gulf kingdom, home to Islam's holiest sites. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine / AFP) (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

What does Saudi's first-ever alcohol store say about new Gulf culture?

Alcohol-free 'mocktails' are also becoming increasingly popular across the region.

A picture taken on April 14, 2015 shows a view of a plant processing phosphates in the port of the Tunisian southern city of Sfax. / AFP / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)

Tunisia’s phosphate industry still not ready to help country navigate economic crisis

Francisco Serrano

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

A ship transits the Suez Canal toward the Red Sea on Jan. 10, 2024, in Ismailia, Egypt.

Red Sea trade hit can be 'managed' amid weak global demand, says WEF

Maroun Kairouz, director of the World Economic Forum for the Middle East and North Africa, told Al-Monitor that the Israel-Hamas conflict has not had a material impact on global energy markets so far.

Group Chairman & CEO, DP World Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem speaks during the 2023 Concordia Annual Summit at the Sheraton Hotel, New York, Sept. 19, 2023.

EV charging infrastructure needed to accelerate carbon emission cuts, says DP World

The UAE-headquartered company's CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem told Al-Monitor that the sector could place more emphasis on equipment providers to allow for cost-competitive electric equipment to drive forward decarbonization goals.

United Arab Emirates

Foreign labourers work on the construction of new luxury houses in the Saudi capital Riyadh on April 13, 2019. - Housing is a potential lightning rod for public discontent in a country where affordable dwellings are beyond the reach of many, posing a key challenge for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as he seeks to overhaul the oil-reliant economy. (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP) (Photo credit should read FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia bolsters expat incentives as war complicates efforts to lure foreign talent

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

AFP via Getty Images

How Red Sea tension is hurting China's auto industry in EU, US

The Houthis initially claimed to be only targeting ships linked to Israel, but Chinese shipping is also in peril despite its friendliness to the Houthis' supporter Iran.