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Economy & Business

Kaja Kallas

EU restores economic pact to pursue fuller trade ties with Syria

The move marks a major economic step for Syria's recovery after its 13-year civil war and the fall of the Assad regime.

CN-STR / AFP via Getty Images

China’s overland trade routes offer Iran wartime economic lifeline: What to know

Cargo rail traffic between China and Iran has reportedly surged since the US blockade began in April as Tehran seeks overland trade alternatives to help buy time.

In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency on May 4, 2026, the Iran-flagged tugboat Basim sails near a ship anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.

What to know about Iran's 'Persian Gulf Strait Authority' to control Hormuz traffic

The establishment of an entity seeking to control maritime transportation in the Strait of Hormuz is the latest sign that Iran wants to formalize authority in the strategic waterway.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly speaks in Beirut on Dec. 19, 2025.

Egypt ramps up energy investments amid war-driven price pressures

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Wednesday that Egypt has secured commitments exceeding $19 billion from international oil companies over the next three years.

Latest News

Few ships pass Hormuz despite US efforts to break Iran's hold

Tankers are seen at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal in the Sharjah Emirate, along the Strait of Hormuz on June 23, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran strikes UAE’s Fujairah oil hub as US pushes Hormuz reopening

Meysam MIRZADEH / TASNIM NEWS / AFP via Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

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

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

Israeli volunteers pack crates of mangoes.

Analysis

How the Hamas war wreaked havoc on Israel’s economy

Israel’s central bank said that the war with Hamas is a “major shock” to the economy and has been more expensive than initially estimated.

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

Omar Olama

Interview

Fear shouldn’t overtake rationality in approach to artificial intelligence, says UAE AI minister

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, UAE AI Minister Omar Sultan Al Olama discusses how states should govern the technology and whether fears about machine intelligence are founded.

Omar Sultan Al Olama

Omar Sultan Al Olama

UAE Minister of State

KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images

UAE’s Masdar opens world’s largest single-site solar plant ahead of COP28

The Al Dhafra solar plant spans more than 12 square miles of desert.

United Arab Emirates

A man rolls a cigarette of processed tobacco leaves, Jalamah, Aleppo province, Syria, Sept. 5, 2023.

Egypt pushes privatization, sells tobacco company stake to UAE buyer

The Egyptian government agreed last year to privatize state assets, boost exports and increase foreign direct investment in exchange for a $3 billion loan from the IMF.

Aermacchi MB-339 trainer aircraft of the Fursan al-Emarat (UAE Knights) aerobatics team release smoke as they fly over during the Dubai Airshow at Dubai World Central, Al-Maktoum International Airport, Nov. 14, 2023.

Russia and China big participants at Dubai Airshow

At this year's event, the UAE is balancing friendly relations with the United States as well as with China and Russia, including via the BRICS alliance.

Cargo ships unload imported goods in the Tunisian port city of Rades on November 12, 2014. The World Bank said in a report published last September that Tunisia's economic model of manufacturing for exports and protecting the domestic market was valid in the 1970s but since then had hindered progress. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)

Tunisia-EU economic links to prevail over political tensions

Francisco Serrano

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

A general view shows the headquarters of Bahrain-domiciled asset manager Investcorp in the capital Manama on April 18, 2022. (Photo by Mazen Mahdi / AFP) (Photo by MAZEN MAHDI/AFP via Getty Images)

In first, Bahrain asset manager targets up to $550 million in China yuan fund

Gulf buyers have announced 13 acquisitions of public and private Chinese companies so far in 2023, compared to just one in the same period of last year, according to data compiled by LSEG.

This photograph taken on June 9, 2023, shows the Central Bank of Turkey, in Ankara.

Turkey reports account surplus amid fiscal policy changes

Turkish bonds may also become more attractive, according to a top bank, as Turkey’s new economic leaders raise interest rates and end unpopular policies.

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Emirates, Flydubai top orders at Dubai Air Show as China's J-10 makes debut

Middle Eastern carriers were out in full force on the opening day of the five-day air show at Al Maktoum Airport at Dubai World Central.

United Arab Emirates

Tamar platform

Chevron resumes gas supplies from Israel’s Tamar field after Gaza war halt

The US energy giant was ordered to shut down the field for security reasons after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

An employee walks on the Expedient regasification ship, anchored off the coast of Israel in the Mediterranean Sea on February 26, 2015, as natural gas began flowing from the vessel, hired by the Israel Electric Corporation, to its power stations. The ship, anchored about ten kilometres from the Hadera coast, was connected the previous week to the marine buoy and as of February 25, natural gas has begun flowing from the LNG (liquid natural gas) ship through an underwater pipeline directly to the company's po

Can the East Med gas hub remain with Israel at its center?

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy

UAE gas

EU wants COP28 host UAE to contribute to climate fund: report

The Bloomberg report comes ahead of the annual UN climate change conference that will kick off in Dubai later this month. The UAE is working to address climate change while also remaining committed to oil and gas.